Catch-Up, Part I

After departing La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Bahía de Banderas, we got back into the swing of cruising—spending quality time with nature, sharing food and stories with other sailors, adventuring for groceries, repairing the boat on-the-go, and getting acquainted with the unique culture of each place we dropped anchor.  The passages became easier as I found the appropriate dosage of Cinarizina (in case anyone was waiting: Cinarizina—often referred to by the brand name, Stugeron—is the best answer, with the fewest side effects, that I’ve found to seasickness).  Workdays became less stressful with bookends of water sports, beach strolls, and palapa dining.  And we even took on the boat maintenance with minimal grumbling and only a few curse words.

Endless Summer

This cruising season took us to Playa Tenacatita, an anchorage adjacent to a primitive camping area that exists at the end of a dirt road. The campsite offers no services other than a friendly palapa restaurant serving fresh seafood and beers out of an ice chest, without electricity.  Twenty minutes’ stroll down the beach took us to a resort-style hotel that permitted us boat bums access to their convenience store to buy ice-cream.  An estuary empties into the Tenacatita anchorage, creating consistent and easy waves to hone our surf skills.  On any given day, one could find a handful of us sailors bobbing on boards at the estuary mouth, waiting for that perfect break. 

During our three weeks in Tenacatita, we took day trips by dinghy up the estuary, through the mangroves, past crocodiles, herons, and bright red crabs, to another beach with large rocks housing a thriving reef to snorkel.   We rode in the back of a local man’s truck to tour his raicilla distillery.  He gave us a history lesson on the drink and its cousins (tequila and mezcal) and of that area of Mexico.  In the evenings, we convened around beach bonfires or in dinghy-raft-ups.  Tenacatita was something like the perfect summer camp, long days that never felt long, with cares only for animal sightings, ice cream, or riding a wave that was longer than yesterday’s. 

Of course, our boat would not let us go that long without some sort of test, and in Tenacatita, the test came in the form of an unusable head (toilet) for a few days, while we trouble-shot the system.  We ultimately replaced the macerator pump and discovered and cleaned a clogged hose, before we got back to being regular.  

Tenacatita was a dividing point, where sailors chose to continue south or turn around.  We said our “goodbyes,” which, in the boating world, is more likely, “see-you-laters,” and (despite some pressure by our friends in Banderas Bay) chose the southern course. 

Firework Mayhem

Our next anchorage was Barra de Navidad, which, as you might recall from our last journey down this coast, is a protected lagoon sitting calmly behind a cute city with lots of music, restaurants, and pastries.  The French Baker makes rounds by dinghy to each boat every morning.  It’s an easy place to stay, not just due to the daily pastry deliveries, but because water taxis operate between boats and shore, and the town is walkable or rideable via dinghy on its canal streets.  

We happened to be in Barra de Navidad for Saint Patrick’s Day, which proved to be perfect timing, because the neighboring town is San Patricio.  Named after the patron saint and in honor of the Irish battalion that fought for Mexico in the 1846-48 Mexican-American War, its Saint Patrick’s Day celebration is rivaled by none, as far as I can tell.  We took the bus into San Patricio for the holiday and were not disappointed.  The festivities began with a parade, physically carrying a Saint Patrick statue into the town’s church.  The parade included dancing horses and free pulque, handed out from the back of a moving truck.  The streets beat with music and street food.  And the party culminated with a wild display of fireworks.  The fireworks finale was a massive fireball, engulfing San Patricio’s church tower and spitting random firework rockets into the crowd.  The music played on, the elotes and churros kept churning, and the crowd’s cheers persisted.  It was pure, jubilant mayhem! 

Classing Up

We next anchored at Carrizal for a little serenity break.  It is a small cut in the Pacific coast of Mexico, big enough for only a handful of boats, and it is without houses, restaurants, or other signs of human life.  We dropped our hook next to two of our buddy boats and relaxed with only the sounds of seabirds and waves breaking against tall rock walls.  The bioluminescence was off-the-charts bright starting in Barra and continuing to Huatulco.  But that meant the water was crowded with those sparkly dinoflagellates, making the visibility poor for snorkeling. As that was our only scheduled activity for Carrizal, we moved on after a night there.  

Around the headland is Manzanillo, an active bay, because it is Mexico’s largest port and because it offers beautiful beaches with a choice of resorts.  There, we anchored in the shadow of Las Hadas, a luxury resort made famous for its appearance in the movie “10” (starring Bo Derek), as well as in several episodes of the show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”  While there, we joined in the Semana Santa festivities on Santiago Beach (which mostly entails eating, drinking, and people watching), hiked a pristine trail to a pair of abandoned buildings covered in impressive graffiti, and ventured into the city center to watch the big boats, which included giant freighters dwarfing the rows of semi-trucks and buses on their decks, and a tall-ship sailboat.  

Return of the Boat Ghost

After Manzanillo, we made a double-overnight passage to Zihuatanejo.  Along the way, the boat’s freshwater pump gave up.  So, we took our emergency-water jerry jugs off the deck, filling water bottles for drinking and to use for washing and cooking at our bathroom and kitchen sinks.  Luckily, the prior owner had a spare water pump stowed under the bed, which Rob installed after we anchored in Zihuatanejo.  

We quickly confirmed Zihuatanejo’s worthiness to remain on our favorite-city list.  It boasts well-maintained bricked streets, adorned with statues, murals, and plenty of tasty restaurants and cute shops.  And it cultivates community through its active plaza and public basketball court, local fishing fleet, pedestrian-only areas, animal rescue group, and running and biking paths.   

After Zihua, we embarked on another double-overnight passage.  At one point during that, the boat turned off-course, spinning us to a bad angle against the waves.  The autohelm had shut itself off.  We have no definitive explanation.  Maybe a phone charging chord had hit the “standby” button on the helm’s touchscreen, or maybe it was our boat ghost messing with us.  Regardless, we landed safely and with no further ghost games in Huatulco, catching us up to where we left off with the original Mapache.