A Busy New Year

Friday January 20, 2006 LOCATION: Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village Marina
GOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES: 20 41.889N,105 17.658W

This new year is busier than ever. Three weeks in and we are trying to catch our breath. Currently we are in Puerto Vallarta, but for the sake of your eyesight I will break these journal logs down to two week intervals and help everyone catch up. We finished the crossing of the Sea of Cortez with style. In honor of Sebastian's birthday on Lawur we swam in the middle of the Sea of Cortez. (coordinates: 22 53.725N,107 37.721W )We stopped both boats in the middle of the sea, tied a line between the two boats and with no wind and very little swell, we all jumped in. It was great fun, a nice diversion after a lot of motoring and a memorable way to celebrate his special day.
(Coordinates: 21 05.561N,105 52.906) Our destination Isla Isabella is a bird sanctuary known for it's mating and nesting grounds for the frigate birds, blue footed and brown boobies, and much to our surprise lots of iguanas. The dad's had a spectacular snorkeling trip and found huge schools of large tuna. Together we all took a marvelous hike over the island to see it's wonders. Initially you land the dinghy in a small fishing village. The pelicans and frigate birds anxiously await the few scraps that the fishermen toss them after their catches. The island itself is fairly dramatic to view with steep colorful cliffs (if they are not covered by rather stinky bird guano, an odor that you never quite become accustomed to) There are also some amazing large spires of rocks that make this island unique. The other noticeable feature about the island is the sheer amazing numbers of birds that cover every inch of the island and blanket the sky. It looks right out of the movies. We began our hike and were so excited to come across an iguana in the wild. We traversed through groves and groves of trees, each filled with dozens of birds nesting, calling, bellowing out their large red throats in attempts to attract their mates. Another iguana here and there would make his way, rather rapidly I would say, through the tall grass to avoid us. We then hiked up to an abandoned building of some kind only to find it completely inhabited by a good 50 iguanas that we could see. It was amazing. They were completely unaffected and unimpressed with us. We could hardly disturb them if we tried. We left them basking in the sun and set off to find the boobie nests.
We hiked to the tops of the cliffs and found the boobies nests complete with mommies sitting on eggs, guarding newborn chicks, fuzzy awkward yearlings and defensive daddy's nipping at our heals. It was quite a treat to see these creatures in their world. We hunted to find a lake that we heard we could swim in but the dark stagnant water gave us second thoughts.
Next stop on the itinerary was San Blas. (coordinates: 21 30.614N,105 52.906W )We anchored around the corner in the Matachen Bay. The boys and I were able to sneak in a bit of school and Bruce found a bit of surf with some locals. We had definitely arrived on the mainland, with green luscious mangrove jungles and palm trees galore on the outer edges of town. The humidity isn't too bad yet but certainly is a change. We took advantage of the new landscape and gave ourselves a self guided tour up the Tovara River Jungle. Lawur in their dinghy and we in ours headed up the river which claims to showcase wonderful flora and fauna. You are supposed to stop part way and pay the locals to take you in their high sided, fast driving pangas. After a few warnings from them "Peligroso! Peligroso! (that would be them yelling "danger, danger" and trying to stop us) we sojourned on, self guided. The most dangerous part of the trip was their crazy driving skills in those fast boats in that somewhat narrow river. We were not disappointed as we weaved our way through massive mangrove tendrils that reach their way down to the water for nourishment. Bromelia plants that seed themselves far up in the bows of trees, orchids, ferns and countless other plants. Much more exciting were the crabs, towering turtles and crocodiles! We found them tucked up on banks, swimming in the water and perched on logs. The boys would all agree the best part was at the end of the trail. At the head of the river there is a natural spring swimming hole complete with rope swing. There was a nice restaurant there in which we shared some coconut milk and a nice lunch. You did have to share the water with catfish and crocodiles but it was so refreshing and fun no one seemed to mind. Truly, only 25 yards away we spotted a crocodile enjoying his own freshwater bath. Yikes!
The next day we anchored the boat with Lawur off the beach of San Blas and everyone paddled though some pretty good surf to enjoy a quick afternoon beach trip. A bit of boogie boarding, skim boarding and in the evening a quick tour of the town with Niki and our family. Norm, a local cruiser who landed here 40 years ago and never left guided us in and gave us all the information we could handle whether we wanted it or not. While in town we stopped for dinner and found 3 Norte Americanos walking through town carrying surf boards. Bobby, Ryan and Collin aboard Baraveigh (sp?)(from San Diego, CA and Bellinham, WA) are on their way south as well and stopped in to share a drink with us. As always in this small world we found fun things in common and hope to see them again along the way.
We had been listening to our favorite weather guy "Don" on the radio and awaiting some forecasted winds that seemed to be delayed in getting to us. When we headed out the next day for Chacala under motor, I think it is safe to say we were not prepared when those winds finally and suddenly arrived. One of these days we will start acting like sailors and have things stowed and ready. We go for so long sometimes without any wind we get lulled into submission and forget that wind happens. Needless to say, we had another exuberant ride to Chacala with 25-30 kn winds gusts up to 38 kn. whew. Our efforts were rewarded by what we consider the most beautiful setting we have seen yet. (coordinates: 21 09.710N,105 13.687W )Chacala is a small bay nestled in the cliffs of palm trees, mangroves and mango plantations. A nice beach spreads from one edge to the other and backs up to palapas and a very nice RV campground. Past some wonderful rock structures and trailblazers we found this delightful restaurant/bed & breakfast/spa center called Majahua run by Jose. From the patio of the restaurant we sat in a setting that left us feeling like we were in the pages of some wonderful travel brochure. It was amazingly peaceful and beautiful as we peered through palm leaves at the sun setting out over the ocean while perched on the hillside of these jungles. Behind his house we were able to hike up to see scaping views of our boats tucked in the bay and an old volcano crater overgrown with vegetation. We enjoyed a pleasant dinner there and were on our way the next morning.
Jaltemba was the next stop in hopes of finding some good snorkeling. (Coordinates: 21 02.643N,105 16.258W )The water was a little murky but we always have fun when we grab our gear and go exploring. Lawur got to try their gear out and we found some more trumpet fish, puffer fish, angle fish and more. Bruce rigged a nice rope swing off the boat and Sebastian and Benjamin had a great time.
Our next destination was Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village Marina. We arrived on the 9th and though we had a bit of a harrowing experience when we entered, we have been thoroughly enjoying the resort style amenities. We had an amazing week with Tim & Janel Mason, Jake & Julie Jefferson, the gang from our favorite radio station at home The Mountain KMTT 103.7 and of course have made some wonderful new friends during our stay. There were concerts, canopy jungle tours, sailing, surfing, a shark and a lot of late nights. But these great stories will have to wait a day or two. We will catch up on our sleep and regroup after all this crazy activity and I will fill in the details soon.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys