Exploring More of Banderas Bay
21 February 2011
We've been in the anchorage in La Cruz for 4 days now. The other night I woke up thinking we were in a marina the water was so smooth. It's been wonderful being "out on the hook" here with about 35 other boats. The other day we saw a couple of the Catalina 37's go out and practice match racing. These are the boats the women use in the all women regatta that Terri Manok participates in. We also are starting preparations for the Banderas Bay Regatta. We have 9 crew lined up including Mike from So Inclined; Dave and Marisa from Pacifico' Patty Mangels, Mike Cobas and James Conner flying in from Oceanside, and Bill Cook from a J/44. It should be a blast. We are renting a condo to serve as Sirocco race headquarters and checked it out today. It's right next to the Vallarta Yacht Club which is hosting the regatta which will be very convenient.
Yesterday we went to the La Cruz Farmer's Market. This market had just started when we went 6 weeks ago. It has almost doubled in size since then and is very well attended. The various food booths offer incredible delicacies. I found a Thai peanut sauce that is just wonderful. The baked goods are better than the French Baker in Barra (and much cheaper). Lee of course found chocolate croissants immediately.
Today we attended a Mexican Law seminar held at the Vallarta Yacht Club. It was very informative and described the different ways foreigners can obtain real estate, differences between the various residence statuses, and laws regarding owning a car and what to do in case of an accident. Get this, if you are in a car accident and anyone is hurt, both drivers are taken to jail for at least 24 hours until someone files a claim. It doesn't matter who's fault it is. And owning a car gets really complicated. One woman is driving her husband's car (meaning he brought the car into Mexico under his FM3 status). They were married at the time he brought the car into Mexico. He died 2 years ago. Now the wife is considered a "smuggler" because she didn't bring the car in, he did. When she asked what she should do, the attorney said donate the car. We left the seminar deciding we don't ever want to own real estate or own a car in Mexico. Renting (both property and cars) is the best deal. The time you spent trying to understand all the legal rules regarding ownership is better spent enjoying margaritas and the Mexican simple lifestyle.