Ipala - Bahia Chamela

Another 7:35 departure Friday as the sun crested the eastern edge of the bay, setting the wispy mares tail clouds aglow in pink light. Ashore, 2 happy dogs frolicked on the beach in front of the colorful retracted restaurant umbrellas, but otherwise, all was calm, including the flat, smooth ocean.

At first, the wind was dead, but just a little ways out it showed promise of a good beam reach, so Allan and Jay got the mainsail up, just in time for the wind to clock around to the bow and die off. But thankfully the smooth sea, with graceful waves moving under the boat in a gentle, undulating way made for some good turtle-spotting.

We had tuna fish sandwiches for lunch with carrots and teeny-tiny tomatoes on the side, and then the wind picked up enough to put all three sails up - the big genoa on the bow, the new crispy-white mainsail, and the old but trusty mizzen sail at the stern. The motor got a rest for about an hour and we got a break from the grinding constancy of the noise it makes, and before we knew it, Bahia Chamela was in sight, with the seaside town of Pérula tucked into it's eastern shore. Pérula attracts a lot of Mexican tourists to its white sandy beach, with its small waves and rocky vistas. 3 islands lay off its southern end and pangas zip through the anchorage all day taking snorkelers out for an afternoon.

We dropped anchor near the narrow entrance to the town, and after tidying things up, settled into happy hour and then a great Cuban black beans and rice dinner. A red onion that needed to be used up was transformed earlier in the day to sliced pickled onions that mixed fabulously in the cucumber and tomato salad. Managing food on a boat is a constant dance - trying to save things before they go bad in all the nooks and crannies of the galley, fridge boxes, salon cupboards, floor storage, and the hanging fruit basket means sometimes the menu gets changed and new dishes invented.

The next morning, after coffee, we dropped the dinghy into the water and loaded up with grocery bags for a trip into town that started with breakfast at a great place called Jazz, frequented the snow-bird Canadians who live part-time in Pérula. Next, to the market for fruits and vegetables, the hardware store for a bucket and a few tiny Tupperware containers, a clothing store for more floaty, airy dresses, and a final stop for a 6-pack of Modelo Negro. Back at the boat we donned bathing sits and jumped off Cadenza's high deck into the water, squealing on the way down, then relishing the cool ocean, circling the boat floating on pool noodles.

The rest of the afternoon was for running the motor to charge the boat batteries and concurrently, all the electronics, doubled with the addition of 2 guests: 4 laptops, 4 phones, 2 iPads, 2 rechargeable fans, the headsets, hearings aids, and a watch. Allan manages the charging, so he's earned the title "Minister of Electron Management." We did some reading, made a few phone calls, texted home, played with the Spanish app, wrote, and relaxed under the cloudy sky with a perfect breeze while the pangas flew by on their way to the islands. We're anchored in a direct line between the islands and the entrance to the town, so the pangas just barely veer left or right to miss us, leaving a splashy wake behind - it's sort of fun. Ashore, the band is thumping with it's tuba and trumpets, accordion and drums, and myriad other instruments, and the occasional squeal of a happy child playing in the waves wafts across the water.

And then another marvelous meal in the cockpit, this time: fresh corn tortillas with grilled arracherra, leftover beans & rice, and more of last nights' salad. We can feel the air warming as we move south, a bit balmy at times.

Morning dawned bright and orange, I caught a smidge of the sunrise through the rectangular porthole in the aft cabin. I popped my head out the hatch to say good morning to Jay and Terri, which I've done for the last few mornings, so I've earned the title "Alison in a Box" and Jay wants to get a big rubber mallet to play Whack a Mole.

After coffee - this time, we tried the fresh organic we bought at the outdoor market in Paradise Village and it was spectacular - I paddled west to investigate the nearby rocks and see if a snorkel later might be a worthwhile endeavor. Maybe - the water isn't too murky but not too clear, either. Terri conjured up a wonderful grilled potato and veggies breakfast to save the last few potatoes before they went bad, and if you've ever smelled a mushy, rotting potato, trust me, you DON'T want to.

We played the charging game again, first with the motor running and then with the Honda 2000 generator on the bow, much quieter, and it powers the AC outlets, making the Minister of Electrons' job a bit easier than switching things constantly in the 12-volt inverter. I posted the first of these blurbs, Allan did dishes, Terri went paddle boarding, then Allan went paddle boarding. Allan and Jay have been trying to figure out what happened to Cadenza's solar panel controller, which seems to have bit the dust yesterday, which explains why the batteries are getting drained so fast, and also why we need to run the motor and/or Honda generator more often. As I've mentioned before - there's a lot to juggle on these little floating islands!

We decided to have lunch on the beach and get a few more things - we always need things, it seems - if nothing else, the ripe avocados here are fabulous, always a need for one or two more. We picked the lowest time for the tide, which makes for a tricky trip up the narrow channel to the docks, with Terri on the bow of the dinghy looking for rocks and shallow places and pointing to the direction Jay needs to steer to avoid impact. It all went well and we tied up and walked into town, past the falling-apart early 60's runabout boat that we all agree would be really cool if someone would restore it, but for now, it sits in the dirt next to a few old washing machines.

Jay, Terri and Allan went straight to lunch but I stopped to buy something at a little stand, and then decided to take the beach route to the restaurant instead of the street. I took my shoes off which was a really big mistake as the sand was boiling hot. Yes, I could have put them back on again but I didn't, and I ended up running towards the restaurant patio at a fast lope, seeking cool sand, but in my haste I tripped over a big, hidden rock and got a nasty, sand-embedded scrape on my left shin, damn. Allan ordered a cold beer and we snuck off away from the people eating food and did a good cleansing. Turns out beer is a great impromptu cleaning and disinfecting agent, and sort of numbed the area so I could do a better job of scraping the sand out, ugh. A temporary bandage of beer-soaked napkins, a generous wrap of toilet paper, all held on by the tie from my hat. Worked fine for the walk back to the dinghy, we got back to the boat and swam in the very-clean ocean (my other always believed in the healing power of the sea, and since we were in such clean water, I was in agreement.) I dosed the wound with honey Allan bought in town and bandaged it up. Yes, honey. Google it. I must say, the next morning I was awed by how good the tangled wound looked after soaking in it all night, so I'm sticking with the honey, pardon the pun.

Back to lunch on the beach: fabulous grilled shrimp and fish for Jay & Terri, rice and beans and corn tortillas for Allan and I, and then all of a sudden it was three o'clock. Dinner was leftovers so I won't delve into that, but it was another 9pm bedtime for everyone after a lot of sun and sand and sea.

The next morning, which it turns out was Monday, we did all the pre-departure things: secured both paddle boards in the rack, lifted the dinghy into its davits, stowed the snorkel gear, tucked all the loose objects into safe places, did the dishes, slathered on the sunscreen. Allan and Jay lubed the sail slides so the mainsail goes up more easily, and by 10am we were off for Tenacatita (which my English spell check wants to change to "Incapacitate") where we look forward to seeing friends Maciek and Olena, who we met last year in Ensenada and weren't sure we'd ever see again - that's the big joke in life - you think you'll "never" something and guess what? Life surprises you!