Moving Forward Sometimes Means Standing Still

Time continues to go by so very fast. Yes, we are still in Banderas Bay. It's hard to believe that we've been here 7 months. We had so many plans when we arrived here and learned that for cruisers "plans are written in the sand at low tide". Well, the latest plan of spending the summer in the sea has changed. The reasons are many:
1. We had planned to be in Puerto Escondido way before July 16 so Phileta could fly out of Loreto to go to Katee (her niece) and Pat's wedding in Portland. With work on the boat being completed and only two weeks to get up there, it just seemed faster than we (mainly I) wanted to travel.
2. There aren't buses from Puerto Escondido to the airport in Loreto and taxis are from $60 to $100 US. We are spoiled here with very good bus service and the taxi to the airport is $300 pesos, around $25.
3. Cruisers have told us one needs to wear full dive skins to keep bugs from entering one's skin while swimming and caps to keep the little crabs out of one's ears.
4. Chubascos, ~60 mile an hour winds that come up at night without warning, meaning every night one needs to make sure things are tied down and ready. Our bimini and dodger do not come down easily(if at all), not to mention the solar panels we had mounted on top of the bimini.
5. The temperature is in the 100s and the water in the 90s.
6. The area looks like a moonscape. Phileta was commenting on how much she prefers palm trees when we were in the Pacific North West!!
7. Hurricanes have hit up there with more frequency than here.

Good lord, the majority of this sounds as if I'm letting fear drive my decisions. Perhaps a bit, but mostly it is just what are we comfortable with and we're very comfortable here.

Reasons for staying:
1. La Cruz is a lovely little town with great street tacos and if we want a big city we can go to Puerto Vallarta and shop until we drop.
2. We can go sailing nearly every day because there is wind.
3. Dick, the Harbor Master at Paradise Village Marina lets us know via the morning net when he's brought in a load of fresh picked mangoes and sometimes the latest Latitude 38 (always a hook for Phileta-her favorite San Francisco sailing magazine) and we can dinghy over there in 20 minutes as we did yesterday, eating mangoes for breakfast on the way back. Love the quote from Roger when we told him about the mangoes "Dinging out for free Mangos. I am so freakin' envious of you two old farts!" Guess I need to get used to being called an "old fart".
4. There is lots of green around here & palms

I'm sure there are as many pluses for the Sea, but since we've only been as far as La Paz (which is great) we can't really comment on them. So here we are. In and out of Marina La Cruz. Presently in. Phileta's gone for four days to Portland for her niece's, Katee, wedding in Hillsboro, Oregon. I'm really sorry to miss this special time. Best wishes to Katee and Pat for a long and happy marriage.

So, for some pics. Phileta needs to go on excursions. I on the other hand love just hanging around on the boat. So, the following are pics from her going on the zip lines. I think I got a whole book read that day.




The next excursion was with our new friends from s/v (sailing/vessel) Timeless and Afroessa. They all went to the Botanical Gardens south of Puerto Vallarta.



While walking the paths they came across a rattlesnake, diamond back, about 3 to 4 feet long, coiled among the garden hose and then slithered on it's way.



The last is a view down to the river way they thought they were going when they came upon the snake. Seeing as how Phileta dislikes hikes, both the distance and the snake were a good excuse to turn back for a delicious lunch at the restaurant back at the main grounds.

Since s/v Eagle has had all her repairs done and extras stowed, we have been enjoying life out in the anchorage. We can jump in the water (sin ropa) when we get too hot ( I have never in my life been so hot and drenched in sweat with all my clothes on). No sharks here. The few jellies we've seen have not had long tendrils so are not poisonous. We were a bit shocked to see a spotted eel go sliding by one morning. There is a nice breeze and it's quiet. Well, until a big yacht comes to park and party for a few hours in the evening.

We live life keeping our finger on the pulse of the weather, i.e. hurricanes/tropical storms forming south of us. Guess that is living in the moment. We can go into the Paradise Marina if something really big is coming, but otherwise we feel safe and comfortable. We can still go to the Sea, after it's cooled a bit.

Our chiropractor, Dennis Brittain is the one who has taught us to be fearless when it comes to getting from point A to point B in a dinghy. Last week we went dinghy dueling out by Tres Marietas to go fishing. We found one poor injured fish on the surface, but the "skippies" (Skipjacks[a fish]) just didn't seem to be around. We wanted them for bait for Dorado.

We came upon a pod of dolphins and we all jumped in the water. The water is so clear and steel gray blue out there. Phileta and I brought our masks, but I was the only one with fins on and as I tried to keep up with the dolphins, I looked down and saw 2 dolphins about 8-10 feet below me looking up at me and "talking". It was so exhilarating!

After a while we climbed back in our dinghies and went looking for a tide line. Once found, we decided to just troll on either side of the debris from the rains. I dropped my line and immediately the pole began to bend, no wiggling and squirming like a fish. Uh, oh, I remembered seeing a sea turtle a few minutes earlier and sure enough I had hooked the trailing edge of his back flipper. He was not happy and I don't think my apology was accepted. Luckily after less than 5 minutes he was free and back on his way with a new battle wound.

That's it for now. Life is good. You ought to try just putting a ripe mango in the freezer and then cutting it in half on on a hot day. Mango sorbet, yummmmmmm.

Love & Light to all,

D & P