Banderas Bay

Our friends from home (Jay, Linda, David and Angela) had planned a vacation in Puerto Vallarta for December so we sailed south from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to the marina at Nuevo Vallarta so we could join them for a few days. Staying at the marina we were only a half mile from their time share, and we got all of the amenities of the Grand Mayan Resort (including golf, pools, water slides, swim up bars, and restaurants) as our reward. The marina was located next to a dolphin exhibit so each day we also got to watch the dolphins being trained to do their incredible acrobatics. We also got our first experience taking true landlubbers to sea when we invited everyone for a sail on the Bay. We headed out on a true Gilligan’s Island type adventure aboard Mañana. The 3 hour tour to Mismaloya and back was calm and sunny, but both David and Jay quickly jumped ship when we got back to the dock, and I don’t think either of them are going sailing again any time soon. Mal de mer the French call it and green is the color. No one actually got sick but there was certainly a lot of whining about the slow pace and the rolling seas.

 

Andrea’s daughter (Michal Ann) and her husband (Mohammed) also joined us for a week’s vacation aboard, and we set out to explore some of the other destinations around the Bay as well as to visit Viejo Vallarta, the older tourist sections of the city. We sometimes complain that places like PV are a little to “touristy”, but that is what provides the entertainment. There was plenty of shopping, pleasant walks along the malecon, quick beer stops, and some great restaurants. Although PV is considered a little expensive by Mexican standards we were still paying a fraction of the costs we would have paid at home and getting some wonderful meals.  

 

We took a bus trip (actually 3 buses) to Boca de Tomatlan along the southern coast of Banderas Bay. The road ends at Tomatlan so from there we took a panga (Mexican Boston Whaler) to the remote town of Yelapa. Yelapa is a small cove on the southern coast that is only accessible by boat, but is home to a few hundred people. This is a beautiful beach with a steep shoreline and rolling breakers so we were happy to be on the small water taxi rather than trying to bring our own boat close to the beach.

  I was particularly struck by the town water system and I have attached a picture of the water system at the Bar Manguitas in Yelapa where we had lunch. In fact all of the water to the village came from similar hoses and pumps with the hoses winding through the tree tops.

Our return to Tomatlan via panga was on a crowded water taxi with about 20 people which I thought might be a few too many bodies for this small boat. I happened to turn around to see the boat driver bless himself with the sign of the cross just before he hit the throttle. Gracias de Dios for the safe trip. A bit later the bus driver on the city route did him one better.  When the bus stalled at one stop he left the bus, crawled under the rear wheel somewhere, and magically started the bus from under there. Must have been a hidden key. Mexican travel has been filled with “ordinary, but out of the ordinary” incidents like these.

 

Michal Ann and Mohammed have sailed with us before, and they were quite happy to sail the Bay and to spend a few nights at anchor when we revisited La Cruz.  We also took another side trip by bus to Sayulita where we enjoyed the beaches, bars, and shops. Sayulita is a very attractive surf town with a beautiful, wide sand beach for strolling. 

   

Days have turned lazy and our only sailing is day trips on the bay. We did sail out to the Tres Marietas islands (20 miles) and had an incredible day of sailing and whale watching. We spotted at least 20 whales and many of them were within a few hundred feet of the boat. At one point we had four fast moving whales headed directly towards the boat, but about 150 feet away they dove and reappeared on the other side of us. Andrea spends a lot of time telling me which way to turn the boat to get closer to these behemoths , but sometimes the whales swim to windward and I can’t get closer, and sometimes I am quite close enough, thank you. The humpbacks are just now returning to the bay for their winter stay.

 

Did you know: The whales mate in the early winter months, migrate north in the spring and summer, and then return south the following year to give birth in the warmer waters. The locals say that since they are born here all of the whales are Mexican.

Christmas is just 5 days away and we are still in shorts, dining outdoors at night, and swimming during the day. We hear it’s a little cooler in Santa Cruz and new England, but we do feel the chill now that the temps are in the low 70’s some days.  Christmas dinner with other cruisers will be a pot luck at a local bar that supplies the turkey for free if we bring a plate to pass. We’ll be there with bells on.

Merry Christmas to all…