Las Hadas, Manzanillo Bay, 2200, Thursday, 18 Feb 2010
We have been anchored off the beach resort of Las Hadas in Manzalillo Bay for the past 5 days, where we have had a quite the mix of weather. We had light rain most of last night and all day yesterday after suffering through a few days of sweltering temperatures. This evening there was another “wind event” that peaked at about 30 kts here in the anchorage. There was lots of chatter on VHF about boats dragging anchor in Santiago. We’ll find out tomorrow how boats fared in other locations that were more exposed.
Manzanillo is a large industrial, centre with one of the most important commercial ports on the west coast of Mexico. The port and city centre is on the south side of the bay. The town of Santiago is on the north side and features most of the resorts and tourist havens. It also has the most sheltered anchorages for cruisers with Las Hadas and Santiago bay. Cruisers tend to spend a lot of time here because of the excellent local facilities, shopping and warm clear waters. It is also a convenient stop-over for vessels heading north or south. This is a favourite haunt for Linda and Steve (Warren Peace) who have been here a few weeks already and have seen many cruisers come and go.
Today there are 8 boats enjoying this location. 300 pesos (about $26 Cdn) buys access to the dinghy dock and the pool and beach at the resort. With the heat we are having we are taking full advantage of it. There are very few guests at the resort, about 80 (capacity for 500+) so they don’t mind us boaters. Unfortunately they don’t receive the TV feed for any station covering the Olympics so we have to contend ourselves to see the daily reports on the news web pages. Before leaving Barra on Monday we were able to see the opening ceremonies at the Grand Bay Resort a large complex across the bay from the town of Barra. One big advantage of this location (Las Hadas) is access to free WIFI provided by one of the restaurants bordering the Bay. We support it by having the odd meal or attending their happy hours.
When we arrived Gil and Lexie (Sunday) were here with their guests. They left the following morning for Zijuatanejo and their way south. After our close association for most of this and past 2 seasons it was a tearful farewell. We hope we will cross paths again in the near future.
We have begun Spanish lessons with Linda and Steve. Twice weekly we taxi or bus to Santiago for lessons with Theresa, a Canadian who has lived here for the better part of 20 years. Yesterday we met several of the boats in the anchorage at Santiago at a get-together at Stan’s place. Stan was a cruiser for many years but sold his boat and moved ashore when he arrived in Santiago. He has been an invaluable asset to the cruiser community for the past few years with his SSB and online weather information.
We will stay here for another week or 2. We are expecting Bert and Vicky from Victoria to arrive in a few weeks for their spring holiday in Maleque. We have arranged to have them meet us here and we will take them for a few days sailing up to Maleque before we start our trek northwards back to the Sea of Cortez. There is a lot to do and see. On Saturday we are planning a trip to Colima where there will be a horse parade at noon and then we will continue to Comala to see the volcano again (we saw it 3 years ago when we were here in Royal Exchange). This time we will be on a private tour with Steve and Linda. Ned and Kristen (Bristol Blue) have volunteered to dog-sit Rosie for the day.
Rosie seems to be getting the hang of life aboard, as long as we are at anchor or alongside. While at anchor she needs her daily walk so it is J-G’s task to dinghy her ashore for a 30+ minute walk each day. She gets a lot of attention from passers-by and is a very good and mostly obedient pet. She still isn’t comfortable while at sea but we are hopeful that she will adapt.
TTFN
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