Wednesday November 15, 2000 At first light we backed out of the slip, and motored to the fuel dock, which opened at 6am. We thought we would take on about 10 gallons of diesel – however we ended taking on about two. Oh well. We are a sailboat. The powerboat next to us took on several thousand gallons of fuel!

The morning was clear and the sea choppy. I felt a sense of anticipation, mixed with apprehension. We are finally on our own. The handholding and friendly radio calls over, as we sail off to the mainland by ourselves. We expected confused seas for awhile, and winds of 10-15 knots. That’s exactly what we got, then the seas calmed and the wind died. We motored in a dead calm for two days. The water looked like mercury – a sullen, glassy gray-blue color. It was a relief to me to have uneventful quiet and calm nights – other than the droning of the engine.

One afternoon a hundred miles offshore, Doug saw a sea turtle about the size of a card table swim past and eyeball us curiously. We also got squided one night – the equivalent of being “slimed”. A school of squid evading some predator ran into our boat. Squid are about four inches long, with translucent bodies and large blue eyes. Fisherman uses them for bait, however we’d only seen squid on a dinner plate.

Friday November 16, 2000 Just before dawn we heard a loud “clunk” as we ran over something. The engine immediately dropped 500rpms and sounded labored. We slowed to four knots and decided to continue to make our way to Bahia de Banderas, the mountains looming in the sunrise. We would drop anchor inside the Bay in Punta de Mita anchorage, and check out our propeller. We also noticed that our bilge pump ran whenever we turned on the water pump – a sure sign of a leak in the fresh water system.

We turned the corner into the Bay of Banderas a few hours later and dropped anchor in 25 feet of water several thousand yards from a small town and resort development. Doug jumped into the warm water with his snorkel gear and diagnosed a large yellow bait net wrapped around the propeller. He needed more than a breath of air to get it off, so we dug out our scuba air tank and hooka. A “hooka” is fifty feet of hose attached to the air tank with a regulator mouthpiece, providing a nifty way to dive around the boat. The net came off in a jiffy, and since he was down, Doug decided replace the zinc on the prop.

The next diagnosis was just as easy. We pulled up the floorboards inside the cabin and found the pressure relief valve opened on the hot water heater. No problemo! Household chores done in less than an hour.

We decided to stay at the anchorage in Punta de Mita until Monday, then make our way 20miles into the harbor to Puerto Vallarta. There were five other boats anchored.

Our weekend was spent swimming off the boat, taking the dinghy into town, and enjoying several lunches at a palapa restaurant on the beach. We sipped “INDIO” beer with our toes in the sand and said –“Can it get better?” We also hitched our first ride with three honest looking Mexicans in a pickup truck who offered a ride when we asked directions. We were looking for a pathway through the jungle to the Pacific Ocean side of the Bay to hike on the beach. We found the beach – a remote and wild place littered with coral and boulders. It was beautiful and rather exotic with several dozen turkey vultures hopping around feasting on dead fish in an area of the miles long beach. The surf pounded into the shore, and we felt exhilarated with the wildness of the place.

Monday November 20 The anchorage was calm most of the weekend, but Sunday night the wind shifted and came from the southeast. That meant a night of rolling, so we were ready to take off after breakfast. We motored in the calm Bay for three hours arriving in Marina Vallarta where a slip was waiting for us. As we tied up to the dock, the heat hit us. Wow. . this place is sweltering. The Marina is quiet – relative to Cabo – but surrounded by three story buildings with shops and restaurants that block the breeze. We soon had all seven fans in the boat purring away. We find that polo style collar shirts are way too thick and hot. Any colored T-shirt looks unappealing, and almost every piece of apparel we own feels like a blanket. We are exhausted from the heat and humidity. . . but are told by the other Gringos that one becomes acclimated.

We were delighted to find friends in the Marina from the “ Ha Ha” on NAN SEA MAY and joined them for lunch. Later, we discovered friends from WHISPER-Phil and Adrianne who had left San Diego in January. It was fun to get caught up over breakfast, and get the scoop on how to get things done in Puerto Vallarta.

Tuesday-Wednesday November 21-22 The past two days have been spent exploring, getting laundry done ($3.50 a load – folded) and trying to adjust to the heat. This is supposed to be the “cool” season, but the high humidity and 80degree temperatures have us sweating like never before. I nearly had a meltdown yesterday when I was unpacking groceries and dropped five eggs on the carpet, right after discovering our five gallon jug of water leaked all over the aft cabin cushion. YIKES!

We taxied into Puerto Vallarta last night to discover the real PV. The city is old colonial style with brick buildings, wrought iron, cobble stone streets, and decorative streetlights. It has a long promenade along the harbor with sculptures and benches. Every few blocks we found a vibrant city square with greenery, lots of families relaxing, and a band shell with a mariachi group playing. In the heart of PV is the Our Lady of Guadalupe church with its famous crown-like cupola on top. We think the city is quite charming with wonderful people watching, and not overly touristy. The weekly bullfights start next Wednesday, which is an event we won’t miss.

Thursday November 23 Today we are joining our friends on Whisper for a Thanksgiving dinner. Adrianne is cooking a turkey because she and Phil have air-conditioning. What a treat! They live on a beautiful pilothouse sailboat. We are looking forward to hearing more about their adventures this past year.

We are still learning about PV and will tell you more later. We have noticed an alarming number of time-share hustlers around. They approach you constantly, even during dinner in very nice restaurants. It is a business that we think distracts from the ambience of this pretty town. On the other hand, there are very few vendors selling blankets, jewelry, and other trinkets.

We are enjoying the e-mails received and short notes in our guest book on the website. We will gradually answer them all even though we are now on “Mexican” time which means maybe today.

Best to you!

Judy and Doug

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