May 9, 2014  Yelapa and La Cruz, Mexico

We finally arrived at Banderas Bay and are glad to be here!  We’ve traveled over 4,100 miles since leaving Victoria last August and Banderas Bay is our home for the next few months.

Though we met a couple of other cruising couples we were still ready to do some more exploring on Falcon VII.  On Thursday morning, May 6th, we decided to head for Yelapa, a tiny isolated community on the far side of Banderas Bay.  Yelapa is a very popular destination for those tourists wanting something a bit different and a bit off the beaten track.

Yelapa’s small community of 2,500 lived around the sandy beach and rocky shoreline and along the winding Rio El Tuito River.  Others have houses perched in the thick lush forest and mountains.  Yelapa is unique because it is not accessible by car; adventure catamarans make day trips from Puerto Vallarta and others, like us, arrive by our own boat.  Other than that, there are only dusty winding horse trails that join it with Chemela to the south.  Because of its remoteness, there are no cars at all!  The ‘road’ is the width of a sidewalk, just wide enough for horses, donkeys, people and the occasional ATV to pass each other.

It is also unique because it is part of the indigenous community of Chacala and, as such, all land is owned collectively and has been for centuries.  Many generations of the families live there where such modern improvements as a cell phone tower stood next to the local hitching post outside the only grocery store around.

We left La Cruz for Yelapa under calm conditions but were able to put up the headsail for the last hour as we leisurely made our way across the bay. To give you an idea of the size of Banderas Bay, the distance is similar to the distance from Victoria across Juan de Fuca Strait to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula.

Banderas Bay traditionally receives strong afternoon winds because of the thermal effect.  This occurs when the breeze from the ocean moves into Banderas Bay as the land heats up in the late morning or early afternoon. The hot moist air above the land moves further inland, providing much appreciated offshore winds to get pushed towards shore.

The bay at Yelapa had a reputation as not only rolly but very deep so we opted to tie to a mooring for two nights.  Edgar, who oversees the moorings, brought his panga out to greet us and showed us which mooring he wanted us to use.  It was $200 pesos a night or about $16.00 US.  Paying to use the mooring meant Edgar provided free panga taxi trips to shore whenever we wanted to go so we had him run us into the beach for a few hours.  We noticed the variety of houses right away.

Edgar, an extremely experienced panga driver, drove the panga right up and onto the wave lapped sandy shore where we were greeted by a waiter from “Domingo’s” seafood restaurant.  We happily followed the young waiter across the extremely hot sand until we were under the protection of a massive thatched roof over the outdoor restaurant.  Within a few moments we were bombarded by local merchants trying to sell us homemade jewellery.  We were even invited to take a picture with Pedro, a huge iguana that was carried on his owner’s shoulder all day long.  We quenched our thirst with icy cold limonadas as we watched Falcon, the anchored bucking bronco, get slapped with waves and swells coming from all directions.

We asked our waiter how to get to town and he pointed to the end of the sand spit beach and told us to walk that way then turn left and head up the stairs.  We followed his instructions and found ourselves walking onto a small construction site, crossing it carefully before climbing up two sets of winding cement stairs bordered by terraced dwellings on both sides.  It felt like we were intruding into someone’s private space but the builders just smiled, pointed towards the stairs and went back to work getting ready to lay a cement ceiling/floor above them.

These are the branch braces used to hold up the floor / ceiling.  The
path to the stairs went right through this space and then to the right.

The construction site from a distance.  The public stairwell
wound up to the left of the construction and climbed above the
orange structure.

Once we had recovered from our trek up the uneven steep steps we followed a cobblestone sidewalk through ‘town’.  We found a few quiet restaurants and numerous little non-descript cocinas for those who wanted a quick taco.  We wandered by a tiny hardware store, the two room supermarket, a spa storefront and quite a few bed and breakfasts, which were much more rustic than in other towns. 

While we enjoyed the view to the north overlooking Banderas Bay we were reminded that it was a week day by all the kids around.  Adolescent teens in school uniforms hung out in small clusters.  A four wheel ATV passed us and stopped while four younger boys jumped onboard for a short but fun ride. A cleaning woman on horseback packing a mop and wash bucket passed us too.

We encountered another construction site where a big house was being built by two Yelapa cement mixer – the human kind of cement mixer.  One mixer was around our age, obviously strong but wiry thin.  The other was younger and very much buffed.  Strength was mandatory, given what they were doing for a living….they were making cement the old fashioned way!  Initially the bags of cement were dropped off at two beach locations by pangas.  The younger of the two mixers led four donkeys down to the beach where a pile of cement bags stood carefully stacked.

Retrieving cement bags stacked on the beach

Unloading the bags at the top of the road.

On the far side of the pond are bags being filled with sand
to be mixed with the cement.  We followed the hoof marks
along the pathway from 'town'.

He loaded each donkey with two heavy bags of cement balanced cross its back then led the donkeys off the beach and up through town to the construction site.  They sweated unmercifully as they unloaded each enormous bag and deposited it in a covered storage area.  The process was repeated until all bags were transported.  While hiking the next morning we spotted where they were gathering bags of rinsed sand to add to their hand mixed cement.  What a process!

A huge iguana climbed straight up the side of this building!

As mentioned,  we went on a big hike the next morning to one of two well-known waterfalls.  It took us 1.5 hour each way but we enjoyed it immensely.  We passed towns people going about their business and gauchos saddling up and heading towards farmlands cut out of the hillsides.

These saddles were ready for use when needed.

A half dozen gauchos getting ready to head out to the farms.

Look at the beautiful angel bell plants on the right.

This little guy was being left behind by Dad and the other gauchos.
That is his own little lasso in his hand!

The thick overhanging vegetation and cumulous clouds often blocked the sun, providing much appreciated shade. Cultivated gardens gave way to invasive vines that wound around trees until they blended and looked like one.

 Eventually the old cobblestones ran out after a half hour and our path turned into a dusty trail that crisscrossed the very shallow riverbed before following the middle of a dry riverbed, gouged out last summer during torrential rains. 

The 'road' beside the river we were following.

Later we found a small but pretty trickling waterfall.  The landscape was breathtaking with huge boulders and gigantic tropical plants interspersed with the flowing river.

This is the 'fruit' from a towering tree.



A spider nest next to the path.

Thousands of ants were busy moving across the path we were on.

We stripped off for a quick dip to cool down before taking up residence on a tiny shaded beach.  By early afternoon we began our journey back to the beach drenched in sweat.  We had a beautiful view down the lush valley and quickly spotted a fire on the eastern ridge. We were concerned but the locals we encountered paid no attention to the crackling wood, smoke and flames.

This is a parasite cactus growing at the top of the tree
above us at our little beach

This is an unusual flower at the top of the same tree.

The trail, which became a raging river in rainy season.

Seeing flames made us a bit nervous til we found out it
was a controlled burn done each spring.

When we made it back to Domingo’s for a quick lunch we found out it was a controlled burn done each year to wipe out the underbrush.

We were hot and tired after our hike and spent the rest of the day at anchor while Falcon rode the crazy waves.  It was like living inside a carnival ride…all day, all night, all day, all night.  You get the idea.

We waited until near noon to leave Yelapa and take advantage of the growing thermal wind so we could sail back to La Cruz.  The winds were perfect and we flew through the choppy waves until we made it back to the anchorage at La Cruz.  Windsurfers were sailing through the anchored boats.

We visited with other cruisers and spent a couple more days anchored near La Cruz before motoring an hour south east towards Paradise Village Resort and Marina in Nuevo Vallarta.  While at the marina we bused into Nuevo Vallarts and hit Walmart, Home Depot and Mega stores while we researched, shopped and bought a small air conditioner.  We had plywood cut up and paint tinted for the custom box Jim’s going to make to house the air conditioner.  We know this summer will be humid and hot and we want to be ready for it.  Many cruisers invest in air conditioner to survive the summers.  They’re usually mounted above one of the hatches, then boxed in with plywood, directing the cold air down, the warm air up and the moisture out through the system and a hose.  We expect torrential afternoon rains will help cool things off a bit as well.  Falcon VII will be safe and secure in a marina in case a hurricane comes through.

We were planning on heading back to Paradise Village Marina for the summer but after a week in La Cruz Marina and anchorage we decided to stay put instead for the next five months.

Morning sun over Banderas Bay

In closing, Yelapa gets a big two thumbs up from us and we look forward to visiting it again during the summer and in the fall.  Between now and then there’ll be one more blog entry about living in the marina at La Cruz.  Until then…

May 7, 2014   La Cruz, Mexico

We were still in San Blas when I finished the last blog.  Since that posting we wandered back into town and took a couple of photos showing how clever some communities are.  In Victoria everyone is expected to build to the rules.  Not so in San Blas.  You'll notice one picture shows a nice straight street lamp and the other shows you a neighbouring street lamp with a twist, or should we say some curves, added to make the location work. Very creative!

Straight lamp post

The creative approach

Anyway, it’s now over a week since we left the calm waters of San Blas heading south.  Fortunately the distances between anchorages are short.  In leaving the San Blas area we also left behind the pesky jejenes, which are the tiniest little bugs you’ve ever seen but boy do the bite!  Then the bites form welts the size of mosquito bites.  They appear a couple of hours before dusk and dawn and there are three ways to combat them:  wear long sleeved clothing and pants; spray yourself completely with insect repellant or put jejene screens over all open hatches and portlights.  We opted for screens and they worked well for the most part but it meant less fresh air circulating inside the boat, so that hot humid temperatures were even more uncomfortable.

Motoring with the new sun awning still up

After overnighting at Bahia Matenchen outside the San Blas breakwater we motored four hours south to Bahia de Jaltemba and anchored off of Isla la Pena.  As the weather is hotter the ocean warms up and swimming is amazing! 

Gradually we’re also learning to live in a climate far hotter than our hometown of Victoria at the height of summer.  Most days at anchor I have at least one dip where I do a couple of laps around the boat to cool off.

We frequently monitor the solar panels for efficiency as they helps our refrigeration work properly. Sometimes we use the snorkeling gear to check out what’s below us or scrub the barnacles off the hull.  With regard to that, the heat speeds up the growth of barnacles and weeds on the hull so we have to keep a constant vigil and clean them off regularly.  Health-wise, other cruisers have told us how important it is to keep our water intake and electrolyte levels up now and for the next five months or we will become extremely dehydrated.  There are products on the market such as Gatorade or Pedialyte, which has less sugar, help to balance the electrolytes.

Our next anchorage was Bahia de Jaltemba, a small resort town 45 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. After a couple of days of hanging around Isla la Pena we flagged down a panga and hitched a ride across to town.

Jaltemba is a mecca for snowbirds looking to escape the cold winters of Canada and the States.  Most of the modest resorts and hotels are about 20 – 30 years old and very unpretentious.  The mile or so of town is lined with dozens of independently owned cozy shops selling trinkets, souvenirs, jewellery, bathing suites and beach toys.

This is a leaf blower!  You just take an old set of wheels and
handle from your lawnmower, slap a piece of plywood on it and
mount your fan with a metal strap.  Next, plug in the extension cord.
Any questions?

We arrived just after Easter, in the middle of the Semana Santa’s nine day holiday.  The snowbirds had flown the coup but that long sandy was packed with Mexican families, some multi-generational.  Once summer hits even more Mexicans will flock to the seaside town to boost the economy again.

Always entrepreneurial, small independent merchants sold lots of finger food along the length of the beach.  The options ranged from trays of fresh donuts covered with sprinkles, sugar or chocolate to skewers of  six freshly bbq’d shrimp served with juicy lime slices or ripe peeled sweet mango on a stick. Tiny wheeled ice cream carts were pushed along the fine white sand while a tinny version of the oldie, “Alley Cat”, played through little beat up speakers.  There were Mexicans trying to sell armloads of beaded necklaces and others lugging beach mats and patio umbrellas back and forth with the hopes that someone wanted more comfort and shade.

Panga towing a banana boat - a very popular activity on
all mainland Mexico beaches.

Isla la Pena (in the background above) was only a mile off the beach.  It featured a quieter, more intimate sandy beach and a couple of reef areas for those interested in snorkeling.  Frigate birds and gulls hovered overhead playing in the currents every afternoon.  The pungent smell of guano hung in the air as the evening breeze carried the ‘perfume’ from the island.  Some pangas were glass bottom boats, which meant that those who didn’t snorkel could still marvel at the wonders under the sea.

Falcon rocked and rolled in the swells but we adjusted to the motion quickly.  Most anchorages we’ve stayed in are rolly on Mainland Mexico. After a few days of rock and roll we headed for Punta Mita, the most northern point for Bahia Banderas where the large tourist city of Puerto Vallarta was located.

Lush coastal mountains along the coast

After anchoring overnight in front of the massive Four Seasons Resort at Punta Mita we had a pleasant two hour downwind sail to the Marina Riviera Naryarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, referred to as just La Cruz. 

La Cruz in the background;  many boats anchor off of La Cruz
year round, heading into the marina when seasonal
storms are predicted.

Our guide books say that the town was named for a woman who was buried under a huanacaxtle tree.  A cross was carved into the tree to mark the spot, hence the name.  We arrived on Saturday, which coincided with the last day of Semana Santa and there was a big celebration going. Mexican bands performed one after another all afternoon and evening, not stopping until 4:30 a.m.  We sat on some steps and watched a small religious parade depart just before dusk, many participants singing songs of worship as they headed down the cobblestone streets towards the crowded town square while we headed for Philos Restaurant.

Philos Restaurant is well known in La Cruz as having great food and live music most evenings.  When we arrived just after 8:00 we were surprised at being the only patrons in the restaurant except a family which seemed connected with restaurant.  Mom and three kids played Uno at a large table near the sidewalk.  Their creamy fluffy dog made itself at home under our table while they finished their game.  Then one of the young sons entertained us as he used his skateboard as a surf board, ‘surfing’ it back and forth across the front of the stage in front of our table.

All areas of Banderas Bay are full of tourists and cruisers from November until April then it gets pretty quiet for the summer because of the very hot, humid temperatures.  Nevertheless the husband and wife duo hired for the evening set up their instruments and played great 70’s music, mostly to us.  The male of the duo was a tall, thin, long haired German who strummed the electric guitar exquisitely and sang lead vocals.  She was Italian who also sang powerful vocals while playing an African drum, tambourine and chimes.  They sang and played everything from Fleetwood Mac to Pink Floyd. So we ate our tasty dinner while listening to an Italian and a German singing American and British songs in a small Mexican town!  Slowly a few more patrons arrived while we sipped our drinks and enjoyed the intimate atmosphere.

When the restaurant closed at 11:00 we wandered back to the marina via the town square, which was party central!  Dozens of taco stands were erected for the occasion, all full of late night customers hovered around crowded card tables.  There were carnival games scattered around the square for both kids and adults.  A simple scuffed up plywood stage was used for the never ending loud Mexican bands scheduled to perform.  Entire families listened intently to the bands ; little kids had fun in the huge air-filled jumping castle. Men in their young 20’s clustered around games of chance while others tried their luck at riding the ‘bucking bronco’, something that looks like it came out of Urban Cowboy.  Earlier in the day we wandered by a few authentic Mexican gauchos or cowboys on horseback and during the evening we spotted many well-dressed cowboys proudly escorting their families to the celebration.  I thought the little boys, aged around 4 years, were particularly adorable in their miniature jeans, plaid shirts, cowboy boots and white cowboy hats, must like Dad!

This tree was huge!  It dwarfed the door hanging under
the colourful vines.

Everything stopped for the fireworks near midnight.  This was not your average fireworks display.  This was created using a tall, free standing 60’ high woven wood structure as the base for the fireworks.  It held many pinwheel ‘arms’ that were attached to it ingeniously.  There were also more fireworks attached to the pinwheels at the very top.  Different sparkling, whizzing fireworks spun at different times, until they all spun themselves out.  We all craned our necks upwards for the finale when the huge top horizontal pinwheel lit up brilliantly. A few seconds later the second top pinwheel spun up into the night like a bright sparkling flying saucer.  The crowd all cheered as cinders rained down and smoke hung in the air.  What a nice evening!

Sunrise over La Cruz, Banderas Bay

Tweet, tweet, tweet.  Every morning lately we wake to various chirping birds!  They awoke us early on Sunday morning and by 10:00 it was bone tiring hot, hovering in the high 80’s F or 28 C.  The heat zapped our energy but we wandered into La Cruz for a gringo lunch none-the-less before retreating to the little outdoor pool at the marina to cool off.  The wind always kicks up in Banderas Bay every afternoon and it was blowing 15 – 20 knots mid-afternoon, creating a nice breeze while we read our books under a canopy next to the soothing pool.  A few other gringos were sipping beers and chatting around the umbrella clad patio table next to the pool and we soon struck up a conversation with them. 

Debbie and Rigo, from the 60’ aluminum sailboat “Heavy Metal”, had lived in San Fransisco and starting cruising over 2 years ago.  Their two children are spending the year with relatives of Rigo’s in Brazil where they’re attending school while staying with their extended families. Their good friends, Dawn and Mike, were from Friday Harbour in the San Juan Islands and had also been cruising for over 2 years. Mike and Dawn invited us back to “Destiny”, their 75’ 1934 wooden hulled schooner.

Destiny

As the sunset we dinghied out to her and what a treat she was!  We were greeted by Dawn and Mike’s two dogs and two cats before heading down below to check her out.  Like Jim, Mike was a furniture maker and exacting woodworker; his care and attention to detail were evident everywhere.  Jim and Mike had an instant connection and spent hours talking about wood.  Mike and Dawn worked tirelessly for the last six years to maintain “Destiny” as she came with a colourful documented history and they want to preserve her for the future.  She was once owned by famous millionaire, Howard Hughes, and was also used for charters with guests over the years including Hollywood movie stars Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne.

It was late when we said our good byes and headed back into the marina.  Dawn and Mike are a wealth of information about cruising in the heat of the summer and have offered to help us get ready for our first hot summer.  They are very generous people and we look forward to hanging out with them, as well as Rigo and Debbie, over the next few months.

La Cruz is one of the small communities that line the shore leading to Puerto Vallarta.  We’ve already started bus exploring with trips to Bucerias and Nuevo Vallarta. 



Several beachfront restaurants lined the beach
along Bucerias. It was blowing 15 - 20 knots
in the day, a pretty regular daily occurrence.

Umbrellas shade the craft merchants

We plan on spending more time at anchor during May before heading into the marina at Paradise Village Resort where we’ll be staying for June to October during hurricane season. 

More later…Tricia and Jim