Hasta La Vista, Mexico!

Puerto Vallarta is a popular jump-off point for cruisers bound for the Pacific. A heading directly west offers the cruiser a straight shot to Hawaii or a southwest direction will head a boat to the Marquesas. Those distant magnets pull most cruisers. On Avante, The First Mate’s compass is askew, for it’s pointing her to the Galapagos Islands. Yes, she wants to sail to the Marquesas, but first she wants to stop off to see those tortoises for which the islands were named. Geography not being her strong suit, The Captain asks her where she thinks these Galapagos Islands are. “West” she says. “Somewhere west”. He pulls out an atlas to show her this “somewhere west”. Galapagos is no where west from Puerto Vallarta. It is south and EAST. Does she realize that if we sail to the Galapagos Islands, we will end up further away from the Marquesas than we were when we started? “So?” she says. “This is a sailboat. It’s meant to sail, and what’s the hurry?” Thus, on Avante, we are heading South East to the Galapagos Islands before we about-face to head West to the Marquesas. Not the typical Polynesian-bound path for the cruiser leaving from Mexico, but some do do it. So ………  why not us?

Saturday, March 20th – Today, we detached shore power, untied the dock lines and motored out of Paradise Village Marina, Puerto Vallarta. After fueling in La Cruz and buying fresh shrimp and several smaller fish at the local fisherman’s market, 18-20 knot winds gave us a wonderful sail across Banderas Bay.  All aboard thought this was a good way to start off this trip, and Crew Mate Jim, who is new to Avante but far from new to sailing, was delighted with the opportunity to sail her and see how she handles. Jim has owned and raced J-boats, and he was pleased with the performance capability that he saw in ours. He presently owns a Wauquiez 43 pilot saloon which he and his wife, Phyllis, sail out of the Seattle area. He has the sailing credentials and experience that we love to have aboard Avante, and as a retired Delta Airline pilot, when the two men are not talking “boats”, the two are deep into “planes”. 

In the late afternoon, we anchor in Punta Mita. It was a bit cool so we ate below deck where we enjoyed a classic Mexican dish of Camarones en Mojo de Ajo (shrimp sautéed in garlic butter). Over dinner, we discuss various watch schedules. The Captain suggests that we try a 3/2 schedule. From 0900 to 2100, we will stand 3-hour watches. From 2100 to 0900, we will stand 2-hour watches. The First Mate is delighted with the idea. She has found that 3-hour night watches really wear her down. The first 2 hours are okay, but it’s that last third hour that drags interminably for her. She is not sure she’d be of any use if an emergency happened during that third miserable hour. Jim, however, is not too sure about the idea and worries that it may be hard to get enough sleep during the day to catch up with the 2-on:4-off schedule at night. We decide to give The Captain’s schedule a try for a few days and then ask for an evaluation.

We had originally planned to take a week going down the Mexican coast as far as Acapulco before heading offshore to the Galapagos. The Captain, however, has been looking at the wind and weather forecasts and suggests that with winds looking to be light for much of the trip, we might want to look at leaving the mainland earlier if we want to make our Monday, April 5th, arrival date in Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. We discuss various options for saving time. One immediate decision we make is to leave Punta Mita very early in the morning at 0130 so we can get around Cabo Corriente and down the coast to Chamela in one day rather than the two we had originally planned. This all sounds good to The First Mate who asks to take the first watch because she wants to watch the lights encircling the bay disappear from sight. 

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The evening sky is clear, and with only a sliver of a moon, the stars are bright. To our surprise, just above the horizon to the southeast and just off the starboard side of the mast is the Southern Cross. What an exciting sight for us Northern Hemisphere folks! We are headed “down under” to the lands of the Southern Cross, and for The First Mate, to the land that her childhood friend, Jane Minor, now calls home. “Hi, Jane,” she whispers. “I’m coming for a visit!”

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Those 3 fish bought in La Cruz are dinner, and dinner is eaten up on deck which is where The First Mate so much prefers to eat. It is amazing how much heat one little burner can generate down below in the cabin, and if more than one burner or the oven is on, which is the usual pattern for dinner preparation, it really can get hot down there. That added heat was a blessing up in the cold Pacific Northwest, but in the warmth of Mexico, the added heat output is not appreciated. There have been evenings when it has been so hot below that once the food was served above, The First Mate gratefully scrambled to her seat and just sat there, food untouched and unwanted, until the evening breezes cooled her enough to allow survival instincts to surface cueing stomach to tell brain it’s hungry, and then brain to instruct hand to lift fork and mouth to open. Simple basic functions inhibited by heat!

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Though the wind is slight, there is quite a swell and a tidal current in the bay. With the rocks that surround this small bay, we are not sure whether it is safe to leave the boat. The Captain decides to put out a stern anchor to hold us in case of a wind shift. Then after observing Avante’s set, he decides that she is secure enough for us to head ashore for lunch.

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The Captain had done some previous research. He informs us that it is called “Copa de Sol”. It is an architectural creation that was built by the developer of the resort in Bahía Careyes. The sides of this bowl are filled with tiny diamond shaped windows that let the setting sun glow through. The First Mate wonders what could be the significance of the bowl or cup shape of this edifice. Catching gold falling from heaven? For it surely needed a bit of that to build this monument. What does one call it? The pharaohs of Egypt built pyramids. Maybe one could then call this a “cupamid”? 

Proceeding down the coast, we discuss the timing for the 2 chores left to do before we officially head offshore: top off the fuel tanks and top up the fresh produce and ice. The logistic problem we have is that these 2 tasks cannot be done at the same time. She cannot run off to pick up a few veggies and fruit while Avante is being fueled. Grocery and marina fuel depot do not co-exist, and as has already been mentioned, shopping in Mexico usually ends up a multi-store event to track down even the most common of products. The Captain had originally planned a day and a half into the schedule to get these last tasks done. If we can somehow get them done in less time, we could put ourselves more than just a day ahead of schedule as we are now.

Tuesday, March 23rd – We anchored in Tenacatita Bay last night. In the morning, we weigh anchor early to head to Bahía de Navidad where we can fuel at the marina in Barra and, hopefully, obtain all our produce in the village of Melaque across the bay. The First Mate suggests that we go into Melaque first, as this will take the longest, and it’s always best to hit the markets early. We launch the dingy and make an impressive landing in some pretty rough surf. We then head down the very hot, dusty dirt road to town carrying various shopping bags. Two stores and several smaller vendors later plus 2 nasty blisters for Crew Mate Jim, and we grab a taxi back to the beach.

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We have done final provisioning, acquired ice and fueled in record time. We had originally planned that we would have to spend tonight anchored out in the bay below Melaque, but we still have 4 hours of daylight remaining. We can’t anchor now and call it a day! Manzanillo, where we had planned to spend our final night in Mexico, is 25nm down the coast. It will be a push for us to get there before dark, but we all decide to go for it.

Anchoring off Las Hadas Hotel near Manzanillo is one of our Mexican favorites, but when we were down there last November, we found another great spot – Bahía Carrizal. This small bay is the only completely undeveloped bay we have found along the mainland Mexican coast in which one can anchor. It reminds us nostalgically of the isolated anchorages we so loved in the Pacific Northwest. When we were there last November with our Telluride friend, Jane Hardman, conditions were quiet when we anchored. We had the bay all to ourselves. It was Jane’s first night at anchor, and she loved it. The following day, we went for a hike ashore and discovered extensive road work for a large resort/residential development that, unfortunately, never went anywhere but bankrupt.

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If conditions are right, we would love to anchor in Bahia Carrizal tonight. Not only is it a special place, it has a distance advantage for us. It is closer than Manzanillo allowing us to anchor earlier this evening, and it will save us distance in the morning when we set sail. The only problem is that the bay is small and does not have room for a lot of boats. We arrive just before dusk. Good Fortune has smiled down on us. The bay is empty — all ours. We are anchored in a beautiful spot for our last night in Mexico, and we are 2 days ahead of schedule. The Captain is pleased, for this should allow us the flexibility to get to the Galapagos on schedule despite the light winds that are forecasted. As this is our last night securely anchored, we decide to take quick swims and showers. We are going to start this venture clean!

The Captain, dear Captain, grants us a relaxed start the next morning. The First Mate prepares a solid breakfast of eggs and sausage. She even has time to do a last minute vacuum cleaning — those wonderful female nesting instincts at work! If this is going to be her home, her refuge, for the next 12 days, it is going to start clean.

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