Dec 26th Shopping

We have all heard about the downturn in the economy so Jenny and I decided to do our best to improve the situation in the Romantic Area of Puerta Vallarta. We set off early on Dec 26th by ponga on a wild ride over rough water. We should have known better when we saw our "Capitan" was no more than 10 years old!! His father was on board to supervise his protege and all things considered it was a safe ride, just bumpy.

I know you are not suppose to eat anything from the street vendors but the shrimp looked so good and Andy and I were sooo hungry. I got the shrimp stick and Andy got the Marlin stick, wow were they great. They looked very hot and spicy but they were not. Can not explain the red sauce but I loved it. So after our taste of Mexico we were off to find more fun things

These pareos were beautiful, the picture is not doing them any justice. There are two large iguanas with intricate cutouts and stitching. Of course the opening bid for two was 960 pesos and after several no thank yous and two walk aways Jenny was the proud owner of both pareos for a little over 600 pesos

Andy was not sure how much could go into Jen's bag but she kept finding little special things that she had to have, a dress for a friends new baby, t shirts for the guys back home, a belt for mom and several small bowls for out on her new patio. Well, maybe I exaggerate--some of those things I bought but they all went into her bag!!

So instead of fighting the crowds at Macy's for all those specials the day after Christmas we were strolling through the vendor stalls along the river front in Puerto Vallarta. We worked up quite a thirst so decided to stop at the Riverfront Cafe for margaritas before heading home for some beach time.


While enjoying his margarita Rog looked up to see an iguana perched in the tree right above our heads. Not funny, not funny at all. Earlier in the day Scott Rader had spotted an iguana climbing up a dock line onto his neighbors boat. I think I will be closing up the boat when I go to sleep nights now.

We finally made it back to the beach for a little r and r after a hard day of shopping. We found out that Rob and Stacy were napping after a hard morning of relaxing, Bill was fast asleep after reading a book so that left Gail on the beach along with our friends Sue and Scott. Scott was busy ordering a round of beers for all and if you look closely, Rog has a book in his hands. He has turned into a voracious reader down here since we have no cable tv to keep him entertained. Poor boy, no playoff football!!

When Jenny finally made it to the beach after all her shopping, Rog and I left her alone with Andy to go tequila tasting, she was completely shopped out. The rest of the day she graciously said "no gracias" to everything offered by the vendors.

So that is how we spent the day after Christmas in Puerta Vallarta. Hope all of you had just as much fun as we did. Remember, it could be you next year bargaining with the vendors on the beach in 85 degree weather and very sunny skies.

Day Trip Yelopa

We decided to take a day trip over to Yelopa but no one knew exactly where it was. It did not show up on the E120 charts at all so we headed blindly out to sea this morning. We did have Charlie's Charts and it gave us a waypoint so we did have some idea of where we were going. Bill, Scott and Rog discussed our options and settled on the waypoints in the book.

While the guys on the back were plotting our course we sat on the bow of the boat keeping a lookout for whales. We did see several off in the distance but nothing up close. Hammock time was enjoyed by Cindy.

As we entered the bay we were pleasantly surprised to be met by a ponga that took us directly to a mooring ball and then loaded us up for the trip ashore. That sure beat trying to get eight adults in a six person dingy.

Rog met a new friend

We decided a toast was necessary to all our friends back home braving the cold snap. We have heard stories or 45 degree highs for the day. Not what we are seeing down here. We wake up to 72 degrees in the morning and highs of 85 during the day. And the air conditioning is working beautifully right now.

We did head over to the waterfalls but only made it part way. The stairs were just too much for my knee!! But we did get far enough to take beautiful pictures

Those of you who know Rog very well can tell from this picture that one of his favorite songs is playing on our stereo. I think it was something from the sound track to Love Actually. What a perfect end to a beautiful day, singing Christmas carols while sailing in Mexico with good friends on Di's Dream. The girls all all taking tomorrow off to go to the spa so that the guys can go run around the bay on jet skies. We are just trying to keep them happy.

Dinner for seven

Dinner at the Vallarta Yacht Club was enjoyed by Rog, our son Joe, myself, Sue and Scott, and their boat guests Cory and Cindy. Other club members had to share their own fishing stories with us, some great, some not so great.

After a wonderful day of fishing we had the yacht club prepare our fish. What a job they did, breaded dorado, garlic dorado and grilled dorado. None of us could agree on which we liked best, it was all amazing. There was so much fish that we have enough for an another complete meal.

Great day for fishing

Joe came down for a fishing excursion so we felt it was necessary to join him today. I went along not knowing what to expect other than knowing that most people get very seasick on fishing trips. Today was the exception to that rule. The weather was beautiful, seas very calm and the fish were everywhere. The only problem, the fish just were not very hungry. The captain explained at the end of the day that during full moon the fish feed all night long and are not very hungry during the day. I am here to tell you that he was not pulling our leg. I was a spotter most of the day and saw many dorado that just went right by our bait as if it was not even there.

At the end of the day we turned towards home and another boat took our fishing spot only to catch a very large marlin!! We watched them fight the fish as we headed to shore knowing that we gave up just a moment too soon

As we left the docks we were very excited about the prospects for the day. Sue and Scott Rader joined us along with their boat guest Cindy.

Rog was in the right place at the right time as he was the first one handed the pole. We had no idea that this would be the only large fish we would catch.

If you look at the picture closely you will see the dorado just before we brought it in

I had nothing to do with catching the fish but Rog was more than happy to share his good fortune with me. I was not too keen on getting that close to such a big fish that was still flopping around

He really was a big guy

Rog was not sure that he would not drop the fish!!

Fun Shots in La Paz

Our first day in La Paz Rog and I went for a LONG WALK around town. We took local transportation down to Marina La Paz to join friends for a cup of coffee. After a bit it was decided that we all needed to head up to the local version of West Marine. Of course Monday was a holiday and they were closed so no necessary purchases were made. There were two of the meanest dogs guarding the place too--scared the daylights out of us.

I was in love with all beautiful gardens we passed along the way. I had to take a picture of this Ficus Benjamin--I could never get one to grow this big back home. They usually last all of a year and then just start losing their leaves.

On our walk around town I could not believe my eyes when I found this dress shop. The dresses are unbelievably beautiful, must be meant for pageants?? My daughter knows exactly how I reacted to finding such unusual gowns on a back street in La Paz.

The main reason we had gone to La Paz was to meet up with our good friend Sergio. Those of you that have seen all the stainless work he did on our boat know how much we appreciate him. We had a great visit with him and his lovely wife Lupe. We were treated to a fabulous tour of La Paz and then treated to an amazing meal at their home. On our next visit to La Paz we agreed to take Sergio and his wife out sailing to the nearby islands and then she is going to give me a few cooking lessons.

Sergio's new home included a cabana / pool area. Mexico is looking more inviting all the time

Puerto Vallarta arrival

This is not your local Safeway!!
Sunset at PV the day of arrival

Leaving Muertos for Mazatlan--good bye for now

Today is Tuesday a day off to clean and ready the boat for the Banderas Bay Bash. After the overnight from El Cid and a night out on the hook in front of Frank’s place in La Cruz a good fresh water bath is in order. The Bash is a three leg cruisers rally for charities starting in PV going to La Cruz for the night to party at the new Marina. We have heard a lot about the new sky lounge above the restaurant and of course music at Philos. From la Cruz a 2 hour sail to Punta Mita for a night of fun and celebration, Then to end it all we sail back to PV all a down wind spinnaker trip that should be a blast!

The Bay is full of sea life as we saw numerous whales breaching on the way in from Mazatlan right off the point, but just shortly after that the rod and reel start to sing….fish on????? Not really….A hungry gull saw our lure, hit it and took off with it!!! Not a pretty sight with wings a flapping madly so I quickly cut the line and he flew off with some new jewelry on its lower lip.

Time to write has been scarce and the sunrises and sunsets during the passages have been spectacular. The nature in the sea where the desert meets the sea is a sight to behold.

Di and I are looking forward to R+R after the Bash in the Bay. The resort here at Paradise Village is full and we are so blessed to have met so many new and old friends here. Anyone who is looking for a great spot to veg out and unwind should consider this place. It may not quite be a breathtaking as be Barra Navidad at the Grand Isle but what else on this planet is? It is really nicely maintained and in short proximity to the airport and all the spots anyone could want just a short bus or cab ride away.

Anyway, Di has her cheek healing up much better now and is the best crew and mate one could ever ask for. Everything is fun and exciting and time is flying by so quickly. It won’t be long and we will be focusing on our return in February so we can get ready for the spring show and all the folks who will have the chance to outfit the boat to take them on their adventures.

Feel free to email us back with any questions on gear, provisioning or any other thoughts and we will be able to respond quickly as we are now hooked up to email for the month of December here in Paradise Village.

Keep the pointy end forward and the water on the outside!

Rog and Di