OOPS ! I posted the photos in reserve order.Thursday, January 13, 2011 – underway to Tenacatita
We spent a quiet day at anchor on Tuesday, watching boats come and go. Clark installed a wonderful “ap” for me so help me identify the stars and planets which I look forward to using. That evening Earl called us out to see the luminescence. He threw a little water off the boat and the surface below lit up like a 4th of July sparkler. Whenever a small fish broke the surface, there was a little explosion of sparkles. We found that even just spitting at the water would result in stars. It was an extraordinary display – both the luminescence and the four old people spitting at the water.
It is only forty miles or so from Chamela to Barra and we decided to scope out the potentially anchorages. So the next day we ran an hour or so through the Bay, where we saw a couple of promising anchorages, and on down to a lovely cove, appropriately named “Paraiso”. The water temperature was up to 76, so Clark got brave and went swimming. Joan and I followed and it was lovely. There was no current so we did not even have to make an effort to stay near the boat as we usually do. Such a special spot deserved a special lunch, so we had bay scallops which Earl grilled on the barbeque, together with Joan’s wonderful coleslaw and some brochette with fresh tomatoes. What a life.
Around 3 we picked up the anchor and ran an hour south to Bahia Careyes (Turtle Bay) where we anchored for the night. It is a little bay and the anchorage was tight, especially after we were joined by MV Harmony, a 112 foot Westport Yacht, built in Earl’s home town. We watched the chefs in their aprons cooking up a wonderful smelling dinner – they were only about 100 feet from us. The houses in the community appear to have had a contest to see which could come up with the most vivid colors – blues, yellows, reds, oranges and it is charming.
However, it was not an ideal over night anchorage – the quarters were far too tight – and Earl spent much of the night on anchor watch. Now we are headed south to Tenecatita. We passed the huge monument, Copa del Sol, and a number of extraordinary, huge houses. Copa del Sol is an enormous bowl perched on the top of a cliff. I searched the internet but could find no history of it. The seas are glassy and we are headed for a place that everyone raves about. Can it be any better? (Especially after hearing that there is 18 inches of snow in Boston and more in the Berkshires).
Saturday, January 15, 2011 – Barra Navidad Marina
It was not a long run to Tenecatita which is a large bay. There are 4 good anchorages. We anchored in one and will save the others for another visit. The swimming was lovely and we enjoyed our visit even though we did not get the dingy down and explore the shore. There is room for at least 100 boats. While we were eating dinner, some whales started jumping not far from us. They stayed near us all night and in the morning Earl heard them spouting while he was making our coffee. Then the local cruiser net came on which was unexpected and something new for Clark and Joan. Boats in the area report in and out, people announce activities and stuff to swap, and, of course, there is a request for anyone returning to the US or Canada to carry mail – the Mexican mail being very unreliable.
Joan and Clark leave on Sunday the 16th from Puerto Vallarta which is 5 hours north of Barra where we are headed so we felt we should arrive at Barra on the 14th so that they had plenty of time to check into transportation between Barra and the Puerto Vallarta airport. We found that there are two buses a day but they get into Puerto Vallarta too late for an afternoon flight. Rather than taking the bus and then over nighting in Vallarta, Clark and Joan opted to get a cab to take them directly from the Marina to the airport. It will cost close to $200, but we will have them for an extra day and it will be much easier for them.
We had heard from many people that Barra was one of the best places to visit, but we were still overwhelmed by the hotel and marina. It is a beautiful place, lovely buildings, beautiful grounds and in every way a five star development. Unfortunately, the prices match, so we will only be staying in the marina for two nights. In the future we will join the boats at anchor in the lagoon.
The town of Barra is across the water from the marina and there is a wonderful water taxi system which will take one from the marina, or from the lagoon, to the town for a modest fare. In addition, as we found this morning, there is a French baker who makes the rounds in the morning with fresh goodies. It turns out that he is from Bordeaux, my grandmother’s home. We broke into the baquette immediately and found that his baking was excellent.
The town is quite charming. We had dinner last night at a restaurant called Sambuca. Treehouse would have been a most appropriate name. It looked like one of the illustrations of monkey town in the Barbar books. Dinner was excellent and the people lovely. Today we will explore the town a little further.
Saturday evening, January 15, 2011 – Barra de Navidad Marina
Today Joan, Clark and I took a local bus 2 miles to the town of Melaque which is a little larger than Barra. We had been told of a store there, the Hawaii, which has a good collection of groceries and will deliver your order to your boat. It was a dusty ride – but very cheap, about fifty cent per person. The Hawaii was small and jammed with people and groceries. We found most everything that we needed. They were delivered back to the boat before we returned – so Earl got to put them away.
We wandered the streets of Barra and had a light lunch overlooking the beach that curves from Barra to Melaque. There was a pretty impressive surf running, and I can see that we will need to choose our future beach landings carefully.
This evening we went up to the hotel lobby to get some cash from the ATM machine. The hotel is built on a hill and the lobby is 7 floors above ground level. When the elevator doors opened there was a collective gasp –the view is unbelievable. It is a very swanky hotel – very lovely – but the ATM ate Clark’s card.
For dinner Earl cooked up the shrimp we had bought in Barra. He tossed them around on the grill and the four of us ate a kilo. Yummy. Equally yummy were the 2 small tarts from the French baker that we shared for dessert. The strawberry was very good, but the apple was even better.
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