Chore day at Punta Mita – Wed 1-15-13
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| Tidy Laundry |
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| $20 of groceries at local mini market |
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| neighbor's water dog |
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| Mariah's water toys |
Spent the day doing laundry and getting groceries. Similar to La Paz, the “lavanteria” does a
beautiful job washing and folding laundry for $5 for a large load. I found a small local “mercado” that had the
basics I needed like eggs and bread for about $20. I learned that only that
only in the US are eggs chilled. The
eggs in Mexico and most of the world are stored and sold in room temperature
and do just fine which saves me cooler space.
Punta Mita to Marietas Islands – Thur 1-16-13
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| Mariah at Marietas Islands |
Finally departed Punta Mita for the local Marietas
Islands. I tried to find other cruisers
to travel with but no takers so I finally just went on my own. The Marietas Islands are a bird sanctuary in
Banderas Bay only about 5 miles from Punta Mita. “Mariah” and I passed within 100’ of a
surfacing whale enroute. After doing a
superb job of anchoring between 2 moorings I was politely told by a man in a
panga that it was prohibited to anchor for conservation purposes. One of the 3 moorings opened up but as I approached a 60’ tourist filled
catamaran showed up and the elderly crew politely asked if they could tie to
the mooring and I could then tie to them, which we did.
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| Pelican visitor |
After the catamaran left I tied directly to the rough
mooring can that ground along Mariahs hull in the process (ouch!). I then took the power dingy over to the beach
and walked along the short natured trail with signs in English and Spanish that
described the flora and fauna. I
returned to the beach for some snorkeling and spearfishing, but don’t worry, the
fish are still safe from this hopeful spear fisherman. The snorkeling was terrific though with much
coral and varieties of fish. I heard
sounds under water and thought I had company but realized I was hearing whale
sounds from a whale in the bay (spooky but cool). I was also greeted by a 3 foot eel who then swam away from me as quickly as
I could retreat (again spooky but cool).
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| Strange bird on island walk (blue footed booby?) |
I decided to spend the night since the tourist boats
departed and left me alone in these wild islands. From my anchorage the island appeared
prehistoric with many caves both at sea level and higher above. It was a great setting for a spooky island
movie. In the spirit of this unique
setting I played my drum for the first time and then attempted to play my
ukulele again. Hopefully the island
birds are as pitch deaf as I am.
At 3 am I was awoken by a banging/grinding on the hull which
I knew was the abrasive mooring can so I carefully moved to the rubber ball
mooring. It was a poor night of sleep
but worth the adventure.
Marietas Islands to Yelapa – Fri
1-17-13
Left about 8 am for the 3 hour motor to Yelapa which used to
be one of my Dad’s favorite hang outs about 15 years ago.
Yelapa is located
on the Southern side of Banderas Bay which is
known for exposure to the northwest swell and wind and has deep bays with poor
anchoring conditions necessitating bow and stern anchors.
The saying goes: “Its better to have a Palapa
in Yelapa then a Condo in Redondo.”
Yelapa has a cool mix of locals, tourists and hippies.
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| Caught 3 Tuna |
I caught 3 small tuna on the trip on my hand line with a
cedar plug.
Boy they make a bloody mess
when filleted.
I felt like I committed
mass murder with all the blood in the cockpit.
It was worth the mess though because I had enough tuna fillets for 12
meals (4 per fish). Its been a while since I caught fish so I was happy to
stock the fridge again with fish.
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| Falls up Valley |
Anchoring at Yelapa was tricky and took me 2 attempts due to
being so close to shore to find a shallow enough anchorage (50 feet deep).
I then dingied ashore and strolled the narrow
pedestrian streets up to the local waterfall and had a refreshing rinse under
the falls.
The water was cool but not
cold and there was a bar/restaurant
overlooking the falls.
I learned
of more waterfalls up the valley so I headed out up the trail through the
tropical jungle.
What a beautiful,
tropical setting.
I spotted green 2
Mccaws flying overhead and passed many colorful flowers on the trail.
A green 12 inch snake crossed the path in front
of me.
The hike took about an hour and I
was again rewarded with a refreshing swim.
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| Yoga Center with view |
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At the waterfall, I chatted with Julie who is from Seattle
and is helping at the local Yoga retreat.
She later showed me the Yoga center that she was preparing for upcoming
guests. Wow, what a beautiful space and view for Yoga. She did mention that spiders and scorpions
were attracted to the tiled floors though. She has had to kill about 1 scorpion
per day for her first 4 days here.
At night I was serenated with drums on shore and watched
someone twirl fire sticks on shore.
Hiking in Yelapa – Sat 1-19-13
I enjoyed the village of Yelapa and the waterfalls so much
that I planned to stay another day and hike further up the valley to more
waterfalls.
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| Upper falls at Yelapa |
While dingying ashore I met Senior Tamborin (means drum) who
was attaching his repaired rudder to his Haida sailboat moored in the bay. Tamborin is also from the NW but lives in
Yelapa. Despite being 68 years old, he
is very excited about his new son from his 39 year old (Dutch?)
girlfriend. They are living in town but
he hopes to move into his home “above the waterfall.” I tried to visit this
home above the falls but ended up seeing it across the valley. From a distance, it appeared to have a white
tarp roof with bug netting and a terrific view. This man seemed very healthy and happy.
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| View of Yalapa Anchorage |
I hiked about 2 hours up the valley and found 2 more sets of
waterfalls and pools.
It was a beautiful
jungle hike mostly on a horse trail but I did some bushwacking after losing the
trail.
I think I saw the same 2 Mccaws
again overhead.
I was bushed after the
return hike to town but had a really nice day.
Yelapa is a really special place with great people, colorful
architecture, and a jungle filled valley.
Quimixto – Sun 1-20-13
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| Quimixto Falls |
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| Modern Bridge |
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| Anchored close to beach |
We motored 1 hour from Yelapa to the small village of
Quimixto.
Anchoring was easier in 20’ of
water but its rolly due to swell and panaga taxis.
I again set out to find the waterfalls in
this bay.
The town is more simple and
rustic compared to Yelapa. The 20 minute hike led though 6 to 8 feet deep
narrow dirt paths that must flood during the rainy season (summer).
Horses share this trail so I had to avoid the
“horse pies”.
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| Life's a Beach |
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| Quimixto Retreat |
I chatted with an
elder local woman on the path in Spanish and English.
After learningI was a physical therapist, she
asked if I could look at her sore knee.
I poked around her knee which didn’t appear too have an acute injury but
was likely arthritic.
I gave her some
back and knee exercises and suggested better shoes for her flat feet.
She was appreciative and gave me a bottled
water from the snack shop she seemed to run at the waterfall.
I again swam and
the waterfall and climbed a rope part way up the falls. I was too unsure about the water depth and
the possible slide down the stone face so I climbed back down the rope to avoid
injury. I found a quite place to read
and relax near the falls.
I walked down to
the beach and napped in my hammock under the shade of a tree on the beach. Aww,
life is good:) I later strolled up the beach and happened
upon a somewhat private beach with a lovely open air resort built on stilts
into the hillside above the beach. Wow
what a cool resort. Ill have to google “Quimixto
Retreat” check out their rates.
After Yelapa,
Quimixto has less to offer, but I still enjoyed my visit.
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| Scenic Rockey Beach |
Boca de Tomatlan – Mon 1-21-13
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| Dingy Locked to tree |
Boca de Tomatlan is
a small bay with a fishing village.
There is a small freshwater harbor providing mooring for the local
pangas.
Its quite a sight to watch the
pangas race at full speed up to the narrow and shallow opening and coast with
outboard raise into the small bay.
Unfortunately, I anchored just to the side of the entrance so I got a
front seat to the show…all day and night
:( These
bays are very deep so I again had to anchor close to the beach and also
put out a stern anchor with the dingy to keep from drifting out to sea.
Its more work but keeps me facing the swells
which minimizes rocking.
Again, I put
out
“the kraken” (rocker stopper) off
the boom to minimize the side rolling.
It really helps.
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| Mariah anchored near beach |
I took the local
bus for about 10 minutes to “Chico’s Paradise” which includes restaurants
perched besides natural waterfalls and swim pool.
It was a warm sunny day so the pools were
refreshing.
There was a crazy local who
dove off the recessed upper rock ledge about 50’ high into a narrow pool
surrounded by large boulders.
He did
flips and even did the trick blindfolded…all for tips.
He also had a pet raccoon (Lola) the perched
on his shoulder while he swam.
I met a young couple
currently living in New York developing a catering website.
The woman’s younger brother (12)recently move
to PV with their folks and he is learning 3-4 languages at an international
school.
The parents own Mariners
Insurance which is what I use to insure Mariah in Mexico.
Small world.
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| Falls at Chico's Resort |
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| Attack of the killer racoon!!!! |
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| Los Arcos |
Los Arcos and Mismaloya – Tue 1-22-13
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| Mismaloya Beach |
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| "Night of the Iguana" movie set (I think) |
ithin
view of the bay.
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| "Eden" restaurant and falls |
I again anchored
near the beach with 2 anchors.
This kind
of anchoring always makes me nervous because if my primary anchor drags, Mariah
will end a wreck on the beach.
But I
always put out a lot of chain, set the anchor well, and watch the conditions
after anchoring.
Neptune thus far has
been good to me…but I always count my blessings.
Mismaloya is
another small bay but more touristy with high rise hotels along the beach. The is another fresh water bay for Panga
parking.
I started to walk
the 3 miles up the steep and dusty road towards “Eden” which is another
waterfall and swim hole with restaurant and canopy tour/zip lines. Luckily an open tour bus driver had pity and
stopped allowing me to jump on board.
The 2 Canadian women in the back were surprised to see me suddenly
appear from the back of the truck. The 2
women and there husbands were from Canada and on their way from Puerto Vallarta
to the canopy tour. How nice of the
driver to save me the long, hot, and dusty walk.
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| Predator Character |
“Eden’s” claim to
fame is being the set for the movie “Predator.”
There is a full size helicopter body on display from the movie.
The restaurant surrounded the water pools so
there was less pool and more structures.
I went for a quick swim and swing on the “Tarzan” rope into the
pool.
I later found access to deserted
upper swim pools and followed a trail to more deserted and natural pool up a rugged
but distinct trail through the jungle.
I
much preferred these natural pools over the developed pools.
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| Cable Bridge |
Luckily I was able
to hitch a ride on a tour bus with A/C for a $2.50 tip back down to the
beach.
Luckily Mariah lay right where I
left her at anchor.
I let out a sigh of
relief and thanked the spirits that be…who ever they are.
The other risk with these outings is leaving
my power dingy on the beach.
I have a
long cable to lock the outboard, dingy, and gas can all to a tree or pier.
The outboard is a high theft item but luckily
I’ve only come back to sand in the dingy from kid play…which still annoys me
but at least its not damage.
Puerto Vallarta and Marina Vallarta anchorage: Wed 1-23-13
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| Pretty Flower |
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| Public Pier |
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| Malecon Sculpture |
We motored to Puerto Vallarta, fill up on fuel at Marina
Vallarta, and then anchored just outside of the Marina breakwater.
I landed the dingy through small surf and
locked her to a palapa post at the edge of a the last resort on the beach.
Luckily the hotel security left me
alone.
I tried not to dilly dally near
the dingy to avoid scrutiny.
There was a
50 cent bus that took me to the Puerto Vallarta malecon after a 10-15 minute
ride.
I strolled the malecon and noted
how much its changed since my last visit 25 years ago.
The malecon is now closed to car traffic and
has many statues along the dedicated beach walk.
There was more restaurants, shops, hotels,
and tourists then I was used to.
I
bought a popsicle and a coconut drink from the street vendors which I enjoy
giving business over the restaurants.
The walk let from the malecon, through the “old town” and along hilly
streets along private beach homes and resorts.
I think I found the gay section of the beach because it was filled 90%
with tan men in tight shorts…but I could be wrong and I was too afraid to ask
:)
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| Malecon Sculpture |
I stopped by the “Mega”
supermarket on the way back to the boat and stocked up on supplies…and chocolate
:) Actually there seems to be a shortage of
chocolate in all the stores but I have found their fresh chocolate pastries
pretty good.
However, the candy sections
are mostly devoid of chocolate or are very overpriced.
I did get some M&Ms with peanuts to hold
me over.
I also got some burger meat and
chicken to use with my remaining teriyaki sauce.
And I always get my favorite fruit: fresh papaya.
Again I returned to
the beach (in the dark) to find the dingy and Mariah safe and sound. More blessings to the spirits that be:) The groceries survived the dingy launch
through the 2 foot surf but I was wet up to my belly button. For this reason I always wear my favorite
floral shorts that dry really fast. But
back at the boat, after putting away groceries, I was able to take a quick shower
in the cockpit with warm water from running the engine (oh joy!!). Another great day in paradise…well
touristville but it was still a nice day.
Paradise Marina at Nuevo
Vallarta – Thur 1-24-13
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| Mariah at Paradise Marina |
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| Relaxing Poolside |
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| Fun Pool |
Now I can say I’ve
been to paradise…well Paradise Resort that is.
For only about $22 per night, I get a marina slip at Paradise Marina and
access to the whole resort, which includes 4 pools.
Pretty nice hey?! So, after walking around
the resort and local mall, I spent the afternoon swimming in the pool and
reading a book in the shade.
It was
surreal being with all the resort tourists but I enjoyed my little bit of time
on land.
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| Cheeseburger in Paradise |
I later celebrated
by cooking burgers on the BBQ, making fresh french fries, and drinking a cold
beer.
I actually don’t like beer much
but it just seemed to go so well with the meal and setting.
I dubbed the meal “Cheeseburger in Paradise”
which I thought appropriate for the Paradise Marina.
However, the cheeseburger was really a
teriyaki burger with pineapple.
So, cheers from Paradise:)
Ken and “Mariah”
Again here is Dylan riding the mechanical bull during the western night buffet. There was also line dancing, a live band, and some traditional dancers.
