Arrived in Acapulco!

Approaching Acapulco
After a slow passage, we're tied up at the fuel dock at El Nuevo Club de Yates de Acapulco. We're not sure where we'll berth but we hope to stay here for a day or two for provisioning and bottom cleaning. Our next stop will probably be Bahía de Huatulco. We'll let you know when we're underway again.


Love,

Kelly, Phillip, Alexander, and Nicholas


Boca Chica - Acapulco

Acapulco, here we come!

Samadhi Anchored off Las Hadas

Ahoy mateys!

The weather's taken a turn for the better. We're fueled up and ready to leave the shelter of Las Hadas. Our passage is around 350 miles to Acapulco. We should be there in three days at the outside, probably less.

Until then!

Kelly, Phillip, Alexander, and Nicholas

Next!

The boys take on DDR.

We received a shiny new milled bronze clutch lower today and, after not a little work by Phillip, got the beast put back together. The thing of it is, it still won't raise the hook.

Remember what cruising is really about: "Fixing your boat in exotic places".

Rubin, dock master extraordinaire, is going to put in calls to help us find a local shop that can help us troubleshoot further. We should know more after that. At least we won't have to wait for any more shipments from New Zealand!

While we're here, we're making the best of it. Naturally, the boys are taking advantage of our decent Internet access and using it to enrich their Calvert studies. We've been enjoying the lovely beach at Las Hadas and taking occasional trips over the hill for provisioning. Today, while shopping, we took the opportunity to introduce the boys to Dance Dance Revolution.

Update from Alexander!

Madagascar Presentation

Well, I guess this is easier than making a PowerPoint presentation on Madagascar... Lately, I have been working on a presentation about Madagascar with everything from the climate to the land usage to the diet of the people there. It's my third PowerPoint presentation. I've already done ten pages, and that's only half of it!

Yesterday, I completed my latest work of writing, "The Evil Tea Kettle". I think that "The Evil Tea Kettle" was a rare instance where I didn't have to revise my writing much, as I have done more and more of as I write other compositions.

Fishing in La Cruz

I haven't been fishing nearly as much as Nicholas, and I've only caught one bottom-feeder, though it was just as big as Nicholas's largest one. When we were back in La Cruz, after an unsuccessful fishing trip on the rocks with one of the locals, we walked back to the boat with him, and he took out a large magazine and four lures to divide among me and Nicholas. Unfortunately, after another unsuccessful time fishing off Samadhi here at Las Hadas, I discovered that one of the eyes of my jig was gone.

I finally finished all the Lord of the Rings books, and just today started on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which Kelly says is awesome. I don't know why, but the third book of The Lord of the Rings just seems really different from all the others.

Alexander attempting his
personal aquarium

When we were in Barra de Navidad, we rode for a really long time in the dinghy to get to this big resort, The Grand Bay. It had three mammoth pools, the highest of which had a fast water slide going from it to the next. Anther pool had a second water slide, but it seemed to be targeted towards babies, as it was almost impossible to go fast on. On the fun slide, Nicholas and I invented many wacky ways to go down, like imitating Gandhi or making your own aquarium as you slid down. Even though I don't look very happy in the picture, I'm really having fun.

Update from Nicholas!

Manzanillo Bottom Feeder

I'm finally done with my first two compositions of this Unit of Calvert. In the middle, since we've been in Manzanillo, I've caught four bottom feeders with a hint of a puffer fish being hooked, along with a school of colorful stick fish being satisfied with my lure.

While we were in Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad, I caught innumerable minnow-like fish and three very fat brownish fish that I don't know the name of.

Mini-Tuna in Tenacatita

I hope I catch more fish!

... and now I am finally sucked in on a book, The Summer Tree, the first of the Fionavar Tapestry. The book is very unusual in some places. I'm still sucked in!

Now, back to my DS!

Spending a few extra days in Manzanillo

Nilsson V3000 Windlass lower clutch cone

The plan was to stop outside of Las Hadas for a day or so and then head over to the port for fuel and checking in/out before anchoring in Bahía de Santiago for a day. Thence, we would undertake our longest leg until Tehuantepec, 190 miles along the coast from Manzanillo to Acapulco. Unfortunately, when we went to raise the anchor, Samadhi let us know that she had different plans.

The anchor windlass is definitely roto. Naturally, our venerable windlass is no longer sold new, so we get to import the new bits from the manufacturer's stock in New Zealand. We found this all out just as their business day was beginning, and Grant was chipper and happy to help.

Thankfully, it looks like they've got everything on hand. Now we just have to figure out how to get it into the country without getting mired in the customs paperwork. Our temporary import permit only works as long as we meet any given package at the airport where it is to clear customs.

We could sail without the windlass. It is possible to raise the anchor using the capstan alone or one of our large primary winches. This is great to know that in a pinch we could get the hook up. Still, we have decided to err on the side of safety and repair the windlass before departing.

We should know more tonight when we hear back from Grant. Then the fun really starts...

Barra de Navidad

At the lookout over Barra

From Tenacatita it was a quick hop down the coast and around the point to Barra de Navidad. We anchored Samadhi off of the village of Melaque which is just North of Barra on the other side of the bay. Melaque was great! We found the most amazing barbecue chicken (cooked over hardwood charcoal "logs")! We also enjoyed some Mexican shaved ice, one of our favorite ways to cool off.

After spending a day touring Melaque, the next morning we headed over to the Barra de Navidad lagoon. We stopped for breakfast at the local French bakery where we enjoyed fresh croissants and other viennoiseries along with coffee. We're not sure why there is a French bakery in Barra, but it was delicious! We poked through the (touristy) shops that line the quaint cobblestone streets but didn't find anything compelling enough to buy.

After touring Barra de Navidad "proper", we headed across the lagoon to the Grand Bay Resort. The Grand Bay has an attached marina that is very well sheltered. This would be a good place to wait out a storm system. Yachts using the marina have full access to all of the facilities of the Grand Bay Resort, including 27 holes of golf, pools, waterslides, etc. etc... We took advantage of the pools and waterslides before heading to the golf course for lunch.

Barra is an extraordinary place, I wish we had more time to stay... but it's time to keep moving South!

Memories of Barra de Navidad

Tenacatita

The Jungle Ride

We departed La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in the evening. Our late departure was not an accident. We had a date with Cabo Corrientes and its reputation for strong winds and currents demanded respect. Thankfully we had moderate swells of less than 6' and only an hour or two of cross seas. Once we were safely around the cape in the wee hours of the morning, we set our course for Tenacatita.

Tenacatita is a small beachfront settlement on the Costalegre (coast of Jalisco) located about 27 miles northwest of Barra de Navidad. Tenacatita is a wonderful change from the "big city" of Puerto Vallarta. Arriving in the early afternoon, we anchored in a shallow bay, well protectected from the prevailing Northwest winds that blow so steadily here.

Playing on the beach

We lowered the dinghy into the bay and headed up the river for our "Jungle Tour". The jungle tour (as it is called by cruisers) is a dinghy ride up the river and into a lagoon behind the beach at Tenacatita. The river is narrow and filled with mangroves. In places the mangrove trees grow over the top of the river turning it into a tunnel of lush green vegetation.

Alexander and the Sand Pyramid

We grabbed lunch at one of the beachfront restaurants. Alexander and Nicholas immediately rushed onto the beach to build sand castles. I must say, out of all of the beaches we have been to in Mexico this had the best sand for building castles. Alexander demonstrated this by building a sand pyramid, then picking it up and carrying it around! Nicholas built a "wet sand" tower that was almost a meter high before we called him over lunch!

We stayed in Tenacatita for two days enjoying the quiet (we were the only yacht) and the natural beauty surrounding us.

¡Hasta luego La Cruz!

Maria and the boys

We're just now closing up the ports and hatches and doing all the last-minute buttoning up required before putting out to sea. It seems like ages--heck, it has been ages since we last cruised to a new port of call! We can hardly wait.

The boys had a special visitor this afternoon. The lady who runs the business center came by to give the boys farewell gifts! She gave them puzzles and games to keep them entertained on our passage. She's really been wonderful, chatting with the boys while they've studied in the yacht club.

It's strange to have grown so attached to a place that isn't really home. There are so many people here in La Cruz that we'll miss. Still, we're very eager to put out to sea once more and feel that peculiar brand of freedom that cruising on the ocean brings.