Due West Adventures

The sailing adventures of Captain Kirk & Heidi, Tosh and Tikka Hackler . . .

17 March 2019 | Puerto Vallarta
25 December 2018 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
26 August 2018 | Puerto Vallarta MX, ABQ, NM, and SEA, WA
01 May 2018 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
24 December 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico
02 November 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
11 October 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
16 September 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
29 June 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MX
26 May 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MX
07 April 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MX
26 February 2017 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MX
30 January 2017 | La Cruz, Nayarit, MX
24 December 2016 | Banderas Bay, Mexico
20 December 2016 | Banderas Bay
27 November 2016 | La Paz, B.C.S. Mexico
14 November 2016 | Bahia San Carlos Mexico
17 October 2016 | San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

¡La Vida es Chula!

17 March 2019 | Puerto Vallarta
Heidi & Kirk Hackler
Es la Vida...Life is what happens while you're busy making plans. So much for our plans to sail south for a few months, high tide washed them away...

Between a trip to the states for Heidi's dad's 88th birthday (where we had to wear WAY too many clothes!) and running into yet another engine glitch... Life is great!


The 88th Birthday King Verne and his wife Willa.

If we have to be stuck in paradise awaiting another engine part, at least we have visits from friends and family, and plenty of fun things to do! We had a fantastic time in February when two sets of friends visited us and we got to share whale watching in Banderas Bay with Laura & Will and Lal & Eric. Laura & Will also brought us some boat parts, and a few other items from the states that we can't find in Mexico. This week we have Heidi's brother Arne, sis-in-law Teresa, and our niece Annika, plus several of Anni's friends coming to hang out in Puerto Vallarta for spring break. Life is great!


Clockwise from left: Lal, Heidi, Judy, and Laura whale watching on a Juan Bravo Panga tour.


A lunch stop at Maraika Beach Club is always a delicious treat, and this time was no exception! Eulalie (Lal), Eric, Judy, Will, Heidi, and Kirk.

As you may recall, we had our engine water pump rebuilt here in Mexico last spring. Sadly the the rebuild was faulty... so BIG thanks Arne & Teresa for bringing us a brand new water pump this week! This is no small feat, as our 20 year old Perkins engine is no longer manufactured and spare parts are becoming harder to find. Luckily Kirk has a good stable of Perkins part dealers around the US, and when we need something he is usually able to find a part, but they are becoming fewer and further between, several times we've bought the last one available! With any luck at all, our trusty engine "Michael P" will be up and running, with leak-free oil and water pumps again by next week! Life is great!



Our most exciting news of late, is that Tosh is a medical miracle! He's recovering nicely from his nasal tumor, thanks to Homeopathic remedies from Australia! We have been extremely happy with the results from Holistic Animal Remedies, (another BIG THANKS to friends Wai-Lin & Terry for turning us on to them!) In fact, Tosh's vet here in Vallarta is blown away. He actually asked us for the information on what remedies we've been treating Tosh with, because he's never seen an animal recover from a nasal tumor like this. We've opted not to do another invasive biopsy procedure to confirm it's really all gone... but we are over the moon with Tosh's revived personality, increased energy levels, easier time eating, gaining weight again, and even the shape of his face is going back to normal. Kirk is excited to have his journeyman mechanic back helping him again! Tikka is also very excited that Tosh is back to chasing her around and pouncing on her while she's sleeping (NOT!), as siblings will do... We can hear her say "He's touching me!" Life is great!



Since we are currently short on time to write and long on photos this post is primarily a photo blog. A photo is worth 1000 words anyway, so sit back, relax, and enjoy! Be sure to check out our photo gallery for more photos of friends, family, and adventures around Banderas Bay!


A trip into PV wouldn't be complete without a stop at our favorite juice stand... on a street corner, they have a power cord running into a building, and run two blenders and a hand juicer making any combination of fresh juice to go. $30 pesos for a pint ($1.50 US) Heidi's fav is toronja, perejil, y jengibre (grapefruit, parsley and ginger, try it, it's SO refreshing!!) Kirk likes betabel, zanahoria, y jengibre (beets, carrots, and ginger, also super yummy and great for your heart!)


Another local attraction we love to share with visitors is the hike from Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas. This 3-mile section of trail (one-way) winds up through lush jungle and open forest with ocean views, past waterfalls, and back down along the beach. Those who are more intrepid can continue another 1.5 miles to Quimixto, or 7-miles all the way to Yelapa. Water Taxis are available for the return for those who don't want to hike back. We recently hiked this trail with friends and fellow cruisers, Judy & Paul from s/v Grace, and Christina & Alex from s/v Blue Wind.


The trail is well maintained and well traveled through the jungle which would otherwise quickly take back the trail... Remember, just because you didn't see the Jaguar, doesn't mean he didn't see you!


The trail crosses playa Colomitas and winds up the hill giving an exquisite view back down onto Colomitas beach and the boardwalk trail along the shore we'd just walked on.


If you're thirsty at the end of your hike, fresh Cocos await! They'll machete off the top for you to drink the coconut water out of. Then when you're done drinking, they'll machete it in half and scoop out the coconut meat for a yummy snack!



What could be better than an old car show complete with Pink Cadillac and palm trees? Stay tuned for our next blog post to find out!

La vida es chula! (Life is Great!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

xo
Heidi & Kirk, Tosh & Tikka

PS. Check out our photo gallery for more photos of friends, family, and adventures around Banderas Bay!
Vessel Name: Due West
Vessel Make/Model: Passport 40
Hailing Port: Seattle, WA
Crew: Captain Kirk & Heidi Hackler + Tosh & Tikka
About:
Captain Kirk and First-Mate/Navi-Girl Heidi untied the dock-lines in Seattle in August 2015 and set sail for Mexico with our two-kitty crew Tosh & Tikka. We've been in Mexico since then.  
 
Kirk grew up sailing in Seattle and has been boating his whole life. [...]
Extra: See pix of our boat here: Due West Interior Photos and in the Photo Gallery.
Home Page: http://svduewest.com
Due West's Photos - Isla Coronado, San Juanico Y Bahia Concepcion
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The Sergeant Major is the most ubiquitous tropical fish in Mexico and we
This sunset at Isla Corado looking back towards Loreto was one of the most spectacular we
San Juanico is a treasure-trove of rocky islets, pinnacles, and shoals that make for great snorkeling and kayaking.
Due West is just to the right of the large rock in the center of the photo. Cruising friends s/v Ingenium are to the right of us. So much to see and do here, we plan to come back.
The 7-mile dirt road to Mexico Highway 1 from San Juanico... we only hiked about a mile of it but the scenery was beautiful. Just around the corner we ran into horses, burros and mules.
Heidi practicing her animal communication skills with the burros at San Juanico. No comprende.
The San Juanico Cruiser
Due West
Lucky shot! A pelican glides by the fishing camp on the point at Bahia Santo Domingo.
Shells, shells, shells...She sells sea shells by the seashore...this is one of the first beaches we
Our "other boat" (our car!), our awesome RIB dinghy, "Aventuras" bobbing in the water in Bahia Santo Domingo with the full-moon over-head. We LOVE our dinghy, the best one we
This photo doesn
Due West anchored in of Bahía Concepción with full sun-shade canvas up and Cool-a-roo wind-scoop funneling fresh air into the forward hatch.
Playa Santispac view from the water: Palapa huts where we camped with some of Heidi
If you
Ana
"Ancient" petroglyphs on the rocks above Playa Santispac point the way to... GROCERIES!
View from shore: the other side of the palapa huts on Playa Santispac. They have been much improved from when we stayed here three years ago. Andy, when we saw the Westfalia we almost thought it was YOU!
The new palapas are much improved and private. The old version had three open sides and actually worked great for our large group of 7 with hammocks hanging on the open sides. But this new design provides much more wind and sun protection.
Lovely design of the overlapping palm fronds creating the palapa roof.
Due West anchored at Playa Santisipac, in phenomenal  shades of Caribbean-blue and green water.
Aventuras on Playa Sanispac with Due West riding comfortably on the hook in the background. The dinghy wheels worked great on this steep beach!
We spent an afternoon at Armando
The band had been in Mulegé to play at a wedding and stopped to play at Armando
Heidi bought two hand woven/embroidered tops from truck-vendor Paleo who imports textiles from his home town of Mitla near Oaxaca in south-central Mexico.
Heidi wearing one of her new tops from Paleo. We commissioned Paleo to make us a fruit hammock when we visited Playa Santispac three years ago. This time we commissioned him to make a new, larger produce hammock. Being off-season he was low on string colors so we got "Rasta" (green/red/gold).
The new produce hammock fits perfectly hanging under the original blue one. The blue hammock has become our "chips & crackers" hammock—we have to keep those things far away from Tikka who will tear open any chip/cracker bag she can get her paws on and chow down!?
Note the bow of Aventuras in the bottom right corner of the photo...this 15
Paradise: Due West anchored alone in Playa Santispac.
Our crazy furbies! Besides eating moths Tosh is partial to getting as many EMFs as he can by sleeping on top of our computers and other electronics WHILE they are charging?! And in addition to eating flies (and chips!) Tikka loves bleach?! Bleah! It
Palm trees along the Rio Santa Rosalia at Mulegé.
Gringo shops in "downtown" Mulegé. Town is about 10-blocks long.
Seafood and drinks bar along the river in Mulegé.
More colorful buildings in downtown Mulegé.
Authentic Mexican-style palapa courtyard in Mulegé.
Inside the Mulegé prison which had no doors or bars inside, just small rooms where the work-release prisoners slept each night. This was a working prison from 1907 to 1974.
In theory, this is a satellite that landed in a nearby farmer
We stocked up on fresh produce in Mulegé, the first good produce we
This cute little float with hammock was hanging out in Playa Concepcion just south of Playa Santispac. Now that the produce has its own hammock, Heidi is Jonesing to get our hammock set up too!
Due West anchored in Playa El Burro, home Geary Ritchie who gives the daily weather forecast for cruisers on the Sonrisa Net (note the HF radio antennas on his house!)
Houses on the beach at Playa El Burro sit right on the beach with high-tide a few feet from their front doors. During Hurricane Newton many of them had flooded "living rooms", though many of their living rooms have sand floors and outdoor furniture. These people own their own structures but not the sand beneath (which they rent for a few hundred dollars a month), and can
On the beach at Geary
Due West motor-sailing across the Sea of Cortez, Las Tetas de Cabra in our sights, San Carlos here we come…
Long passages at sea are the perfect time to indulge in on-deck spa showers with our Neal
Las Tetas de Cabra (teats of the goat) mark the entrance to San Carlos where we
 
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