Happy Easter from Ixtapa

Greetings friends and family. We hope your Easter was happy and blessed. We have been exploring some remote anchorages and sailing offshore recently, but yesterday we arrived in Ixtapa, Mexico.

Share with us this beautiful sunset and wishes for a happy Spring....

Grand Place in Barra de Navidad

Marina at Barra de Navidad

Grand Bay Resort at Barra de Navidad

Marina guests also have access to the resort facilities including the swim up bar and pool.

Paradise can be found in Mexico's Barra de Navidad Grand Bay Resort. The sprawling terra-cotta colored hotel is perched on a hill overlooking the marina and bay. Acres of resort facilities, pools, palms and grassy lawns offer an oasis for tired sailors looking for a few days of rest and relaxation. This is a resort of top notch services which seems to cater to the upper classes of Mexico as opposed to the mostly American clientele of Puerto Vallarta and Cabo san Lucas. The music is latin and lively, performed live and with authentic style, but not garish or in costume like the noise so often heard in tourist areas. The food is delicious and the service exactly what one would expect of a first class international hotel. This is a hidden gem deep along Mexico's Pacific coast, but well worth the effort to visit.

The nearby town is a short water taxi ride away from the marina and hotel, giving the resort even more of an exclusive feel. There one can find local shops and even an authentic French Bakery who is  owned by such an enterprising owner! Each morning he loads up his small boat with quiches, fresh bread, croissants, danishes and pies then motors over to the marina where hungry boaters eagerly snatch up his freshly baked goods. Yum!

French Baker delivering goodies to marina 

Chris shoulders the laundry bag.

Paraiso Found

Onward we moved down the Pacific coast of Mexico. We stopped for the day and a night at Paraiso, a small anchorage nestled between large rocky islets with abundant sea caves and rocky reefs. We shared the anchorage with one other cruising boat along the shore of a beautiful beach. Snorkeling was good along the rocks in the areas where there was not too much surge from the ocean waves. An abundance of fish and spiny urchins dotted the rocky shoreline. Chris and I took the dinghy to explore the islets and found a nesting ground for the beautiful Frigate birds with their six foot wingspan. A variety of other marine bird species shared the islet including herons. It was a fabulous day of exploration!

Shawna with the dinghy on an islet

Surge floods the rocky beach.

Frigate birds nest along the cliffs.

Sirena at anchor.

Private beach

Beautiful sunset in Paraiso!

Bahia Chamela

The trip down from Banderas Bay was uneventful. We left at 04:00 so we would arrive at Chamela by dark. Unfortunately we had to motor the whole way since the wind was quite light. The trip along the coast was peaceful with many sandy beaches and rocky outcroppings, but we stayed well offshore. Near mid day we were joined by dozens and dozens of spinner dolphins who danced and leaped in the waves and swam alongside our boat for quite some time.

Arriving in Chamela near sunset we dropped anchor and headed to shore in the dinghy to check out the row of palapa restaurants that line the beach. A local fisherman stepped out to help haul the dinghy out of the surf and we selected a likely spot for good dining nearby. Sipping our cocktails and munching on freshly made guacamole and chips I turned back to look at the boat and said, "wow! Is it me or does the boat seem farther away than it was?" The guys assured me it was just an illusion as the boat rotated in the 150' of anchor chain we had out. But minutes later it was apparent that the boat was indeed moving away from us, so Chris and Rob raced off in the dinghy to save the boat and reset the anchor. Sarina saved!

Photos to follow soon!

Grande Cascada in Yelapa

We enjoyed Yelapa so much the first time we decided to head back there with our new crew member, Rob along with s/v Notre Isle. We wanted to explore inland and find the elusive "Grande Cascada" a large waterfall about 3 miles hike upriver. We started out with a lift from a local fisherman to shore since our dinghy landing and castoff after dinner the night previous had turned into a wet endeavor! Once on the beach we wandered over to where the river flowed into the river and enjoyed the multitudes of birds gathered there. A local pointed us upriver along a trail that was marked well with pony poop, the usual method of travel to the grande cascade, it seemed. Pressing on we wandered through the outskirts of the village on our way uphill and farther into the jungle, surrounded by butterflies and unusual bird species.

Crossing the river we came upon a beautiful little restaurant tucked away alongside the river. Unfortunately it was closed, but the surroundings were peaceful and all agreed it would be a wonderful place to live.

Local abode...

One made just for us!

Local artists at work on the remnants of the previous bridge...

See the cat?

Half finished buildings dot the landscape. We were told that any building left unfinished is not taxed, so most buildings are never completely constructed. 

Crossing the river twice...

Strange trees...

Following the rocky path we can hear the falls before we see them.

Success at last! Grande Cascada!

Time for a swim!

Hidden Jewel in Yelapa, Mexico

Across Banderas Bay from La Cruz lies one of the hidden jewels of Mexico, Yelapa. This tiny village is communally owned by the native people who live there and there are no roads to connect it to the outside. Access is by water only. We sailed across the bay last week with the crew of s/v Enchanter and met up with the crew of s/v Orion. There we explored the small village perched along the hillside on the western side of the small bay and hiked up to see the waterfall at the end of the road.

Birthday Wishes

Rob, Shawna (Birthday Girl) and Chris celebrate with Rick and Maryalice of Notre isle

It was a low key birthday this year with a small gathering at the yacht club in LaCruz. I was not feeling well due to a stomach illness that had set in the previous day, but it was great fun to share the evening with the crew of Notre Isle. We had not been with them since Christmas in San Diego. they're headed northbound soon after cruising the sea of Cortez and Pacific coast of Mexico.

Happy cats! 

LoWang and Ninja are grateful to new crew member Rob for bringing treats from the US. They don't sell cat treats in Mexico! Can you believe such a thing?!

Back in Time to Chico's Paradise

We decided to take a jeep drive one day to revisit some of the places we'd been the last time we were in Puerto Vallarta way back in 1994. Chico's Paradise is a tourist favorite perched on the side of a hill overlooking the jungle on the south side of Banderas Bay. Arriving in the late afternoon we missed all the tourists and had it to ourselves. The place has changed a great deal in 20 something years, as have we. A hurricane pulled off the original thatch roof several years ago and the pet monkey and parrot are now absent. The lower floors have been extended and a pool adjacent to the river added. Artificial islands with seating for many more people in and amongst the boulders of the river give the place more of a carnival atmosphere. I miss the gorgeous view from the second floor of the building, but the owner says he intends to add some studio apartments up there soon. The food was delicious as ever and of course the Coco Loco Rum drinks never change! Cheers to Chico and his bit of paradise!

On the way back to the boat we stopped to enjoy the scenery of the southern coast of Banderas Bay, including the Los Arcos rocks.