More of Banderas Bay

We stayed for over a week at the anchorage off the village and beach at Punta de Mita. The anchorage provides a relatively good protection from the northwest winds and the swells. Only when the wind completely died down did the boat turn itself sideways to the light swell and started rolling from side to side. To land the dinghy there is a spot behind a stone jetty that cuts the swell and surf, so landing the dinghy and getting in and out is fairly easy. Not having any dinghy wheels mounted on the stern of the dinghy was a bother. The wheels sure would be a big help to bring the dinghy far enough up on shore to make it safe for the tide changes. During our stay there we also made the decision not to sail further up north but instead store the boat for the summer here in Puerto Vallarta, starting June 1st until mid October.

March 28th we sailed back to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle’s anchorage seeing familiar and new boats. Meeting up familiar friends, and meeting new ones. Of course we went to Philo’s hang out place again to listen to the band, swing the dance leg a few times, and just enjoy the rhythm and music. Leon the washboard player is so amazing, and fun to watch.

We also made a trip to the dental office to have our teeth cleaned. The ultra modern place got recommended to us by other cruisers. The service was super, and very reasonable.

After a week in the La Cruz anchorage which at some times due to the strong (15 – 30kn) wind can be rather unpleasant and we were ready to sail back to Punta de Mita. Of course we had to order another delicious pizza from Mizza-Pizza, Rafael’s and Nicole’s place. Rafael is a native speaking fluently English since he has lived many years in the States, in Oregon being a court translator. Nicole is from Schaffhausen/Switzerland and has met Rafael down here while on vacation a few years ago. Their two year old daughter is very cute, and already gets introduced to sailing when they take off on weekends in their sailboat. Since this was Easter week, a lot of people having their vacation. This explained the lively activity on the beaches everywhere. Some families even were camping right at the beach, having brought their tent, shade, and cooking facility.

The weather forecast was for very light winds, and that made the timing perfect to visit the “Islas Marietas”. A string of three small islands and underwater sea mounts that form the getaway to Banderas Bay. They are a federally protected nature reserve, providing a sanctuary for birds, tropical fish, humpback whales, dolphins, turtles, and rays. After we dropped the anchor and relaxed in the cockpit we were amazed at the sight of the flying, diving seabirds in the hundreds. We saw Heermann’s Gulls, frigates, pelicans, blue-footed, yellow-footed, and brown-footed boobies. This being a wonderful snorkeling and diving location it gets visited daily from tourists arriving by small pangas or big catamarans. Later in the afternoon the place gets deserted from the people, and only the flying, chirping birds keep the area lively. In fact the movie “The birds” by Alfred Hitchcock came to our minds. For the first time since we are in Mexico we had an anchorage to ourselves.
From here we sailed to Yelapa the most well known village on the south shore. The village is nestled in the steep tropical forested hills. This place has no cars, and is only accessible by boat. We anchored in about 30 ft, and then placed a stern anchor on the sand shelf near the beach to keep the boat into the swell and the onshore wind during the day, and a security for the nightly wind changes blowing down the canyons and valleys out to sea.
Between our excursions we did a major project on the boat. Never really having been quite satisfied with our cockpit space, Peter came up with the idea to relocate the main sheet traveler further forward. He took all the ceiling panels down in the entire aft cabin since the traveler is thru bolted. Of course we had to drill new wholes, and fill in the old ones. This being accomplished the dodger itself got moved forward as well, giving us more space to move around in the cockpit. Unfortunately the dodger canvas did not fit anymore due to the aft cabin hatch.

While Peter was busy I studied hard for the General Ham license. The Puerto Vallarta Yacht Club offered the last testing for the season, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to get it done. The Yacht Club is located in the Paradise Village Marina and the test was scheduled for 9 AM on Sunday the 19th. We decided to move into the marina, first reason so I can easily get to the test, and second reason we can have Karen from Canvas Connection come to look at our dodger. Thank goodness the test went well, and so did the meeting with Karen. While in this marina we took also advantage of the beautiful pools from the big hotel. It is certainly one of the nicest hotel/marina complexes we have seen or stayed at. We were moored right at the first dock, where the Great and Snowy Egrets elegantly land to catch some small fish. Very large schools are being driven to the surface by larger fish, so that the water boils from the small fish hitting the surface giving a sound like a sudden downpour.

After three days we headed back out into Banderas Bay, cruised along the south shore passing by Los Arcos, a National Marine Park and small bays, enjoying the deep green of the steep rugged, jungle-covered mountains plunging right into the sea. We anchored at Boca de Tomatlan, another picturesque village tucked in at the end of a beautiful bay. Again bow and stern anchoring was called for. Rio Tomatlan empties into the bay, providing a safe harbor for the local fisherman. It is quite amazing how well they maneuver the pangas over the sandbar during high tide. Here every day tourists are being dropped of by inflatable speed boats for the jungle canopy tour organized by the largest tour operator (Vallarta Adventures) in all of the greater area for Puerto Vallarta. It is here where the road ends, and buses turn around. Therefore throughout the day there is heavy traffic from panga water taxi services. It was quite amazing how cool it got during the night with the wind blowing out of the Sierra Madre Mountains and through the river canyon out to sea, so much that we actually had to cover ourselves with the heavier blankets. The climate on the south side of Banderas Bay is totally different from the north side with a less mountainous landscape.

From here we sailed back to La Cruz finding less boats at anchor since more cruisers are heading up into the Sea of Cortez for the summer.
Monday 27th, we left the anchorage very early and saw the beautiful sunrise only to be shadowed over by hundreds of floating dead fish in the bay. We are back in the Paradise Village Marina, same dock for a couple of days for the final fitting of our new dodger. Peter also was able to do the chain locker project here in the calm verses at anchorage while bobbing around. He mounted a wheel of line for a second anchor all the way in the bow before the anchor chain. This was a very tough job, and required another visit to Home Depot for the material.

Banderas Bay

Since our trip north, back to this area we sure have not moved much at all anymore.
We nearly spent 3 weeks in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. At first we anchored among 30 – 50 boats outside the harbor, and then we took a slip in the new marina since we needed to wash down the boat, and had to do some maintenance.
La Cruz (for short) is a small fishing village with many cantinas and gringo restaurants, and hang- out places. Since the new marina has been built many more cruisers stay in this area. La Cruz has a few Mini Super stores, where one can shop the necessities, and then the public buses run very frequent if one whishes to go to Puerto Vallarta or beyond. With our friends Paula and Danny, s/v PAULA JEAN we went on a hike to some hot springs. We took the bus towards PV, and had to transfer into another bus to go inland. On route, by a tiny village we got off and started the hike. It was still early but already very warm. The trail was following the river on either side, and the numerous crossings were great to cool off a bit. We stopped by a huge tree with a rope attached to a branch overhanging the river. Paula and the guys did a few dips into the big pool. Afterwards we hiked on and reached the hot spring. The water comes out of the mountain into a big man built pool, running off into two smaller, lower pools. So depending on the heat tolerance one can choose the comfortable temperature. Danny having been there once before introduced us to David, a well speaking Mexican. David had been in Seattle for several years, where he studied foot reflex therapy. He kind of has a very primitive massage parlor (some sticks in the ground covered with tarps) near the spring, where he also lives in the open. He convinced me to have a relaxing massage with mud therapy. I agreed to have my legs done since my knee still gives me trouble. This took about a half an hour, and it felt very good. After I washed off the dried mud we then hiked on towards a restaurant way out in the boonies, crossing the river numerous times again, always enjoying the cooling off.

When we reached the nice cantina with their very friendly hosts, we all were ready for a cool beer and lunch. Together with the good meal we enjoyed the music coming from the classic jukebox, and watching the youngster training with his lasso.
After lunch we blew up our air mattresses, which was quite a job and took some time. Leisurely we then floated down the river. Some areas were to shallow, and we had to walk around it before the next floating stretch. It sure was a lot of fun.

One day we took a bus to Sayulita, an artsy, surfer town nestled in a forested hillside with a beautiful crescent shaped beach, about 10 miles NE of Punta De Mita. We couldn’t resist to have a coffee and delicious pastry in the artisan bakery shop. This small town bustled with tourists strolling the many gift shops, art galleries and sun worshippers on the beach. There were more tourists than we have been seeing anywhere in Mexico.

One evening at the marina amphitheater we enjoyed watching a music and dance performance from students which served as a school fundraiser. Schools in Mexico are grossly under funded and they rely on support from the public. On many places the Cruisers help with fundraisers for local schools.

March 19th we left La Cruz and sailed to Punta De Mita at the NW end of Banderas Bay. This is about a 2.5 mile long headland, a gated community with super fancy homes, big hotels, and lush green golf courses. The Jack Nicklaus Golf Course is been rated the best in the world. We are anchored among quite a few boats off the beach with cantinas, and smaller hotels. The town is uphill, has a number of Mini Super stores, more cantinas, a hamburger, and a pizza place. The bus ride from here to PV is about an hour.

Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vallarta

Welcome to another day in paradise, that’s how we felt immediately being back in “Z-what”. Peter has been here three times before and I once, not by boat though. Now we had the super view being on anchor to the brushy hills with small homes, hotels, condos and the fishermen’s lively beach market.
A fair amount of Pelicans and smaller sea birds belong to the harbor population. They literally swarm around the sailboats, diving into the water for their catch nearly missing the boats, that’s how it looks anyhow. It is quite a show.


The dinghy landing was on the beach next to the pangas. A friendly Mexican guy gave each time a helpful hand to make the landings and take offs easy in the surf, and this for a few pesos. Everything is pretty much within walking distance, and we loved going to the open public market. When we needed gas for the outboard engine we walked about 20 minutes to the Pemex station, just to find it closed for repair. So we jumped on the next bus to the nearest other gas station which was going out of town towards Ixtapa. That accomplished we headed right back to deposit the now full gas canister in the dinghy on the beach.
Having a beer in one of the beach cantinas, we were suddenly greeted in swiss-german. Of course we got to talk, learned that the couple is from Schaffhausen, and since 12 years they spend 5 month here in their condo in Zihuatanejo. Karl and Mavis told us about all the changes they have witnessed during all these years. However, they also mentioned that they have never seen so few tourists and so few boats anchored in the bay. This confirms our observations; anywhere we went in Mexico there are literally no tourists and the hotels and restaurants are empty. We feel really bad for all the businesses who are suffering.




February 12th, good friends of ours from Bellingham WA flew down for their vacation to warm up leaving the cold winter behind, at least for a while. Robin and Ralph stayed in a hotel, and we got to visit them a couple of times. Enjoyed to launch in comfortable beach chairs, swim in the beautiful pool, and loved the breathtaking view over the bay and the ocean.


Robin and Ralph joined us for a sail to tiny Isla Ixtapa (aka Isla Grande), where we anchored for two nights. By day the beaches, coral coves and palapas were visited by the few tourists being shipped over in pangas. Late afternoon the tourists get ferried back and around 5 pm the place looked deserted. The cantina owners did their last clean up, and then also got ferried back to the mainland.
We had the anchorage to ourselves, and the only noise drifting over the water came from the hotel band playing on the mainland.
Thursday February 19, Robin and Ralph invited us along on a trip to Troncones. Their friends a young couple who chauffeured us, live here in Z-what since two years. Albert is a native of Mexico and his wife Mallory is a Californian.
We had a great time and enjoyed seeing Troncones again. Christmas 2003/04 we rented 2 rooms in Case Immanuel, a beautiful home right on the beach. It was there where Spencer created his first website, http://www.casaimmanuel.com, which is still in use today. Like so many properties, this one too, had a for sale sign mounted on the gate. As we drove north on the dusty Troncones road we stopped at the Troncones Point Surf Club. It is there where Peter spent his first time in Mexico. It was sure interesting to see how all the plants grew and all the changes that were made to the property.
Further along we visited the Majahuapalms resort, formerly Kandahar resort, where Robin and Ralph spent a vacation. From the club we hiked out along the beach to “La Bocca”, the surf spot where Ralph and Albert imagined surfing. After the hike we enjoyed a good lunch and cold beers at the deserted club. Again, the club had no guests as far as we could tell. The pool area, the restaurant, and the club grounds were devoid of any people.


Saturday, Karl and Mavis invited us into their home for a Swiss Fondue. What a memorable experience eating that traditional meal in tropical climate on a bougainvilleas framed balcony looking out to the water. Karl even drove us back to town by the pier, where we had the dinghy parked.

The last few nights we had a bird as a guest. He looks like a Pelagic or Double-crested Cormorant sleeping on our bow pulpit. Even though we chased him off, he kept on coming back. Of course he left a big mess. This and a favorable wind helped us make the decision to pull up anchor and leave. Because of the shaky economy we want to stay close to the homeland and not sail further south. We had to make a fuel stop in Ixtapa, and then headed out to Isla Ixtapa where we anchored for the night.


The following day, Monday Feb. 23, before leaving we changed our headsails. Going pretty much down wind so far we were able to use the old, big and baggy genoa. Now heading back north again, we mounted the smaller jib. The prevailing wind is normally NW which would mean sailing hard on the wind, hence the reason for the head sail change. After that task we left the anchorage at 10 AM. Once away from land we were lucky for the wind being SW and therefore were able to hoist the spinnaker. At sun set the last breeze was coming over the calm seas, and shortly thereafter we took down the sail and turned on the engine. The next day we had the same conditions, light SW wind for spinnaker sailing, very pleasant, and then again no wind for the night.
At 10:30 AM after 48 1/2 hrs we anchored in Bahia Chamela among a few other boats. Very early next morning we left for Puerto Vallarta. We had to power for a few hrs, and got to see breaching whales fairly close up.














By 1PM we were able to set the spinnaker again, which gave us a good speed in light wind. We saw lots of Rays along the way jumping out of the water, and lot of seabird activity. As the wind got stronger it shifted more to W, to where we had to take the spinnaker down. We then hoisted the main sail and rolled out the jib. With the setting sun we rounded Cabo Corrientes into Banderas Bay. A tiny fishing village is nestled at the end of a deep bay, just around the cape, so the decision was easy to drop anchor there for the night. It was not the best anchorage, very deep and rolly. But with no wind it was safe for the night. We also dropped a stern anchor, to keep the boat pointed into the swell, to prevent the boat from rolling which allowed us a good night sleep.

Next morning we were woken up by the happy roosters announcing the new day. After a hearty breakfast we pulled up the anchors and headed out for the 26 miles crossing to La Cruz at the NE side of the huge bay. Banderas bay is 20 miles N to S, and about 15 miles E to W, a big body of water.
At 4 PM we arrived at the anchorage. After cleaning up, stowing sails and just putting the boat in order we felt too tired to go on shore even though we have not been off the boat since 5 days.

Puerto Vallarta to Zihuatanejo

Besides exploring Puerto Vallarta we also did some repair work on our head sail and the fringed out Mexican flag.
For the sail we hoisted the old, heavy Pfaff machine on deck which was a lot easier to get to the repair on the big sail. Since this sail is fairly old the stitches came loose on the edge of the blue trim (UV protection). For the biggest part the machine managed to go over the thick fabric, and we were only left to do a small section by hand.
On the flag the red fabric edge started to fringe since the flag sometimes hits a halyard or the running backstay. I already had the red fabric, and so it was an easy repair. At the same time we made a small Swiss Flag which we now fly on the port side.
On a relative short notice we invited Franz and Ilse, our friends from Auburn CA to spend some time with us on the boat. For their arrival we moved into the Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. The marina is in an estuary, and most of the boat slips are bow or stern to a long dock next to a plush Hotel and Condo complex, including an expensive shopping center.
On the 21st we took the bus to the airport to pick up our friends. The next day we did another trip to PV, showing Ilse and Franz our favorite parts of the old town section with a grand view down to the bay and beaches.
Our friends ready for a sailing adventure agreed to sail with us a bit further south, meaning going off shore, and then return to PV by bus for their return flight.
Friday, we started out by sailing across the bay back to La Cruz, where we have anchored before. It was the perfect brake in sail, calm seas and light wind. To finish off the lovely day we went to shore for dinner. After checking out a few restaurants, we decided on a local authentic place, and were the only guests. We hit it off with the waiter, and at the end were offered a free shot of Tequila out of a wooden barrel. Just as we were ready to go, he and the owner brought out a liter bottle of homebrew Tequila, that’s what we understood, and offered it to us for a good price. We tried it, liked the taste and bought it. On the way back we passed the cruisers hang out place, a pub with a live band playing. The music, rhythm, and atmosphere were catching, and we found a table to sit. It was great to watch the band, especially one member; he was playing with special metal tipped leather gloves on an old fashioned washboard, which also had two bells, a whistle, and a thimble attached to it. The lead singer and his wife played the guitar, and the fourth member was a master on the drum set.

Saturday, after breakfast we got ourselves ready to sail further south, and give Ilse and Franz an insight into boating travels. We motored for about one hour with the main sail up, and then were able to let the Genoa out, and turn off the engine. Just before we rounded Cabo Corrientes we caught dinner. Quickly we rolled in the head sail to slow the boat, so Peter was able to reel in the fish. We were a bit disappointed that it was a Yellow tail tuna and not a Mahi Mahi. After gutting and cutting it, the catch went into the fridge, and we were able to sail again.
After so many trips we had to do under engine power, we really enjoyed this sail to Ipala averaging around 6 kn, and arrived even earlier then we thought. Sadly enough our guests could not enjoy the sailing part as much, since they both got seasick.

After a days rest we sailed to Bahia Chamela, a 48 mile trip. This time there was no wind, and once again we moved under engine with the main up for stabilization.
Since it was flat calm, Ilse and Franz felt fine. We anchored among 15 other boats at the N end of the bay by Perula, a small village.
Landing the dinghy was now a bit more of a challenge since there was a surf brake to master. After a walk along the beautiful beach, and return through town we settled in one of the many palapa cantinas, where we had lunch. We were totally relaxed, played a few rounds of domino, which we borrowed from the cantina owner. Ilse and I went back to the village to buy a few fresh groceries. By the time we returned Franz and Peter were in the domino game with the owner couple. Peter and Ruth played together, and were on the winning streak. By now it was evening, and dinner time, and we inquired if the kitchen was still open. Being so we ordered dinner, and paid with coins for music in one of these old fashioned big music boxes.
At the end it was time to return to the boat, the surf was still high and so it happened that we did not time the perfect dinghy take off, no harm but we all got a pretty wet.

Wednesday we sailed on to Bahia Tenacatita, again under engine power. After 4 hrs we entered the 3 mile wide bay with four anchoring possibilities, depending on the wind direction. We were not surprised to find a large number of anchored boats, since this is a really beautiful well known bay. Next day we walked to the hotel, since there is no village near by, to do the necessary inquiries for our guests return to Puerto Vallarta. Franz and Ilse decided to take a taxi, and organized for an early Saturday pick up. Taxi rides being so reasonable we agreed on the spot to do a taxi ride to Bahia de Navidad, 18 miles south (on the road).

Oscar, the driver dropped us off in the town’s center. From here we walked the narrow streets of Barra de Navidad, a lovely Mexican town. This place had a fair number of tourists, and a lot of little gift shops. In a cantina, overlooking the bay we ate a small lunch. In the sheltered basin near the Grand Bay Hotel is the marina with a great number of slips, or in the back lagoon through a marked channel is the anchorage. At the sport fishing dock hung a 400 lb. Marlin with its proud fisherman standing next to it for pictures. He had to fight the fish for 21/2 hrs. to reel him in. After 3 hours we met up with Oscar the taxi driver, and he drove us back.

Friday morning we got up very early for the self-guided jungle river dinghy trip. With the dinghy we approached the rocky bar into the Rio Iguana very cautious, but then decided to land it on the beach and walk down to check it out further. We then opted to cross the bar, so Peter and I went back to the dinghy, and paddled over the shallow bar. Once inside, Franz and Ilse boarded the dinghy again, and we were off for the adventure. The body of water was fairly wide, and on both sides lined with Mangroves. Having the rising sun behind us, the light was perfect, and we were able to spot quite a few birds. Peter turned off the engine a few times, so we were able to hear the different calls from the birds. Once we were at the end of the ride we beached the dinghy, and walked along this small community Playa Escolleras, with several boats anchored in front of the beach. There were quite a few RV’s in a crowded RV park, and a super RV spot right on the beach in a small cove. After our lunch we headed back to the dinghy, and retraced our route through the jungle. Having the sun again behind us, was perfect timing. We spotted three smaller crocodiles sun bathing on a branch over the water.

Saturday morning, very early it was time to say good bye to our guests, which were great troopers. Since their flight left later in the afternoon, they had plenty of time for the drive back to Puerto Vallarta, to include some side trips.
We then pulled up the anchor, and drove to Playa Esolleras, where we anchored. In the afternoon Genesis and Chrysalis, two familiar boats dropped their anchors. It was fun to see them again.

We left February 1st for Manzanillo Bay (182 miles NW of Zihuatanejo). This time we were able to sail with the spinnaker. It was a great trip. Heading into this big bay the wind got stronger, and we had to take the sail down a bit earlier then planed. We anchored in front of the grand hotel “Las Hadas”, a resort built in a style inspired by a famous Moorish fairytale. The movie “10” with Bo Derek was filmed here, spurring up jet-set and tourism.

With the local bus we drove to Manzanillo the town with a population of about 103,000, and did several trips to the near shopping centers for provisioning.
A rather seldom sight, two sailboats flying foreign flags (German & Poland) joined the anchorage. We got to talk to the young couple from Germany. They are on the way up north, and started 31/2 years ago. (http://www.world-sailing-ultima.blogspot.com/).
They gave us a bunch of German books, and we gave them all our paper charts for the US coast, making a strong statement not to go north again.

February 5th we left at 10:15AM, sailed, and motor sailed to Caleta de Campos 110 miles south of Manzanillo, arriving there the following day around 12:30 PM. The nice bay was very rolly, and we put out a stern anchor to keep the boat facing the swell avoiding the sidewise rolling motion. After this maneuver the boat motion was much better. The small town is atop the bluff, and the shore is lined with many cantinas. It is so amazing to watch the pangueros land and take off in such a heavy shore break. For them it is effortless and so natural. I definitely made up my mind not to go to shore here, being way too afraid to land the dinghy without rolling it over in the surf. We therefore swam circles around the boat in the clear and jelly fish free water.
We had in mind to leave here late Sunday afternoon, just before dark, so we would arrive in Zihuatanejo during daylight. But since there was a nice light wind good for sailing, we changed our plan and left around noon. Once we were outside the bay we hoisted the Spinnaker and had a wonderful sail until 8 PM. Then, once more the engine got turned on, and we pottered through the full moon night. Throughout the day we saw quite a few sea turtles resting at the surface. We also observed that when we see one, there is a second one close by, assuming that they travel in pairs. After a simple meal we both felt wide awake and excited in anticipation for a night arrival. We usually plan our departure so we arrive during daylight as we initially did, but changed, since we wanted to sail. At night the wind often gets very light or dies altogether.
With all the navigation equipment now available plus a full moon, it was no problem to enter a strange port during the night, and this being such a big bay. At 01:30AM, we dropped the anchor in the beginning of the bay. Now tired we went to bed.