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