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.