Gold Coast

The Gold Coast in Mexico is considered from Cabo Corrientes to Manzanillo. We left La Cruz 9 days ago heading towards Punta Ipala, a distance of 44 miles. We are buddy boating with our friends John and Rosie, on Serena Ray.
We crossed Banderas Bay with seas 1-2 feet and 8-10 knots of wind. As we went around Cabo Corrientes the wind picked up to 18-20 knots and sea swells of 4-6 feet. Corrientes means currents. At this point the winds and currents mix.








We anchored that night at Punta Ipala a very small village. It is said to have 17 families lives there and they have to drive 8 hours on a dirt road to reach another village. With the small village it had 3 restaurants. We had a delicious lobster dinner on the beach. We felt very secluded at that anchorage. Unfortunately we anchored on rocks which made noise all night and made it very difficult raising the anchor in the morning.


The next morning we left Punta Ipala to Bahia Chamela, a distance of 55 miles. We left with 10 knots of wind and 3-4 feet of sea swells. The wind quickly came up to 20 knots and 6-8 feet seas. Seas were very rolly. Very difficult to sail as the wind was on our tail. We came into the anchorage with 30 knots of wind gusts.

Chamela is one large anchorage. We had dinner on Serena Ray and played our favorite game, Mexican Train.

The following morning we left for Tenacatita, a distance of 31 miles. The weather has continued to build. We had sea swells of 12-15 feet and wind up to 27 knots. We could not see Serena Ray when she dropped into the swell troughs. Coming into the anchorage the wind was greater than 20 knots. Tenacatita is a favorite anchorage among cruisers. It is usually calm in the bay, water is great for swimming, many things to explore such as the tidal-estuary channel, and a great place to relax.










We had an opportunity to visit La Manzanilla where a friend of John and Rosie's, Marcia, lives. We were able to walk the town and visit some of the local gringos homes. How beautiful they are. They had their living quarters and kitchen outdoors. The bedrooms were inside.

We spent 4 days at Tenacatita before we left for Barra de Navidad, 14 miles south. We have been in the marina for 2 days. The Grand Bay Hotel is beautiful at the marina. We have enjoyed the amenities it has to offer.








We finally have found a successful seasick cure. I have battled seasickness for years. After talking to many people and research I purchased a Relief Band Medical Device. It is a wristband worn on the underside of ones wrist. It provides electrical stimulation of the nerves in ones wrist to prevent seasickness. I used it this past week with all of the high seas and wind and I never got sick. I am very happy, and of course Wally is as he does not have to cover as many of my overnight shifts. (Maybe I will pretend to be sick.)




We are leaving Barra in the morning heading to Zihuatanejo.

Banderas Bay

What amazing morning events we experienced yesterday. During the previous night we had had high winds and rain. In the morning we were watching the seas and sky. We had black clouds surrounding us. In addition we saw many waterspouts forming. The final waterspout reached from the water to the clouds.

According to Wikipedia: "A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. Waterspouts have a 5 part life cycle: 1)formation of a dark spot on the water surface, 2)spiral pattern on the water surface, 3)formation of a spray ring, 4)development of the visible condensation, and 5)decay." We were fortunate to see the total life cycle. We had never experienced this before.

Many boats had trouble with this weather. Some boats dragged anchor, some broke lines, some lost things off their boats, and all had a very rocky night. There were 30 boats in the anchorage in the night. By morning it was down to under 15 as most sought safety in the marina. We were glad we were in the marina.

Banderas Bay

Outdoor Adventure Experience -

Since my friend Pamela on Precious Metal and myself decided we did so well on our zip lining experience last week we decided to do an expanded adventure this week. So off we went. We first took a speed boat across Banderas Bay to Boca de Tomatlan, a small secluded beach. We then transferred to a 4 x 4 jeep truck to off road 2000 feet above sea level in the Sierra Madre Mountains to the base camp. From the base camp we got on a mule (as far as I was concerned that was the scariest part of the whole day!) to ride deeper into the jungle. We went up and down hills on narrow paths. We then got off the mules and began a series of zip lines, some of the longest zip lines in Mexico, almost 1000 feet long and 250 high. We also rappeled down water falls, walked across jungle bridges, and splashed through streams. The trip was full of excitement.
The jungle was beautiful with all the foliage and flowers.





La Cruz de Huanacaxtle was founded in the 1930's. It currently has a population of 1621. Its name came from a cross made of Huanacaxtle wood at the towns entrance. We have been here for about a month and have become quite comfortable. While a small village we are able to shop at the local tiendas. I do have my favorites. Every Wednesday there is a flea market in the street. While it generally has the same things every week it is interesting to walk through.

Our local baker at the Panderia has delicious baked goods. Wally enjoys the cookies. They also have delicious stuffed ham and cheese rolls. The baker likes to practice his English with us and we get to practice our Spanish.


Next to the baker is the Tortilleria. While purchasing our corn and flour tortillas we always eat a hot tortilla right off the press.
I have not been able to purchase fresh meat from the meat tiendas, yet, maybe soon. The local tiendas have grocery items including produce. Wednesday is the delivery day for fresh produce. It looks of good quality on Wednesday, however, by Monday the quality has deteriorated. I have had to overcome my background (Dietitian)and become more flexible in purchasing food.


Our friends from G dock, Ventura West, Don and Judy from Wind Ryder, and Jim and Jeannine from CharAnn are currently in La Cruz. We have had fun going out to dinner and having dock parties.

We are preparing to leave La Cruz and head south on Saturday. We will be buddy boating with our friends John and Rosie on Serena Ray and Pamela from Precious Metal. We will be visiting various anchorages on our way to Zihuatenejo. We plan to be there at the end of the month to participate in Sail Fest the first week in February.

Banderas Bay

We have been without internet for the past week. We wonder what cruisers did years ago without internet. We depend upon it so much as a way to keep up with world news, keep in communication with family and friends, and keep up our responsibilities in the States. With that said we have done so much activity lately that this may be a long blog post.






We completed 2009 by exploring old town Puerto Vallarta. While we had done this last year it is always fun to share it with friends. Puerto Vallarta has a long melacon with statues along the way, including all kinds of vendors. Sand sculptures are also common in the areas we have explored.


We celebrated New Year's Eve at La Cruz Inn with our friends. The owners of the Inn gave us full access to the grounds and restaurant. Our friends, Ed and Annette were one of the few guests at the Inn. We cooked a delicious dinner, shared good laughs and played our favorite game, Mexican Train. We brought in the New Year 3 times, once at 10 p.m. (New York time), 11 p.m. which is Puerto Vallarta time and then again at 12, La Cruz time. All of Banderas Bay sky line was lit up with fire works. It was beautiful. What a way to bring in 2010. Happy 2010!!! We admit...we have no meaningful New Years resolution other than to continue to enjoy ourselves.



New Year's Day we celebrated by attending a dance and dinner extravaganza, which was called "Rhythms of the Night". It was held at Las Caletas, a secluded cove only accessible by sea. It was also the past home of Hollywood director, John Huston.


We traveled by catamaran along the Banderas Bay coastline watching the sun set. We arrived at Las Caletas marked by flickering torches and candle light. (There is no electricity at this cove.)We were greeted by music and Mexican dancers in their dance attire. We had a very romantic dinner followed by a dance performance set against a torch lit pyramid and jungle. The area had candle lit pathways through the jungle. In the quiet one could hear all the sounds of the insects and birds of the jungle.



"A palapa in Yelapa is better than a condo in Redondo!" We have heard this many times so off we went to explore Yelapa. After a mile walk to the bus stop, 2 different buses(an hour), a walk to find the water taxi(panga), a 45 minute ride on a panga we arrived at Yelapa. Yelapa is at the southern most cove of Banderas Bay. (FYI-Banderas Bay is the world's 7th largest bay in the world. You will have to Google for the first 6 largest bays).






Yelapa is a tiny fishing village with a population of about 2000 people. The village is surrounded by the jungle and ocean. It has no roads or cars. We walked on brick paths through the village up to a waterfall. There were chickens, dogs and donkeys along the path.

Today I can check another item off my "bucket list". I went zip lining!!! Wally was happy to send me off with my girlfriend, Pamela. While Pamela and I both questioned what we had gotten ourselves into, it ended up being a blast. Stepping off the platform was the biggest challenge, however, once I was zipping along, what a rush. Another challenge was repelling. The ground sure looks a long way down. The guides kept telling us to look around at the tree tops, the foliage, the rivers, however I have to tell you, I just focused on getting to the opposite platform and wondering if I was going to crash into the tree. We had 16 different platforms with activities, different heights from the ground, and different zip lengths, climbing ladders, and walking suspended bridges. Both Pamela and I said we would do it again and are looking forward to our next outdoor adventure.











Recently when Wally and I were discussing "bucket lists" he told me he really did not have anything on his bucket list. He said he was happy and content. He then said my "bucket list" was enough for both of us!! However, as with zip lining, he is often happy to find a replacement for me to fulfill my bucket list. He even offered Pamela a half a pair of shoes to go with me. Life continues to be good for both of us!

Holiday Season in La Cruz

We have spent the holiday season and festivities in La Cruz. We have enjoyed the experience of being in a small village. All cruisers share a commonality at this time that we are all away from home and family. Wally and I found that are hearts were at home with our families.


Philo's Bar is a local cruiser hangout. Philo, the owner and previous cruiser, is actively involved in community activities. He opens up the opportunity to cruisers and also other gringos living in the area. One of the recent fund raiser's we attended was "Amigos de La Cruz". This organization is actively involved in improving the beauty and condition of the village. We attended a dinner at Philo's along with a dance presentation by the local children.


Philos's Bar also had a Christmas gift program. Teresa, from Gyspys Palace, and I had the opportunity to help wrap presents for 400 gifts for the local children.

We spent Christmas Eve together with the cruisers at a pot luck appetizer party. It was outdoors, and of course it was in the 80's. We had all varieties of food. We had Christmas carols playing. We had a chance to meet many new friends.



Christmas Day afternoon was spent at Philo's Bar. The restaurant provided the turkey, while the cruisers and local gringos brought pot luck. I have never seen so many food items. We had music and dancing. In addition we had Santa Claus. Santa Claus came and distributed the 400 gifts we had previously wrapped. The local children in the village all came to stand in line to receive a gift. It was very moving.





We have been spending time with Ed and Annette, from Wind Song. While their boat remains in Mazatlan they have stayed at local hotels which we have had a chance to share their amenities. Steve and Teresa, from Gypsys Palace, has also been enjoying many of these activities.


La Cruz, has perfect weather at this time. The breeze comes up every day. We even had 2 days of rain during the night which was very unusual. I continue to kayak everyday, usually with my friend Pamela on Precious Metal. I am now training Angel to ride in the kayak. She is doing very well and wants to go everyday.

La Cruz, Nyarit, Mexico

We had a safe passage from Mazatlan to La Cruz. It took us 26 hours to go 172 miles. Seas were flat 1-2 feet with 3-4 knots of wind. The wind picked up in the early morning hours to 10-12 knots.
One of our fears is crossing a long line (fishing line) during the night. They are everywhere in Mexico. So this season we added a cutter to our prop. While it is expensive it payed for us on this passage. We hit a long line around 2 a.m, felt the engine lug, and heard the plastic soda bottle hit our hull, however, the cutter went right though the line.

La Cruz is a quaint fishing village. The marina has less cruisers now than when we were here last season. Of course we are catching up with old friends we have not seen for awhile, such as Eyes of the World, in addition to catching up with John and Rosie of Serena Ray and Steve and Teresa of Gypsy's Palace. We have also been enjoying all the local restaurants and the music that is available here. One could go out every night to a different place and hear different music.


I have resumed kayaking every morning with Rosie. We enjoy the exercise as well as seeing what is going on in the bay and marina.



Wally continues to have multiple boat projects. We purchased a life raft and EPIRB which we have installed on the boat. We both feel that this was a necessary safety precaution.



We plan to be here through the holidays. We have many things we wish to see and do while we are in Banderas Bay.

Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon)

While I had never heard of Copper Canyon prior to cruising in Mexico it is a definite must see! I had the opportunity to travel to Copper Canyon with my friends Doug and Marcy (Charm). Copper Canyon is approximately 250 miles south of the United States border and approximately 300 miles north of Mazatlan. It is a group of 6 different canyons in the Sierra Madre mountains. It is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States. It took over 60 million years of geological formation. There are 6 rivers throughout the canyons which all eventually drain into the Sea of Cortez.

As we did not know much about where we were going we booked a tour through RailsNW (www.railsnw.com). which was very helpful. We left Mazatlan Monday(Nov. 30) via bus to Los Mochis. The scenery was predominately agricultural as we drove north. Upon arriving at Los Mochis we were picked up by a driver who drove us to El Fuerte, about 1 1/2 hours east.

El Fuerte (the fort) was founded in 1564. It is known as the legendary birthplace of Zorro. It was a quaint town. We stayed at the El Fuerte Hotel (www.hotelfuerte.com.mx) which was previously a hacienda. It is 350 years old. While it was reported to have ghosts walking the walkways I did not see any. (Thank goodness!) The decor was primarily Mexican art theme with open courtyards. It is beautiful.



The next day a driver took us to the train station at El Fuerte. The train is known as "El Chepe". The rail line travels from Los Mochis to Chihuahua City, a distance of 400 miles. It took over 100 years to build the railway. The seats were very comfortable, and the dining car had very good food. Walking while the train was underway was almost worse than walking under sail.



Upon departing from El Fuerte we began to climb. We traveled along a river, and began to see more mountains and cliffs. There were beautiful pink trees along the way. Our first departure from the train was at Bahuichivo about 4 hours from El Fuerte. We had a driver, Hugo, who picked us up and drove us over dirt, bumpy roads about 10 miles to the town of Cerocahui. We stayed at the Paraiso del Oso Hotel (www.mexicohorse.com). It had a large living area and dining area decorated in cowboy motif. Our rooms were heated by a wood stove. We definitely had to keep it going all the time as it has become very cold. It almost felt like we were camping. The hotel was surrounded by large rock formations. We only had 1 other group of 3 staying at this hotel. We had delicious family style meals.


Cerocahui has a population of 3000 and was founded in 1680. Of interest, the town has only had electricity for 7 years. We toured the town, the church, and the local girls school. We then had our first great view of one of the canyons, Cerro del Gallego. We were at an elevation of about 7500 feet. We could see the town of Urique at the bottom of the canyon. I also went on a hike through pine forests, and rivers to see the Cerocahui waterfall.

The following day we returned to the train station to board to Creel. The train stays only about 1-2 minutes at the train stops so you have to be ready to board quickly and get off quickly. It was about a 3 hour train ride. Creel is at an elevation of 7,735 feet. It is cold, below 32 degrees. We were not prepared for the cold. I had sandles, no socks. Marcy had no long pants and none of us had jackets. We stayed in cabins at Creel, Creel Mountain Lodge (www.vmcoppercanyon.com). While nice, they were cold. Marcy, Doug and I had to share the wall furnace between our rooms. In the morning all the water pipes were frozen, so no showers or flushing toilets.

Creel has many natural rock formations. We saw rock formations called Los Hongos (the Mushroom), Las Ramas (the Frog) that was originated by wind and water erosions.





Copper Canyon has been home to the Tarahumara Indians for hundreds of years. Tarahumara comes from the word Raramuri, meaning foot runners. The Tarahumara women are brightly clothed as well as the children. The Tarahumara were known to have their homes in the caves of the cliffs. While a small percentage still live in caves others have begun to make small dwellings on land. We had an opportunity to visit a few of the cliff homes. The Tarahumara women are known for their basket making skills.





From Creel we took the train to Posada Barrancas where we stayed at Hotel Mansion Tarahumara (www.mansiontarahumara.com.mx) on the cliffs of the rim of the canyons. The hotel was decorated in a blend of Indian and Mexican motif. We were able to take a walking tour along the rims of the canyon. The following day we took a tour viewing the 3 canyons, Urique, Copper, and Tararecua. Pictures can not tell the expanse or the depth one sees visually.


The following day we boarded the train for an 8 hour run back to Los Mochis where we stayed the night. The following day we took a bus back to Mazatlan. It was a wonderful experience viewing the canyons, seeing and observing the Tarahumara Indians, enjoying our different lodgings, and sharing it with good friends.

While I was enjoying my travels, Wally visited his daughters in the States where he also had a good time. He has returned with Angel.

We leave tomorrow for La Cruz. We are excited for our next experiences.