Manzanillo

What a great city Manzanillo is!! We spent several days strolling the malecon, impressed by the sculptures,

wandering its back streets and alleys, getting lost on the hillsides when one alley ended in a steep incline of rubble and rock,


encountering interesting signs (yes, one should NOT throw your cats here!! As an aside, unspayed cats and dogs are a serious problem in Mexico, so frequent litters of kittens make it tempting to dump the little critters in a deserted alley hoping someone will take pity on them...more often they become feral and wander free...only to make more kitties!)

Manzanillo is a major port for Mexico, a site of cargo and shipping from around the world, and hosts a busy naval installation. We found it fascinating, even though it is a long bus ride from Las Hadas and further from Bahia Santiago, it is well worth the trip!

Las Hadas

OK, go rent the old 1979 film (Dudley Moore and Bo Derek) "10."

Las Hadas is the filming location. It's one of the few marinas in Mexico with a Mediterranean-tie...if you bring your boat into the marina (which we did not) you drop an anchor a ways out then back up and tie your stern end to cleats on the dock.



We spent several days anchored here, walking over the hill and through the golf course to catch a bus into Manzanillo.



Canadians abound!

Passage

The passage along the Mexican coast takes you past several large rivers. With recent heavy rainfall (you’ll remember the 15 inches or so in 24 hours when we were in Bahia Santiago), a lot of debris has washed down river and into the sea. Along the tidal currents, you encounter layers of tree branches, leaves, chunks of wood, and other detritus. Occasionally we will see a “boat” on the horizon, which, when looked at through the binoculars, turns into a house-sized clump of branches, trees, and other wash-out. It has been our good fortune not to run into one in the middle of the night...no lights, yikes!!



Striking geological formations constantly surprise us as we cruise the coast. Usually we see them only as we enter or leave an anchorage, since that puts us in closer to shore. Otherwise, we tend to sail 5 or 6 miles offshore.

Caleta de Campos

Caleta sits high on the hill, away from the surge and power of the sea, yet relies on the sea for its livelihood…fishing, tourism (many Mexicans come to the beach for vacation; cruisers stop for an overnight, sometimes coming ashore to enjoy a meal at a beachside palapa).




A lighthouse casts its beam seaward to alert and protect mariners offshore.

Wandering through the few streets of Caleta de Campos, we bought a few tortillas, remarking on the similarities and differences in small Mexican coastal towns. There are a few small hotels, so underutilized, no hustle and bustle.



Caleta is unique, yet so familiar.

Caleta de Campos

This is quickly becoming a favorite spot! We spent two nights at Caleta de Campos on our way north from Zihuatanejo. Just after breakfast, a panga circled the boat, filled with school-children and their teacher (a marine science class). We exchanged “good mornings” and, when we invited them aboard, they declined, saying they had to get back to classes. The surf was high, but it was too tantalizing to resist the draw to visit the school. So Ardy swam into shore (dry clothes in a plastic bag held high) and found her way to the school where she talked with the Administrative Assistant and later joined an English class for a few minutes, answering questions about travel on the sea, our life as sailors. The students were articulate, welcoming, and curious--had excellent questions.








One of the special gifts we received from Caleta was meeting the public health nurses. They were engaged in their regular work of mosquito control—identifying and eradicating sources of mosquito habitat that could contribute to dengue fever. As with all public health nurses we have met in Mexico, they are on a mission. Truly dedicated to their work, they go door-to-door, surveying habitat, administering “citations” to clean up areas that are potential problems, reviewing previous areas…are things improved from the last visit? These nurses are located in a large town south of Caleta, Lazaro Cardenas, and they have a “circuit,” traveling to a number of small towns along the coast, visiting each town every two or three months to assess the situation…going door-to-door. It is very labor intensive, and, for us without recourse to statistics on the incidence of dengue fever, hard to determine how effective. Their effort is admirable.

Las Gatas

Hotel California, Las Gatas, Zihuatanejo, Mexico. A beautiful spot, complete with doves that wake you with their remarkable songs.

Las Gatas

There is a fascinating spot in Zihuatanejo Bay. Just as you enter the harbor on the right a point shelters the Las Gatas beach and hosts the bungalows of Owen Lee, a former diver (with Jacques Cousteau) and a long-time resident of Mexico. He lives in an open-air palapa, this shower and bath just off the bedroom.



Owen is also a mutual friend of Scott Robinson, a professor in Mexico City, whom we had hoped to meet while in Zihuatanejo. Unfortunately, his teaching schedule forbade him from making the trip.





So, instead, we met more of Owen's friends: Memo, who is more commonly seen at Rick's Place in town, and who makes a mean guacamole.



Sarah Miller, in Zihuatanejo in preparation for her first sailing adventures, entertained us with her strong, sweet voice and skilled guitar.



Owen at work over the lunch-time stove...a gourmet cook and wonderful host! Thanks, Owen!

Ixtapa

Ixtapa is a tropical wonderland...hot, muggy, filled with flowers, scents, bird sounds, and foliage that threatens to take over any development attempted.



We visited the marina, but did not bring our boat in. People who were staying on the docks told us of their crocodile sightings, plus the legend (true story...or is that an oxymoron?) of the dog that went missing while running on the docks. No one goes swimming here. The locals will not even clean boat bottoms...they know better!

Noemi's Restaurant

Years ago, Noemi had a restaurant in Zihuatanejo. She provided the best of Mexican food to local residents and cruisers. She became a landmark among cruisers, the walls of her restaurant covered with names and dates of boats, crew and their visits to share her exceptional pozole. Then the unexpectedness of life intervened. Noemi was ill for several years...the demands of restaurant work were too much to handle and the restaurant closed.



Three months ago Noemi re-opened her restaurant and, in an evening of fun, laughter, shared stories, and that incredible pozole, sailing vessels (S/V) Odyssey, Totem, Nanu IV, and Capaz christened the new wall. The rest of you cruisers need to stop by soon.

Street Scenes Zihuatanejo

Que suerte! What luck! We arrived in Zihuatanejo in time for Carnaval!


There are two parts (maybe more) to this beautiful, small city. About four days of the week a HUGE (we're talking big!) cruise ship anchors in the bay and thousands of tourists come ashore to enjoy the shops, restaurants, streets and alleys of town (Check the photo in the last posting...a cruise ship sits in the background). Tourists spend the day, strolling the tourist area and the beach, bargaining for purchases, visiting the museum, joining a snorkeling tour to Las Gatas, or simply watching other tourists walk by from the vantage point of a restaurant, complete with typical Mexican meal and icy margarita.



But walk a few blocks off the main streets near the beach and you are in a different Zihuatanejo. Colorful, crowded, busy with buses, pickups, cargo on its way to the main mercado, flower shops, sasterias (tailors), abarrotes (tiny grocery stores), and an energy of Mexico that is relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

Zihuatanejo Anchorage

We've become very familiar with the term "mackerel sky" in the past week. These sunsets have been breath-taking.



Five days in the Zihuatanejo Bay anchorage...lots of time to explore the area and to remember that living on a boat is not always difficult. When you think about it, the ride into shore is just another way to move from our "house" to whatever destination we choose. It is good to remember we are not driving through snow or rain.

Mac Club Zihua

We've done this before. On shore, cruisers settle into computer work. The sailors at this table are clearly sophisticated in their choice of machine!

Pescadores de Zihuatanejo

OK, you're asleep. True, it IS almost 7:00 AM and the sun is peeking over the eastern hillside; the air is clear and the roosters in town have been crowing for at least three hours.





But it's still a little unnerving (the first time) to hear the slap of the net against the hull of the boat, to rouse yourself from that early morning stage between dreams and reality, and, poking your head out the hatch, stare into a warm smile from one of the fishermen netting their "bait fish" for their day's work.



Right there next to the boat.


Commercial and sports fishing are an important part of Zihuatanejo's economy. It turns out that smaller fish (6-8 inches in length) seem to enjoy cruising under the sailboats that sit at anchor. They make great fish for bait and we were glad the share the bounty.

Caleta de Campos

We left Manzanillo at midday, spending another night underway and getting into Caleta de los Campos late the next afternoon. We joined S/V Morgana, out of Canada, anchored in a sweet little bay with a beautiful beach and friendly residents...three youngsters swam out to welcome us in.



Fishing is a major occupation for people in the little pueblo of Caleta and we watched as anglers tried their luck from the breakwater that protected us from the Pacific waves. Next morning we left at 5:30, 0-dark-hundred, and wended our way through the well-lit pangas fishing off the mouth of the bay.

Manzanillo

The weather forecasters keep telling us that the weather is "very unusual" for this time of year along the western Mexican coast. We are more than ready to believe them. After leaving La Paz, Bahia San Gabriel, and Bahia Los Muertos, we set out across the Sea of Cortez. It was our intention to go non-stop to Zihuatanejo, about 650 miles, seven days and six nights at sea.

We didn't make it that far!

After 4 nights out at sea and about 75 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, we noticed that the clouds to the north were getting bigger, blacker, and more flickery with lightening. Storm on the way.

We put two reefs in the mainsail, took in the headsail, and considered trying to put in at Chamela, an anchorage about 3 hours away. We decided to continue on, and would have been hit by the storm before making it to the anchorage in any case.

It lasted from 8:00PM until midnight, at its peak winds reaching 45-50 knots and seas building quickly to 15+ feet. We rode it downwind, about 150 degrees off our aft quarter, getting slapped around a bit by the waves, and pooped once by a relatively small wave.



We were tired and the black clouds moved further south and east, still loaded with lightening, so we didn't know if another squall was coming or not. We decided to stop in Manzanillo to rest a bit.



We were glad for the two days anchored at Bahia Santiago in Manzanillo...another storm hit the next night. We had 40 knot winds at the anchorage...further north in La Cruz, at the entrance to Banderas Bay, they clocked 80-100 knots of wind (that's hurricane force, folks!). And it rained! and rained and rained.



Global warming is alive and well: the ice caps are melting and they are condensing as rain over Mexico! The 15 inches of rain we got in 48 hours reminded us of all the old leaks we had on the boat, and pointed out a few new ones as well. We slept on the settee since the hatch above the aft berth was one of the weak spots in our moisture-defense system.


Manzanillo is a very busy port, so coming in and leaving required vigilance to make sure one avoided the commercial vessels. They travel a bit faster than we do!