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 - San Carlos & Guaymas
Photos 1 to 45 of 45 | Main
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Shrimping is a huge industry in Guaymas, Mexico. This was one of the largest marinas for shrimp boats and you could buy shrimp directly from the fishermen in the buildings on the shore in front of their boats. We
Fishermen
You could buy shrimp on the beach for lunch at this bright-and-colorful shrimp-shack.
Cruisers Heidi, Kimi, Scott, and Viviane descend on the Guaymas Weekly Market, carrying everything from used clothing to tools to tamales and aguas frescas, honey, meats, fried pork rinds by the ton, and eggs, but not much produce  to be found. Kirk
They were even selling shrimp at the Guaymas Market, this whole bag of large camarones only cost $100 pesos, or about $5.50 US.
The sandia display was beautiful and we wanted to buy one, but lugging a watermelon back in our backpack on the bus was a bit daunting so we passed this time.
The market is full of food vendors selling everything from aguas frescas: fresh juices from jamaica (hibiscus), tamarind, piña (pineapple), and horchata (almonds and rice) to tamales, empenadas, and more.
Mexicans are huge carnivores and you can find every type of meat (or animal part!) at the market. Here were coolers full of pork and chicken pieces. We didn
Fried pork rinds were big business at the Guaymas Market. Take a 8"x10" size piece of uncooked pork rind and drop it into the vat of boiling fat...
...and a minute or two later out comes a piece of fried pork rind the size of a whole pig!  They were selling like hot-cakes as fast as they could fry them up.
Need a tool, any tool? They have everything from brand shiny-new to left-out-in-the-yard-in-the-rain. Just name your price to determine which one you
And then there are the household goods, everything you could ever want or need, in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes...
..including a larger-than-LIFE-size bag of cheetos that could substitute as a life-raft and provisions all-in-one, or a beanbag chair and snacks for the beach... and the cost of this behemoth? $3.40 US. Sadly it
Due West at anchor in the stunningly beautiful Bahia San Carlos. Mountains surround the west side of the bay... (Photo credit: Viviane s/v "Juniper")
...and cliff-side Mediterranean-type villas adorn the "San Carlos Riviera" to the east.
San Carlos has more pelicans per capita than we
The San Carlos Catholic Church at Marina San Carlos (note sailboat masts in the far-right background) has beautiful stained glass windows in cobalt blue, yellow, and orange. But we couldn
We pass this restaurant with its white stallion (bronco?) silhouetted against the bright blue sky every time we walk from the San Carlos Marina to the grocery store and back. It always looks deserted like it
Mexican PSA: "COVER your Cistern... so that you don
San Carlos Marina has a Saturday Market with a variety of fresh produce, baked breads, and Mexican handi-crafts. Here Heidi is shopping for some little goodies to take to her Neal
The working stiffs, Heidi, Boni, and John. We might be living the dream but some of us are still working our businesses from any wifi-cafe we can find. Hammerheads at San Carlos Marina has good wifi and limonadas mineral, but their A/C makes it too cold in there! John
San Carlos is a cross-roads for lots of cruisers and it
We also stopped by the boatyard in Guaymas to commiserate with our friend Jim on s/v "Anore" about Hurricane Newton. "Anore" was one of the unlucky Guaymas boats where the jack-stands tipped canting her so that her mast hit another boat. Luckily both boats are now fixed and back in the water. Jim is a NOLS instructor leading hiking, kayaking, and sailing expeditions in Baja, whom we first met in Ensenada almost a year ago.
And after six long months, we FINALLY met up with our old friends Maryalice and Rick from s/v "Notre Isle" for dinner at Tortugas. They spent the summer motorcycling and RV-ing around the US and are now back in San Carlos getting "Notre Isle" ready to sail this winter. We first met these guys and their dog Harley in Santa Cruz, CA in September 2015, and then met-up with  them again in Monterey, San Diego, Ensenada, and Puerto Vallarta...looking forward to more fun times together this season!
John
Birthday Boy John laughing with Kimi & Trevor.
Our Green-eyed Lady Tikka steels our heart daily, just look at those eyes!
Tosh, our "cat-dog" (who fetches, and follows us everywhere!) trying to decide which book to chew on next. He says "The Zanzibar Chest" and "One Spirit Medicine" are both pretty tasty! :-D
Breakfast smoothie time, Tikka holds space for the Vitamix when it
Kirk
Shrimp boats hunkering down in Bahia Aldodones during a couple of days of 6-8
The kite-surfers were out in full-force taking advantage of the winds as we arrived in Bahia Algodones. Exciting day!
"Due West" anchored in Bahia Algodones, with palapa beach bars, an amazing long sandy beach, and big sand dunes. LOVE it here!! :-D
The lights shining across the water from the palapa beach bars made for beautiful evenings at Bahia Algodones. Luckily they had some great bands playing great music too, cuz the music floating across the water went on
We watched the truck zoom past the "No Horses or Motorized Vehicles on the Sand Dunes" sign to make these tracks, then get stuck, and have to back down... Duh!
Captain Kirk climbing the 30
Heidi was here... Leave only footprints, take only photos...
...unless of course you
Who knows what food, drinks, and music lurk in the palapa beach bars at Bahia Algodones? The Shadow knows...
Speaking of shadows, Kirk caught this photo of Heidi stealing the sunbeams on Playa Algodones.
Sunsets at Bahia Algodones were phenomenal...
In Mexico the dead visit in November: Dia de Los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), on November 2nd.
Amazing! The richly colorful detail and intricate design in the Day of the Dead face paint on this student.
The University of Guaymas Hospitality & Tourism students all decked out in their Dia de Los Muertos finest face paint.
Most businesses and homes in Mexico set up shrines to honor their deceased loved ones during Dia de Los Muertos. This particular shrine was set up on the malecón at the marina in front of one of the restaurant/bars, and was to commemorate the founder of one brand of tequila!
 
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