| Mainland Mexico - Bahia de Banderas We left La Paz December 17th. We thought long and hard about our plans and decided to head straight to Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta). The typical route is from La Paz to Muertos to Mazatlan and then down the coast with several very cool anchorages in between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. We decided against this plan, because we really like Mazatlan and we were afraid we would stay there too long and not spend time in places we haven't yet visited, i.e. Manzanillo and Zihuatanejo. We were already almost two months ahead of our schedule from last year. We decided to skip Muetros and just keep pushing to Banderas Bay. The weather guy, Don Anderson, had predicted strong northerlies for Tuesday night and Wednesday and we wanted to be as close as we could be to the mainland to avoid an uncomfortable ride. And as it turned out we had a perfect weather window (we didn't know it at the time). So off we went and 59 hours and 370 miles later we reached Punta de Mita. We averaged over 6 + knots the entire trip and never lost sight of our buddy boat, Southern Belle. The new Marina is still under construction and has brought many changes to La Cruz. It remains to be seen if these changes are good or bad. The development is bringing many jobs to the area, but many beach front homes have lost their million dollar views. It's a complicated issue. |
Lynne (Wild Flower) and I
took a day trip to Paradise
Village. It's a very pretty
resort.
took a day trip to Paradise
Village. It's a very pretty
resort.
It's at Paradise Village that
I saw these three signs.
The first one is for a
restaurant called Brasil. It's
specializes in many
different types of meat. As
you can see, they assume
that women (damas) will
not eat as much as men
(caballeros), because
damas are charged less.
The second sign warns of
animals crossing. The
third sign reminds folks not
to feed the crocodiles.
I saw these three signs.
The first one is for a
restaurant called Brasil. It's
specializes in many
different types of meat. As
you can see, they assume
that women (damas) will
not eat as much as men
(caballeros), because
damas are charged less.
The second sign warns of
animals crossing. The
third sign reminds folks not
to feed the crocodiles.
New Year's Eve was spent
on Southern Belle with John
and Linda (Nakia), John and
Deb (Lovely Reta) and
Michelle, Robin and Melisa
(Warrior). We ate chili and
played a Texas Hold "Em
tournament. This was the
fifth time David and I have
played in a tournament and
David has won 4 of them,
including this one. It was
worth every peso to see
John and Michelle try to
bring him down.
on Southern Belle with John
and Linda (Nakia), John and
Deb (Lovely Reta) and
Michelle, Robin and Melisa
(Warrior). We ate chili and
played a Texas Hold "Em
tournament. This was the
fifth time David and I have
played in a tournament and
David has won 4 of them,
including this one. It was
worth every peso to see
John and Michelle try to
bring him down.
We took a trip into Puerto Vallarta where we saw these sand sculptures.
We celebrated
Christmas in La
Cruz. Philo's Bar
and Grill hosted a
pot luck. The
cruising community
provided money
and toys for the local
children - over 400
children visited
Santa that evening
to get their presents.
Christmas in La
Cruz. Philo's Bar
and Grill hosted a
pot luck. The
cruising community
provided money
and toys for the local
children - over 400
children visited
Santa that evening
to get their presents.