SUP and happy hour at Punta Mita 1-10-13
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| Happy Hour on "Mariah" |
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| Beachfront Cafes at Punta Mita |
I had a nice day exploring the anchorage by stand up paddle
board (SUP) today. Tried to catch some
small waves ashore but it was difficult with the flexible inflatable SUP. I was feeling social so I invited the boats
in the bay to sunset happy hour and surf movie.
4 cruisers from 3 boats arrived with snacks and drinks; Brian and Liz
from “Autumn Wind”(34’ Catalina) brought fresh pico de gallo salsa, Wendy from
“Windy”(27’ Orion Pacific Seacraft) brought a great spinach salad, and Fransis
from “Daybreak Oceane” (42’ Choa Lee Motorsailor) brought beer and fresh
homemade popcorn. We all had a great
visit while snacking and watching the sunset. We talked of sailing experiences,
stories, and plans. We were all too tired
for the surf movie, but it was better to visit and chat.
Prior to happy hour I installed some under counter LED
lights donated by Ben from “Kyanos.” WOW!!! What a difference some lights make.
Now I can see while cooking in the galley and the power consumption is
extremely minimal with LEDs. Thanks Ben for such a cool birthday gift.”
Surfing at La Lancha and “sharing the stoke” 1-11-13
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| Bus ride to La Lancha |
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| Surfer Teddy |
Spent the day Surfing and playing at the beach “La Lancha”
about 1.5 miles to the east. The family from “Lolo” (44’ Beneteau) showed me how to use the bus
from Punta Mita to the Surf Spot. The
bus was about 70 cents and the driver
let us bring our 8’ surfboards on the mostly empty bus. The driver was playing a kinda Mexican salsa
music which we danced in the isles to for the short ride…very festiveJ The guards at the gate only allow those with
surf boards to enter and no umbrellas are allowed. I thought this strange to
allow surfing but not other beach tourists.
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| Little Poppy |
It was a beautiful sunny day at the beach. The family I was
with included a slim and fit Roseana, her visiting sister Daisey, and the 2
toehead kids Teddy (6) and Poppy
(2). Teddy was very outgoing and full of
questions. Poppy was so cute with her blue
eyes, oversized white shirt revealing her cute buns, and her strong minded
personality.
Fransis from “Daybreak Ocean” anchored off shore in about 14’ of water and paddleboarded in
with his wife, daughter, and dog.
I happened across Richard walking the beach who is the
“Grand Poobah” of the Baja Haha. I had
to say hello but was afraid he would be tired of all the attention from the
Haha crowd. However to my surprise,
Richard was happy to meet me again and chat about cruising Banderos Bay and
offered some advice. This reminded me
again that the cruising world is filled with familiar friendly faces.
We all had a great time playing in the sand, visiting the
tide pools at low tide and surfing the mushy waves. I helped Daisy catch some wave by pushing her
into some beginner waves. For a beginner
she did awesome by standing up on all of the 6 waves I pushed her into. It was fun “sharing the stoke” with a
beginner surfer.
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| Sayulitas Beach front |
Bus ride to Sayulitas 1-12-13
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| Wall Art |
Following my buddy Doug’s suggestion, I decided to visit the
tourist/surf town of Sayulita. So after
asking around for directions I took a bus to Bucieris (sp?) where the driver dropped me off at an
underpass and directed me to a narrow dirt trail under the overpass. I hoped this wasn’t a tourist ambush and was
relieved to come out unscathed on the other side. A man waiting randomly under the underpass
directed me in Spanish to the other side of the road to wait for the Sayulitas
bus. The bus arrived in only about 10
minutes. I have to say that the bus
system in Mexico, at least from my limited experience, is AMAZING!! The drivers are friendly and helpful (in
spanish), the rates are cheap, and the buses are frequent, clean and even play
pleasant music. From Punta Mita to
Sayulita is roughly 20 miles, cost $2 each way total for 2 buses, and took
about an hour. Greyhound could learn a
lot from the Mexican bus system.
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| Beach Horses |
Sayulitas is a pretty large tourist beach town with lots of
color and energy. There is a wide range
of shops, restaurants, and watersport rentals.
I enjoyed walking through town taking photos and then walking the beach watching
the surfers and beachfront activities. I
walked by a cool beachfront campground with tents, rental Polynesian style
huts, and RV spots. There was a great
variety of upscale resorts side by side with down to earth camping and less
fancy resorts. I spent some time reading
and napping under the shade of a palm tree and taking in the scenery. While eating a fish and ceviche taco (for
only $3 total) I met Rob from Orcas Island who is a coffee brewer visiting
Sayulitas with his now 6 month pregnant wife.
We had a nice chat and I invited them on a snorkel trip on Monday. Its always fun meeting new people and sharing
the cruising experience.
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| Beach View |
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| Camping at Sayulitas |
Surfing again at La Lancha via dingy Sunday 1-13-13
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| Surfing by dingy |
The swell has increased a bit so I thought I’d try surfing
again. But this time I took the dingy
instead of the bus. It took me over 2
hours to inflate the dingy on the deck, launch it, mount the outboard and install
the gas tank, and load the oars and anchor (whew!!). I figure I can use the dingy while in
Banderos bay for the next 2-3 weeks. It
was a very cool experience shuttling myself and my surfboard 1.5 miles down the
beach to the La Lancha surf break. I
anchored near the 2 pangas anchored for other surfers. The surf was okay but mushy and inconsistent,
but it was a fun day shared with about 10-15 other surfers (a surprising percentage
of female surfers, about 30%). The surf declined as the tide went out. I spent some time resting in the shade on the
beach and chatted with Corry from Vancouver who is a beginner surfer staying in
a condo at Punta Mita.
I was supposed to scrub the slime off Mariah’s bottom today but
I was too tired after surfing so I read and napped. As the saying goes, “Why do now what I can
put off for the future”
More surfing at La Lancha by dingy – Monday 1-14-13
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| Sea Erchins - Ouch!! |
I began the day scrubbing grass and scraping barnacles off
Mariah’s bottom and prop. I got about
2/3 done and gave up due to fatigue. The
day was cool and cloudy but I went surfing again at La Lancha. Again I took the dingy and anchored just
outside of the breaking waves; very cool and convenient. Its like surfing in ones own backyard.
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| Minor Surgery for Erchins barb removal |
There were only about 5 others so I caught several waves
both lefts and rights. I met Lee from Victoria and another fellow from Port
Angeles (small world). To add to the
surfing excitement, a humpback whale breached maybe ½ mile away. Very cool!!
It’s a rocky bottom
and I kicked at least 2 sea urchins which left their mark on my feet. Gabriel
from “Cariba” and Francis from “Daybreak Ocean” performed minor surgery later
that night with headlamps, needle and tweezers (ouch).
All in all a stoked day, despite the minor injuries.
Again, more surfing at La Lancha by dingy – Tuesday 1-15-13
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| Tidepools at low tide |
Snorkeling at the local islands didn’t work out today so I
again went surfing at La Lancha by dingy. I figure I should take advantage of
the surf here while I can before moving on in the bay. It was even cooler today and threating rain
but I wear a shorty wet suit and stay warm in the 80 degree water and 70 degree
air. The surf was very inconsistent
today and surfable waves were far in between.
Again, there were very few other surfers but I did meet Grant and Winona
who drove down from Victoria and are staying the winter in a Sayulitas
home. We had fun sharing waves, stories,
and perspectives on travel via land and water. They are great people. Its always fun to meet new folks and
“share the stoke” of surfing , travel, and life.
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| View east of La Lancha at very low tide |
While surfing, we were visited by some sleek birds who
surfed the air flow off the wave crests and could shallow dive to catch a fish
and keep flying without a hitch. Also
while surfing a wave I was surprised to pass a sizable turtle who also seem
surprised to watch me surf by. There are
many rocks to avoid while surfing at La Lancha but this is the first time I
ever had to detour around a sea turtle.
The ocean never ceases to amaze.
As they say: Peace, Love and Coconuts :)
Cheers from Ken and "Mariah"
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