I sailed to the Puerto Vallarta region to connect with my sister Marcie, who with her husband Joe, were here for a convention. After the convention, they have been staying with their friends, Bill and Suzie Langford, in Puerto Vallarta for a few days.

This southern mainland side of México has a very different look and feel than the Baja Peninsula. Immediately upon entering the estuary at Nuevo Vallarta, one notices palm trees and mangroves. It was very soothing after a rough crossing to sit on the veranda at Vallarta Yacht having a light lunch and watch the marina activity. A boat brought in two large marlins as John and I sat eating and using the WiFi.

I made contact with Marcie and Joe and their friends, whilst John went off to spend time with some of his old towboat friends who are in the area. We sat on the beach in PV and talked. Eventually we went up to the bar to play bingo. While there with wind started to blow and it began raining. We were actually feeling cold sitting there in bathing attire. After the rain, the temperature warmed right back up. I guess this is a normal phenomenon in the tropics. The Langfords took us on a walking tour of downtown PV and the malecón. We ate at a restaurant called The Blue Shrimp where Bill was well enough known to get us a great table beachside. We all had different shrimp dishes which were outstanding. After dinner, we continued our walk down the malecón. We stopped to listen to some outstanding guitar music by a group, Media Luna, playing a fusion of flamenco, traditional Mexican, and jazz. There was music all through our walk, but this was something very special.

The next day, John helped me clean the boat up after our trip down the Baja Peninsula and over from Cabo. I really appreciated the help. The boat really needed some shine. Besides, I had invited Marcie, Joe, and the Langfords out for an afternoon sail on Bahia de Banderas. John went off toe hang with his towboat friends again and we went for a sail. Remarkably we had some decent wind for a while. I let Wally steer while Marcie and I made guacamole for the crowd. Later, we turned on the motor and made an unsuccessful effort at fishing. We had seen groups of birds on the water and were hoping that there were fish nearby. Instead, we were treated to the sight of two very large humpbacks surfacing about 30 feet from the boat. This is a sight I will never tire of.

After our sail, Marcie, Joe, and I toured Paradise Village and decided to eat at an Italian restaurant that was really quite good. Sitting outside at night in warm tropical weather makes any meal special. This food was well prepared. I had a mushroom fettuccine that was outstanding. Marcie had grilled shrimp and Joe had sea bass.

The next day, I met them in PV and we drove south to a small beach town and then hopped on a panga for a trip to the small village of Yelapa. The residents of Yelapa live on land that was deeded to the indigenous peoples by King Phillip of Spain in 1581. No one person or family privately owns the land so the people living there are mostly descendants of families who have lived there for centuries. There is no road in, although they do have electricity. We walked about 30 minutes south and uphill through the town to a lovely waterfall. Afterwards, we hiked up the Rio El Tuito to a bridge, crossed over, and back down river to come out in the back of a beach restaurant where we had a fine lunch. Our panga met us on that side of the river for the return trip.

Tired, I sat in the sun at the pool at the Langford’s condo complex with Marcie and Joe. One highlight was actually seeing the green flash at sunset from their deck. We walked in the PV marina district and dined there. The food where we ate was not outstanding, however, a group of young people were doing folk dances representing different regions of México outside the restaurant. It was very charming, as well as entertaining.

I am writing and posting this from one of my branch offices (yes, another Starbucks). With luck, I will leave here tomorrow, Monday, and make my way south down the Costalegre in short hops. My ultimate destination is Barra de Navidad. I will likely be “off the grid” for a while.