Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico

Sometimes we find that we have to stop. And that is what we have done in Ixtapa. While we love all the activities and social life of cruising we have been taking a slight break. Some of the break has been brought on that Wally was sick and then I was sick, however, we have both recovered.

Marina Ixtapa is the largest marina in Mexico. It has a capacity for 621 boats, although I think it is only half full and it does feel small. It is a very pretty marina surrounded by mountains. Many hotels and condiminiums surround the marina along with some good restaurants. There are not many tourists. The local businesses say that business is very slow.



We were told in this marina to be careful with Angel as there are crocodiles in the water. We were not sure it was true until we had a huge crocodile swimming by our boat! As you can guess, no swimming in this area. Also we have iguanas on the dock. This marina keeps us on our toes as we walk the docks.




We rented a car for the day as we were getting land sick. We wanted to travel inland to see the mountains. We rented a Dodge Atos. What a fun small car. I think Wally thought he was a race car driver all day. We had been a little nervous about driving in a foreign country, however, we found it was not a problem for the 2 of us. I think it may have been a problem if Wally was alone as reading the signs in Spanish and staying on the right side of the road seemed to be a challenge! We had a great time exploring. Along the way we saw goats, donkeys and cattle along the roads. The countryside was beautiful. It went to a lot of green foliage, pink flower trees and jungle to cactus. We saw lakes and rivers. We will in the future continue to explore inland Mexico by car.



We are planning to leave Ixtapa on Wednesday, weather permitting. Due to the El Nino year we have definitely had weather challenges. Last season the weather was the same every day. This is the furthest south we will travel this season. We will begin to head slowly north back to Mazatlan. We then plan to go to the Sea of Cortez April and May.

Zihuatenjo, Guerrero, Mexico

Zihuatenjo and Ixtapa has a population of 100,000 people. Prior to 1970 Zihuatenjo was a small fishing village. In the 1970 the federal government developed the near by resort Ixtapa and the population has grown.

The primary economic activity is tourism. Zihuatenjo is the third most visited area in Mexico after Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. Fishing also continues to be a way of life for the locals.

Most Mexican towns center evolve around a town plaza. In Zihuatenjo the center of town evolves around the basketball court which is along the beach front. The beauty of Zihua is its bay surrounded on land by the Sierra Madre mountains.




We have been enjoying the towns local restaurants, local beaches and activities. We went on a countryside tour with our friends Tom and Alicia, on Alegria, to see a coconut plantation, a traditional tile making plant, and local beaches. We were able to watch The Super Bowl at a local bar with our friends Rick and Karen, of Eyes of the World, and John and Debbie, of Lovely Rita.

We were able to participate in Carnival for 5 days. Carnival is a festive time occurring before Lent. During Carnival each evening bands played in the basketball area. The bands would often play until 2-3 a.m. As we were anchored in the bay there was not much sleeping as sound amplifies over the water. We especially enjoyed the parade with all of the colorful floats, dancers and marching bands. It appeared that the theme of the parade was around ecology and the sea. Many of the floats had people dressed in mermaid attire. After the parade we joined in the music at the basket ball courts. There were food booths around where we sampled tacos, quesadillas, tamales and flan. It was so exciting and fun to be part of the cultural event.











Due to the weather conditions this year the anchorage was quite rolly. In addition the water conditions are poor in the bay so we were unable to make water. We were fortunate to find a local vendor who would deliver, by panga, water and diesel. In addition they would pick up our laundry and return it the next day. Rick, Eyes of the World, had a great syphon which he called a jiggler that transferred the diesel to the fuel tanks in a short time.










We left Zihua Sunday for Ixtapa Marina. It feels really good to be tied up to the dock after being anchored for a month. While we are sad to leave all our new friends in Zihua we have already made new friends at the marina which we have come to find out is normal with cruising. We celebrated Valentine's Day with Tom and Alicia at a local restaurant. We will stay in Ixtapa until............

Zihuatenjo, Guerrero, Mexico

We left Bara de Navidad January 28 to Las Hadas which was 26 miles south along with our friends on Serena Ray. We spent 2 days at that anchorage. It is a beautiful setting surrounded by huge white hotels which reminds one of Greece. Unfortunately, John got sick and he and Rosie were unable to continue south with us. We will meet up with them again later.
We left Las Hadas for Zihuatenjo 197 miles south. It took us 30 hours. If we were driving in a car and it took us 30 hours to go that far we would be miserable, however, in a sailboat we made great time. We had great weather with a full moon for most of the night. It was exciting to pull into the bay of Zihuatenjo.



One of the events that we came to Zihua for was the 9th Annual Zihuatenjo Sail Fest. Our friend Pamela from Precious Metal had asked us to volunteer for the event. What a wonderful experience we have had.





The Zihua Sail Fest is organized by volunteer sailors for fun and fellowship for cruisers, locals, and tourists. The Sail Fest raised $450,000 pesos this year. Proceeds benefit the local poor children's schools and other educational projects.

We had 5 days of activities which included a Kick off party with a live auction, a tour of the local school being benefited by the funds, a Benefit Concert with excellent musicians, a Chili Cook Off with Silent Auction, a Sail Parade around Zihuatenjo Bay and Ixtapa, a sailboat Pursuit Race, a kid's beach day, and a final Wrap up Beach Party with awards.


The local boats who anchored in the bay participated in the Parade. Locals and tourists signed up and payed to go on the various sail boats. The same for the Pursuit Race, guests signed up and payed to have a chance to race on a sail boat. Wally and I had the opportunity to be on the Committee boat and watch all the racers over the start line and returning for the finish line. All guests and cruisers had a great time.


We thoroughly enjoyed meeting new friends and participating in the weeks activities. We would recommend it to all cruisers. One can also check the web page out for more information www.ZihuaSailFest.com.

During this past week we experienced an unlikely storm. We had 36 hours of non-stop rain which included lightening and thunder.
We heard there was 10 inches of rain during this time.
One really appreciates a dry boat and bedding after that amount of
rain.


We are beginning to explore the area now that Sail Fest is over. We are enjoying the local town, people and activities. Carnival is beginning so we will stay to enjoy the cultural experience.