Farewell to the Mexican Riviera

Jack Crevalle, one hell of a fighter but inedible, and, of course, very plentiful...

0800, Tuesday, 31 January, 2012 At anchor off The Las Hadas Resort, Manzanillo
Nothing much exciting had happened over the past week or so, hence the delayed update. We have been anchored off this lovely resort and enjoying the facilities as much as we can. It is a great location to get to town and shopping with all of the major Mexican chains, including Walmart, just a short bus trip down the road.
We are with a number of boats, quite a few Canadian; Chanty 5, Nauti Moments, and Kasasa, which are getting ready to depart for Zihuatanejo in the next day or so. We will be leaving behind others that we have been close to for the past few months; Rose of Erin, Full & Bye and Seychelles. With the Seafest beginning on the 7th there should be quite a number heading south. The winds are predicted to be from the SW so our hopes of sailing most of the way might be dashed, we’ll see.
The weather here has been odd for the past few days. We have had 3 days of overcast conditions and actually had a few brief periods of rain, a rare event during the winter in this area. The solar panels aren’t doing their job under these conditions so we may have to flash up the generator today to make up some battery reserve.
This is our 5th time at this location and, other than the enforcement of landing fees, things haven’t changed much. This year they are enforcing landing fees for all dinghies using the facility. They are asking 200 pesos per day or 800 per week. We chose the latter. That includes full access to most of the resort’s facilities and activities so Fran has been taking advantage of water aerobics, Spanish lessons and Yoga. The issues they had last year with the marina occupants seem to have been overcome. Rates have stabilized marginally higher than last year’s but the permanent occupants appear to be content. Many and his Sea Scouts have moved their boat to the mooring outside the Marina and are still using it as a Saturday club-house. They are doing some major work on it this year, replacing the big Perkins 6 cyl engine with a used one they have found locally. The funding has come from a grant from a Canadian philanthropist. With the assistance from John (Lykke) a permanent resident of the anchorage here, and Jonco, the mechanic in Barra they hope to get the job done in the next few months. They then hope to sell “Adventure” and then concentrate on smaller, less maintenance-intensive vessels for their scout fleet.
Shopping here is a lot of fun. The Saturday market in neighbouring Santiago has a wide variety of products including the pine needle basketry that we saw in the Copper canyon last year. There are also several stands of pirated movies where decent quality late-run movies are available. We have seen War Horse and the Hollywood version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, both recommended by the Gosling academy..... Fruit and veg shopping is a crap-shoot but we have found that the Commercial chain has the freshest produce. There is something to say about the smell of fresh guavas in the cabin. They are an awkward fruit to eat with the small seeds but very tasty. Our “mini-hammock” fruit hanger is full of various fruits for the next leg.
Well, lots to do today to get ready for an early departure tomorrow. The next edition will be from Zihuatanejo. Getting the rig ready to sail, filling up with water (by jerry cans from the dock) and securing everything that can move will take us a good part of the day. Full & Bye is arranging for a farewell get-together raft-up this evening for most of the boats in the anchorage. Should be fun.

1830: The raft-up was great. Good food and great company. We look forward to seeing many of the boats in Z-town and said our farewells to those not continuing south. It will be sad to see this bay for the last time but we must move on to different pastures, much to Fran’s chagrin. She is in her comfort zone here.

Note the lashed extensions on this ladder. It must have been 40-50 ft. I always managed tom miss a photo op with the painters on this ladder. They are painting the water tower at Las Hadas with rollers on the end of 15 ft poles and with a bucket of paint tied to the ladder. They do not have any safety lines but the ladder is guyed.

Lazing around in Barra de Navidad

Fran's kayaking birds - spoonbill and egret

Hurricane Jimena damage

0800, Wednesday, 18 Jan. Anchored in Barra de Navidad.
This is our last day in Barra de Navidad before we head south to the Manzanillo area. We have had a very nice few days with great company. Next to us are Third Day, Full and Bye, Windward Bound, Houligan, Rose of Erin and several other boats we have known for years. It was really nice to catch up with Rich, Lori and family on Third Day. We had been waiting for them for several weeks while they transited from La Paz. They passed through Tenecatita the night before we left but decided to carry on to Barra where they would have a better e-mail service, a must for Rich to keep up with his business interests.
It has been a nice lazy stay here in the lagoon. We got a few projects done, went in to the Sands Hotel every afternoon for a dip in the pool (nobody swims in the lagoon. It is filthy!), had dinner out a few nights and Rosie got her daily walk on the golf course. We have to pick either early or late walks because of the heat. We bring lots of water for her but she still lags behind
I am listening to the morning radio and hearing the location of other boats we know and to get the latest weather predictions. There has been some interesting traffic over the past few days. Warren peace and Optical illusion are in Acapulco already and will be leaving for Huatulco in the next few days. Optical Illusion had an interesting event on their way to Acapulco. They anchored in the small protected bay of Papanoa overnight on their way down. The following morning Amber, their cat, was acting strange and kept going back and forth to the bow as if trying to draw them there, Lassie style. When they looked where the cat was drawing them to they found a 4 ft boa. It was summarily thrown over the side. Shortly thereafter, Louis, on Cirque, came up and announced that he had just gone through a patch of ocean with numerous sea snakes on the surface. Fran was all up to cancel the remainder of the trip on hearing those reports. We will definitely devise some kind of guard on the anchor cable to prevent any such incursion.
Yesterday J-G renewed his acquaintance with Christophe and Marianne, 2 Swiss cruisers aboard Shamu who we had met in Manzanillo 2 years ago; in fact it was the morning of the Chilean tsunami. They are stranded in the Barra marina with engine problems. Their Swiss-built boat has a Spanish-made Mercedes engine and their injector pump is leaking badly. They are contemplating having to fly back to Europe to have it repaired.
1500, Thursday, 19 Jan, At Sea, entering Manzanillo Bay
We bid our farewells to everyone in Barra this morning and left for what is probably the last time. On our way out we stopped at the fuel dock and topped up gas tanks and water. The dock was busy this morning so that delayed our departure until about 11. So far it has been a nice motorboat ride down the coast. We have about 8 kt winds from the SE, right on the nose, as usual. We have already thrown back 3 Jack Crevalles and 3 Mexican Bonitos, both species inedible because of their dark flesh but they sure put up a hell of a fight. One of the hits was a double and caused some excitement. Needless to say Rosie went nuts as usual.
We will be arriving in Santiago Bay in a few hours and should be there until the weekend or longer. We’ll then move the anchorage off Las Hadas where we will have to pay for using the landing but that will also give us full access to the resort. We intend getting our money’s worth using the pool and other facilities.

Lazing around on the Mexican Riviera

You meet the strangest people in a bar on the beach....La Manzanilla, Tenecatita

0700, Thursday, 5 January 2012 At Anchor, Barra de Navidad
J-G is up early today to get ready for his first stint this year as net controller for the “Amigo” Single Side Band (SSB) radio morning net. (Fran is still in bed) We have been active participants for the past 4 years as listeners or with J-G acting as net controller for either the Amigo morning net or the Southbound evening net. These are sources of information for cruisers, providing weather data, the whereabouts of other cruisers and, occasionally indications of significant occurrences such as missing boats, emergency contacts with boaters, tsunami warnings or unusual weather events. The net lasts about 45-60 minutes and requires the controller to be focussed on the task. Fran claims to be the SSB widow during these operations but she sometimes helps with recording boats that check in. Not today. She and Rosie are tucked in for another hour or so.
It has been a nice quiet few days here at anchor. The lagoon is about a mile from the main town of Barra and it takes about 15-20 minutes by dinghy to get to the landing at the Sands Hotel, the cruiser point-of-entry for the town and where many hang out by the pool and bar. Both Optical Illusion and Warren Peace have left for Manzanillo and we will probably not see them again until we arrive in Huatulco in mid-late February. We have adjusted our schedule again. Our next obligation is to meet friends in Zihuatanejo on the Feb 13th and take them to Acapulco so we will remain in this area for another week before we head to Manzanillo for another few weeks and then on to Zihuatanejo. We will be there in time to participate in this year’s Sail Fest, as we did 3 years ago.
The other day, at the Sands, we met a pair of young men, about our son Michael’s age when he was in his wandering stage who were surfing their way down the coast of Mexico. They were sailing from surfing location to location on Hobie cats; essentially, 2 hulls with a trampoline between. These are normally seen on lakes or sheltered bays. Amazingly they had started in Puerto Vallarta with their ultimate destination of Zihuatanejo with all of their surf boards and other possessions strapped between their hulls. One of them had already rolled over twice. Losing a surfboard and radio in the process but their spirits were high as they continued their quest for the ideal wave. Brought J-G back to his teens when his favourite band was the Beach Boys and he dreamed of surfing the big waves and even buying Surfer Magazine. Living in Quebec and Ontario it wasn’t going to happen, but he did finally get a surfboard when we lived in Victoria, many years later and used it every summer when we went camping to Long Beach. It was a long shot from the usual surfing paradises but the cold waters and finicky waves quickly cured him of that obsession.
Apart from the usual boat projects the time spent here is very relaxed. The normal routine is to work at boat things in the morning, relax after lunch and then head to town in the dinghy. The Sands hotel is where we land and, often we don’t get much farther than the bar and pool area. There are always other cruisers there
0800, 10 Jan 2012, At anchor, Tenecatita
The entry above seems so long ago. We left Barra for Cuastecomate last Thursday and spent a beautiful afternoon on the beach with Craig and Kiki (Oya), Jim and Susan (Windward Bound) and the couples from Peppininos and Interlude. We also met a couple of the local Canadian residents. There appears to be a lot of Canadian semi-permanent residents in this particular bay. Our favourite ceviche restaurant wasn’t open but we had a very good alternative at another location on the beach. The locals told us that there is a new owner for the resort there. A Spanish entrepreneur has taken over the resort and is pouring some significant money into it to bring it back to its former glory.
We are now at anchor in Tenecatita, another of our favourite places. We arrived here last Friday in time for the Friday night raft-up where the dinghies from all the boats meet up in a sheltered part of the cove and tie up together. Each brings a snack tray to share, their drinks and books and movies to exchange. The event is organised by “The Mayor of Tenecatita” the boat that has been here the longest. Robert and his partner Virginia (Harmony) played their role to the nines, welcoming everyone, and getting everyone to introduce themselves and explain how they decided on the cruising lifestyle. It was quite interesting to hear the experiences of others.

Afternoon Bocce Ball on the beach. "Mayor" Robert (Hamony) centre.


Tenecatita Bay is an idyllic location with lots of room for boats to anchor, a wonderful beach, a river entrance to a mangrove lake and a beach palapa restaurant. Just up the beach there is the Blue Bay resort with its family oriented buildings and its exclusive adult only, clothing optional location, Punta Serena. Janet and Bill were here a few weeks ago and told us of a special deal at the Blue Bay; a full 5 course dinner with wine and special coffees for 350 pesos a person (about $28). We took advantage of that last night and really enjoyed ourselves. We had good company with Harry and Linda from MV Good Karma. The only worry we had was the beach landing and the departure in the dinghy after dark but the full moon allowed us to see the wave sets and we got back to the boat fairly dry. We had to carry our “dining clothes” in a waterproof bag and change once we arrived at the hotel. Harry and Linda got flipped on the way in but managed to keep their sense of humour intact. Their waterproof bag saved the day and after changing they looked as dry as all the other guest diners. Their little electric motor wasn’t quite strong enough to power through the surf on the way back so J-G gave them a hand to transit the surf zone. This morning Harry was on the net asking where he could get a small outboard motor...
Yesterday we finally had a chance to meet up with our Victoria friends who live in La Manzanilla. Val and David have their own place here and have been seasonal residents for the past 5 years. Last year they decided to stay over the summer. They took advantage of the BC medical regulations where residents are allowed to stay out of the province for 24 months every 5 years.
We’ll be headed back to Barra in a day or so to top up on water, gas and to get the laundry done before we head to Manzanillo.
I will post photos to this blog once we get there. The Telcel signal here is weak and will not permit us to send large files. Barra has much better service.

Lazing around on the Mexican Riviera

0700, Thursday, 5 January 2012 At Anchor, Barra de Navidad
J-G is up early today to get ready for his first stint this year as net controller for the “Amigo” Single Side Band (SSB) radio morning net. (Fran is still in bed) We have been active participants for the past 4 years as listeners or with J-G acting as net controller for either the Amigo morning net or the Southbound evening net. These are sources of information for cruisers, providing weather data, the whereabouts of other cruisers and, occasionally indications of significant occurrences such as missing boats, emergency contacts with boaters, tsunami warnings or unusual weather events. The net lasts about 45-60 minutes and requires the controller to be focussed on the task. Fran claims to be the SSB widow during these operations but she sometimes helps with recording boats that check in. Not today. She and Rosie are tucked in for another hour or so.
It has been a nice quiet few days here at anchor. The lagoon is about a mile from the main town of Barra and it takes about 15-20 minutes by dinghy to get to the landing at the Sands Hotel, the cruiser point-of-entry for the town and where many hang out by the pool and bar. Both Optical Illusion and Warren Peace have left for Manzanillo and we will probably not see them again until we arrive in Huatulco in mid-late February. We have adjusted our schedule again. Our next obligation is to meet friends in Zihuatanejo on the Feb 13th and take them to Acapulco so we will remain in this area for another week before we head to Manzanillo for another few weeks and then on to Zihuatanejo. We will be there in time to participate in this year’s Sail Fest, as we did 3 years ago.
The other day, at the Sands, we met a pair of young men, about our son Michael’s age when he was in his wandering stage who were surfing their way down the coast of Mexico. They were sailing from surfing location to location on Hobie cats; essentially, 2 hulls with a trampoline between. These are normally seen on lakes or sheltered bays. Amazingly they had started in Puerto Vallarta with their ultimate destination of Zihuatanejo with all of their surf boards and other possessions strapped between their hulls. One of them had already rolled over twice. Losing a surfboard and radio in the process but their spirits were high as they continued their quest for the ideal wave. Brought J-G back to his teens when his favourite band was the Beach Boys and he dreamed of surfing the big waves and even buying Surfer Magazine. Living in Quebec and Ontario it wasn’t going to happen, but he did finally get a surfboard when we lived in Victoria, many years later and used it every summer when we went camping to Long Beach. It was a long shot from the usual surfing paradises but the cold waters and finicky waves quickly cured him of that obsession.
Apart from the usual boat projects the time spent here is very relaxed. The normal routine is to work at boat things in the morning, relax after lunch and then head to town in the dinghy. The Sands hotel is where we land and, often we don’t get much farther than the bar and pool area. There are always other cruisers there
0800, 10 Jan 2012, At anchor, Tenecatita
The entry above seems so long ago. We left Barra for Cuastecomate last Thursday and spent a beautiful afternoon on the beach with Craig and Kiki (Oya), Jim and Susan (Windward Bound) and the couples from Peppininos and Interlude. We also met a couple of the local Canadian residents. There appears to be a lot of Canadian semi-permanent residents in this particular bay. Our favourite ceviche restaurant wasn’t open but we had a very good alternative at another location on the beach. The locals told us that there is a new owner for the resort there. A Spanish entrepreneur has taken over the resort and is pouring some significant money into it to bring it back to its former glory.
We are now at anchor in Tenecatita, another of our favourite places. We arrived here last Friday in time for the Friday night raft-up where the dinghies from all the boats meet up in a sheltered part of the cove and tie up together. Each brings a snack tray to share, their drinks and books and movies to exchange. The event is organised by “The Mayor of Tenecatita” the boat that has been here the longest. Robert and his partner Virginia (Harmony) played their role to the nines, welcoming everyone, and getting everyone to introduce themselves and explain how they decided on the cruising lifestyle. It was quite interesting to hear the experiences of others.
Tenecatita Bay is an idyllic location with lots of room for boats to anchor, a wonderful beach, a river entrance to a mangrove lake and a beach palapa restaurant. Just up the beach there is the Blue Bay resort with its family oriented buildings and its exclusive adult only, clothing optional location, Punta Serena. Janet and Bill were here a few weeks ago and told us of a special deal at the Blue Bay; a full 5 course dinner with wine and special coffees for 350 pesos a person (about $28). We took advantage of that last night and really enjoyed ourselves. We had good company with Harry and Linda from MV Good Karma. The only worry we had was the beach landing and the departure in the dinghy after dark but the full moon allowed us to see the wave sets and we got back to the boat fairly dry. We had to carry our “dining clothes” in a waterproof bag and change once we arrived at the hotel. Harry and Linda got flipped on the way in but managed to keep their sense of humour intact. Their waterproof bag saved the day and after changing they looked as dry as all the other guest diners. Their little electric motor wasn’t quite strong enough to power through the surf on the way back so J-G gave them a hand to transit the surf zone. This morning Harry was on the net asking where he could get a small outboard motor...
Yesterday we finally had a chance to meet up with our Victoria friends who live in La Manzanilla. Val and David have their own place here and have been seasonal residents for the past 5 years. Last year they decided to stay over the summer. They took advantage of the BC medical regulations where residents are allowed to stay out of the province for 24 months every 5 years.
We’ll be headed back to Barra in a day or so to top up on water, gas and to get the laundry done before we head to Manzanillo.
I will post photos to this blog once we get there. The Telcel signal here is weak and will not permit us to send large files. Barra has much better service.

Happy New Year from Barra de Navidad

0900, 01 January 2012, at anchor, Barra de Navidad
Just a short entry to wish everyone a wonderful New Year and a happy and prosperous 2012.
We had a wonderful evening aboard Optical Illusion and welcomed in the New Year with them and Steve and Linda from Warren Peace. At midnight we broke open a bottle of Italian sparkling red wine and watched the fireworks from the big hotel and from Barra. There were a number of boats that fired off outdated flares, probably the most effective and cost saving method of getting rid of them The other side-benefit is to actually experience firing one off in a non-emergency situation.
We woke up this morning to very loud “techno music” from the island in the bay, an island where the only noise we have ever heard was dogs barking.
Another few days and we’ll be leaving this idyllic spot for Manzanillo Bay.
All the best from the crew of GOSLING!!