La Cruz
09 March 2013 | La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
Pam
We arrived in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle on Feb 8th and didn't leave again until March 4th - as you can guess, we liked it!
La Cruz is located along the north shore of Banderas Bay, about a 16 peso bus or colectivo ride from Puerto Vallarta. The town is named after the huge Huancaxtle trees that are plentiful in the area. La Cruz is famous among cruisers for the great restaurants and music scene - everything from Flamenco to Jazz, Folk and Rock is available almost any night of the week. The restaurants range from Tacos on the Street to "109" (now "119" since the price went up, which includes soup, main course, dessert, and bottles of free Tequila on the table!), Ya-Ya's great breakfast spot, fabulous Italian at Frascati's, fusion at Masala (with fabulous flamenco guitarists), Fish and Chips at Octopus Garden (with Folk/Rock), German at Black Forest, ribs at Philo's Bar and Music Club (more later) and some of the best Rock 'n Roll at Ana Banana's. Every Sunday there is a wonderful market on the malecon beside the marina; filled with arts and crafts, jewellery, clothing, colorful blankets and rugs, music and tasty treats of all sorts - fresh strawberries, veggies, bread and pastries, a permanent fish market and some of the best Argentinian chorizo and steak on a bun! The market is a panoply of color, smell and sound - packed with cruisers, tourists and local folk - just a great celebration of life.
While we were there, we took several land tours with April from "Wave House". April is an aging surfer girl with big blonde dreadlocks, a great sense of humor and lots of local knowledge. She has lived in Mexico for over 20 years and she is just a lot of fun to travel with. Our first trip was up to San Sebastian, an old silver mining town in the highlands, which has remained relatively unchanged over the past several hundred years. This may change soon, as a Canadian company wants to re-open the silver mines. We enjoyed a great local Mexican meal and walking around the cobblestone streets, viewing the old fort (where the silver was stored), parade grounds, and central square. One building on the square still has bullet holes in the walls, ceiling and furniture from a shoot-up when the bandidos came into town! We took a short hike up to one of the mine adits, and were able to walk inside for several hundred feet (no silver lying around, unfortunately, just bats). On the same trip we visited Hacienda Jalisco - famous as the holiday spot for Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and John Huston while they were filming "Night of the Iguana" - but originally a site where the silver ore was brought for processing, and many remnants remain from that time. Our second trip with April took us on a picturesque six mile hike along the southern shore of Banderas Bay from Boca de Tomatlan to the village of Quimixto. We hiked through the jungle and along the beaches, stopping for lunch at Las Animas and then continued up to a waterfall above Quimixto before returning to Boca by panga. The next day we joined Carolyn and Cathy (Shannon) and went to Canopy River, Mexico's longest zip line (13 in all), followed by lunch and Tequila tasting - what fun! Dave (Free Spirit) had rented a car, so the three of us drove north to see the Alta Vista Petroglyphs. We enjoyed seeing the countryside, the agriculture and the roadside markets along the way. The petroglyphs were very interesting and quite well preserved. There certainly is an atmosphere to the site and even today the local people place offerings and candles. We took a dip in the cool waters of the Sacred Pool and were glad that the original natives, who did ritual throat-cutting at that site, were no longer present.
More about the music. On our first night in the marina, we heard great rock music pounding across the water (America, Santana, etc) - off we went in search of the band, tripping along the dirt paths and cobblestones in the dark until finally rounding a corner to find Ana Bananas. The party was in full swing and the band (Pacific Rock) was excellent. We danced up a storm until the band played its last number - we may be regaining our lost youth! Apparently, Ana Bananas is owned my an ex-RCMP sergeant from Whitehorse and he visits with all his guests to make sure everyone is having a good time. Another night, on the way back from the farewell party for our Aussie friend, Cheryl, we stopped at Philo's Bar and Music Centre - a real institution in La Cruz. We had already enjoyed Folk/Rock music played by some local ex-pats at Octopus Gardens and salsa dancing on their newly constructed dance floor; but in La Cruz the party goes on. Philo's was filled with tourists, cruisers, ex-pats, bikers, etc. and Philo heads the rock band. Off to one side of the band stood en elderly gentleman wearing a German/Swiss alpine hat, leaderhosen (shorts with suspenders), knee-hi supporthose and a grin from ear-to-ear. He had a washboard strapped to his chest (complete with bells and a horn) and gloves with steel "bear claws" to play the washboard. We found out that he is 82 years old, an ex-school principal from Canada and a fixture in this community! Like so many places we had seen in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, there was a crowd of septo and octo-genarians strutting their stuff on the dance floor. Great to see them active and enjoying themselves in their later years - obviously staying young at heart. Speaking of institutions, the ladies restroom at Ya-Ya's has some great "pin-up" guys on the wall. After spending some time in La Cruz, I realize that I now recognize a number of these gentlemen - the owner of Ana Bananas wearing only (you guessed it) a bunch of bananas and our elderly washboard player, wearing only his hat and washboard to name just two. I was unable to find out about the pictures, but expect it was a fundraiser like in Calendar Girls. Many of the ex-pats here are involved with charitable fundraising for the local communities, especially for the children, and a variety of events are held almost weekly.
Life has many surprises for us, and one was a chance to re-new our friendship with Rod and Dar Caple. Rod was our Ski Patrol Leader at Lake Louise about 30 years ago and we had not seen him in 25 years. He and Dar had moved to Vancouver and sailed their boat across the Pacific as far as New Zealand and back in the intervening time. Rod and Dar had planned to spend time with our friends, Chuck and Karen in La Cruz; but when Katie G developed engine problems and had to return to Mazatlan, we thought their trip had been cancelled. You can imagine our surprise when Rod and Dar turned up on the trip to San Sebastian with April. They were staying just down the dock from us with Kurt and Katie (Interlude); a couple Rod and Dar had met in the Pacific some years ago and who were now just completing a circumnavigation.
This trip has been about making new friends and getting to know old friends better. We have enjoyed spending time with Brian and Terry (Traveller), Lief and Jackie (Dodger Too), Carolyn and Kathy (Shannon), Dave and Cheryl (Free Spirit) and Molly and Bryce (Abracadabra). The friendships and the social aspect of cruising is what makes it so special; and what is so difficult to leave behind when you go home.
We have now pointed the bow back north and are in Mazatlan again, visiting our friends who have remained here. My knee has been giving me some problems and we are now debating whether to do the Copper Canyon trip now or leave it until the fall. We may just head up into the Sea of Cortez for a couple of weeks before we go over to La Paz and put the boat away for the summer. Our social calendar is already filling up here with concerts and ham radio seminars, so our departure date is again in limbo....that's cruising!