Unbelievable

We left Banderas Bay on Jan 3rd not knowing where we would drop anchor next but knew we wanted to be on the hook.. We made a decision around 6pm to continue past Ipala, it had been a bit of a rocky trip so far but the wind was good so sailing sounded great.  Of course just a short time later the seas flattened out and the wind dropped to nothing so the motor went on.  We had seen several whales breach and rays jumping so the sea life was great.  Around 2am we were off Chamela and Di does not like to go into anchorages at night so it was going to be Tenacatita which we would reach around dawn.  Rog had not gotten much rest on the passage as Di decided conditions were perfect for sailing and turned off the engine, of course that woke him up and then Di decided there was no longer enough wind to sail so she turned on the engine, woke him up once again!!  So as dawn approached Rog was once again sleeping so Di circled off the entrance to the bay until she could see well enough to bring the boat in.  Of course changing directions also woke Rog up so in we headed right at dawn.

Center Rock is an important navigation point and must be taken to port.  Notice how beautiful and clear it was on Tues morning, by Friday morning we could not see the other side of the bay due to overcast and haze.

When we last visited Tenacatita in 2009 there had been one particular dolphin that came into the anchorage every day.  Di fondly named him Notch because there was a notch missing from his dorsal fin.  We no sooner dropped anchor around 8am and Notch showed up and began rubbing against our anchor chain. Unbelievable, two years later and he is still coming by twice a day to entertain all the boaters.  Unfortunately the bay has had its share of jelly fish too which makes swimming iffy.

Rog did decide it was safe to dive the boat as long as he was wearing a wet suit to protect himself from the jelly fish.  Bottom was in great shape but the strut and propeller shaft were cover in barnacles which took a good bit of work to remove.  We now appreciate Ted Buhl even more.

Sea Diamond arrived shortly after we did and anchored just off our port side.  They had been up in Careyes the day before enjoying a polo match.  Just after this photo was taken the boat was attacked by thousands of bees that tried to make a hive on their pilot house windows.  After several hours and many gallons of water they were finally gone.  Notice the beautiful clear skies!!!

By Friday morning there has a very heavy haze and low clouds hanging over the entire anchorage and it was cooler!!!  In all our trips to Tenacatita we have never had anything but beautiful sunny days but this entire season has been a little cooler which does make the evenings very pleasant.   So we will not complain about 80 degree days and 75 degree water.  It is still unbelievable that we are here enjoying it all.

Decadence is behind us

On Jan third we signed out with the port captain in Nuevo Vallarta, paid our bill at paradise Village and cast off the lines for more adventures south. Not sure where we will drop anchor first but think we will head to Tenacatita first. If the wind and swells permit we will drop anchor in Chemala for a few days but the swell forecast does not sound favorable.

We had a wonderful time and find it a bit hard to leave. More cruisers are arriving daily so we are getting caught up with friends. Tom jerimiason arrived on New Years, Voyager came in just before that. Keith and Susan Levy showed up with a dog, motorcycle, and Boston Whaler so I think they are planning to stay

We will post again as soon as we find a spot

Richard Says it Best

We are always writing about the wonderful times we are having down here in Mexico but possibly Richard from Latitude 38 does it best on his most recent posting on Lectronic Latitude.  He always tells a great story and has prictures that I never manage to capture.  Richard often ends up in the same small towns or out on the water chasing the same good times we are.  We were on a great race to the finish during the Bandaras Bay Blast when he captured us on a very tight reach to the finish against Pico.

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2010-12-29&dayid=521

Happy New Years

Sculpture tour of PV

 The tour started with the Milennia Statue which was donated to the city of Puerto Vallata in 2001 by the sculptor Fernado Banos. He was actually there to explain the meaning behind the the work. The tour continued along the Paseo diaz Ordaz which is also known as the malecon.  All but two of the statues have been donated by artists who raise the funds themselves just to share their work with everyone.  They also must maintain their art as the city does not have the funds in the budget.



Sand sculptures are also a big attraction at this time of the year.



There are many different themes for the sculptures

Even a Christmas tree!!!

This is the original sculpture on the Malecon and was purchased by the city of Puerto Vallarta during the late 1970s.  It was not damaged by the huricane in 2002 but has been repaired and given a much larger seafront  to better protect it moving forward.  This statue has become the symbol of Puerto Vallarta

Named the Angel of Hope this statue faces the beautiful Church of Guadalupe as he prays for peace and everlasting hope for mankind.

Jim Damento is the artist that donated Valarta Dancers.  It is a very beautiful peace and depicts the local dance group Xiutia who performs twice a week on the local square.  Jim was there to share with us stories of how he came to be an American living in PV who wanted to sculpt this beautiful statue and how it was done.  Quite a long process!!!

 The Friendship Fountain is right off the central square and there is s twinned sculpture in the sister city of Santa Barbara.  It is a tribute to the local indigenous people called the "Chumash" and by legend tells the story of them leaving the Channel Island on a rainbow bridge.  Some natives looked down as they crossed the bridge and they fell but as legend goes they turned into dolphins before they hit the water.





More Tail

Monday we had another opportunity to take Di's Dream out for a day of whale watching with friends Jay and Laurie Ailworth. They live right here near Paradise Village and love to take advantage of any opportunity to get out on the bay. It does not hurt that Jay is a fabulous photographer who is always looking for that one amazing photo. I did not even bother to pull out my little point and shoot camera for this trip so all picture are courtesy of Jay. I have posted the rest of the shots on my slideshow on the left side of this page.

Merry Christmas

Rog and I would like to wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas. We are having a fantastic time on the beach, Rog is out riding the waves on a boggy board and I am waiting for my massage appointment! It does not get much better than this

I did take a picture of us sitting on the beach this morning however, my camera is too old to upload the picture to the iPad so we will have to use a shot of us taken at Yelapa. You will just have to take my word that our day will be spent calling everyone while drinking margaritas here at the beach in Paradise Village.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a warm, rain free day

Whale of a day

Michael and Sylvia Fitzgelard are dear friends of ours who now live in the Puerto Vallarta area whenever the weather is bad back home. Lets see, San Francisco rain, New York snow or PV where you get the same weather this time of year day in and day out.

Last week they asked us if we would like to go whale watching, sure why not. Any excuse to go sailing is fine by us!!! So we took Di's Dream out of the slip one again. We have now used the boat more in one month that we did the entire last year in San Francisco.

My whale pictures did not turn out too well but I invite all my friends to take a look at the youtube video that Michael produced. We had a fantastic time and saw so many whales. Now I want to learn more about their habits so I can better understand what we witnessed. The shot of the whale coming out of the water tail first is reportably a mother trying to give birth. I need to research this a bit more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RnGey8C1nI