Monday morning we made the trip across Banderas Bay to Paradise Village at Nuevo Vallarta in intermittent drizzle and showers. As we passed La Cruz we notice a rainbow remarkable in that it was so low that you could see where both ends touched the ground. It was the first time either of us had seen that.
We had been to P.V. before - 5 years ago with Bruce & Bobbie when we crewed for them aboard Music (IP40) on the 2004 Baja HaHa. As this was not an originally scheduled stop over and we didn’t have a reservation, we called the marina and crossed our fingers. Dick Markie came through and assigned us a slip and then sent out a panga to lead us to it... ALL the way down the river, just before a bridge. We passed 3 Island Packets on the way – Lyon Around (a 38), Armagh (a 40), and Crème Brulee (a 380 – Bill & Cynthia that we know from the Bay Area – but they were not there), and then pulled in next to another – Gratitude, a 370 with Frank, Nancy and son Nick aboard.
Doug walked back to the office to check in. When he did, he asked Dick Markie, the harbormaster, if he had a recommendation for someone to work on Raymarine electronics. He said Jorge – his shop is right in Paradise Village. And what about windlass. Again, Jorge. And he speaks English well. So Doug walked right back to the boat. As he approached, he saw someone in the cockpit with Cathy, working on the chartplotter. Jorge! What service. Dick must have called him, gave him our slip number, and he came right over and jumped on it. Before the end of the afternoon, the chartplotter was working (but we will probably send it to factory in February for some overhaul) and the windlass serviced and working well. But with high winds and square seas predicted around Cabo Corrientes (the cape heading south out of Bandaras Bay), we decided to just stay put for a few days.
Walking back along the docks, Armagh (the IP40) looked strangely familiar… red canvas… two Bruce anchors?? It had to be Music! The owners were not around. But then it turned out they stopped by later to see our arch. Sure enough, Armagh is the former Music that we had crewed on from San Diego to Nuevo Vallarta. They are the second owners since Bruce & Bobbie – it was Fire Escape in between.
Tuesday was mostly a relaxing day. In the morning we put up our Shadetree shades – they help keep the sun off the boat, but let the breeze blow under them. We got them years ago (off Craigs list?), but had never really set them up – so we spent a good bit of time just futzing with how to best deploy them. (I forgot to take any pictures, so will try to do so for a future posting). The afternoon included a swim in the pool at the resort (marina guests have resort privileges!) and that evening we had an excellent shrimp dinner at the resort in the restaurant on the beach during another beautiful sunset.
Wednesday morning was laundry, Pilates class for Cathy, and visit to the Port Captain for Doug (to check in and out – managed both with one visit since you can check in up to 48 hours after arrival and check out up to 24 hours before departure). Wednesday afternoon we took a bus into Puerto Vallarta, where we walked around the old town, including going by the places where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton stayed when filming Night of the Iguana in PV. Note bridge connecting the 2 houses... Then we walked down the Malecon, including going through a naval museum and admiring the sculptures on the beach. We ended up with an early dinner and 2-for-1 margaritas at a restaurant on the Malecon before catching the buses back to our boat.
Thursday we headed back to Punta Mita. It was a short trip, we had all day, it was a nice day, and there was 10 knots of wind. So even though the wind was on our nose, we sailed all the way out – tacking back and forth. The furling gear seemed to work smoother after the rain, maybe washing away some dirt and salt crystals from places we can’t reach with the hose. We put our anchor down very close to where we had been on Sunday night, watched some surfers riding the waves into the beach while we played another round of Mille Bornes in the cockpit, and then went to bed for another rolly night.
1 comment:
Merry Christmas. Call me back asap. Beth
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