La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

We arrived in La Cruz on November 13th. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is northwest of Puerto Vallarta, in the Bay of Banderas (Bay of Flags). The marina here is a big one with over 300 slips. It includes a nice seafood restaurant, pickle ball courts, a fish market, a wonderful outdoor market each Sunday, and it is practically connected to the small authentic town of La Cruz De Huanacaxtle. The town gets it's name from the Huanacaxtle tree, which are huge and beautiful. They have a town square (as all Mexican towns do) and many small family owned restaurants. It is quite charming. This marina also has two vast beaches with crashing waves. Since Murf loves to swim, this is a very good thing! We've been told that there is a crocodile in our marina, and I believe it as there is a trap for it located right by one of the docks. Now that we are on mainland Mexico we do need to be aware of crocodiles! 

A few days after our arrival, happy hour on Curandera!

We've been here for over three weeks and have really enjoyed the area. When we arrived there were two other Nordhavn boats here (Red Rover 55 - Kevin & Alison and Sprezzatura 40- Eric) and we met a new family on Noeta 50 (Alexa and Pat). A few days before Thanksgiving Seacret 76 (Jeremy & Hilda) and Last Arrow 60(Vince and Linda) arrived and we spent a lovely Thanksgiving on Red Rover! They did a great job hosting, it was a traditional Thanksgiving feast! And they even had a Christmas tree set up in there boat. We missed our families of course, but we felt blessed to share the holiday with our Nordhavn friends. 

Another happy hour with some of the Nordies! 

Our gracious Thanksgiving Day hosts, Alison and Kevin on Red Rover!

There are resorts and towns north and south of La Cruz. One evening we decided to check out Punta Mita. It is west of us by about 30 km. The Four Seasons is in this town along with a few shops and restaurants along the beach. We strolled into some fun higher end shops and landed in one with a bar connected to it. We met a young bartender that made great margaritas with Mezcal (which I love) and Raicilla, which is a type of mezcal but isn't smokey like most mezcal, its a bit sweeter than tequila. It has a history in Mexico, and it has reputation as the local moonshine. But it is gaining popularity and this one was especially good so we bought a bottle. Afterwards we headed to Hector's for a lovely meal and a great Syrah from Mexico (who would of thought?). Hector actually waited on us a few times which was a treat. He was very proud of his food and restaurant, as he should be!

On Saturday, November 27th we headed out to a quaint beach town called Yelapa, which is directly across the Bay to the south. It is kind of an independent socialist community in a small beach town surrounded by nature and jungle. Nobody really owns anything there, it is all shared, which is interesting. You can really only reach it by boat. We traveled there with Jeremy and Hilda (Seacret) in their dinghy...took about an hour going at a good clip. We anchored out a ways from shore and a panga picked us up to head toward the shore. There were thatched roof restaurants (palaypas) dotting the entire beach. We enjoyed a nice lunch and a few beers, looked through some shops, walked the beach and headed back. It was a fun Saturday adventure. 

Murf and I cruising to Yelapa!

The next day we drove northwest to Sayulita which is about 45 minutes from La Cruz. It is a fun surfing community with bars, restaurants, shops and lots of people! Both gringos and locals were buzzing around...hanging at the beach and walking around with surf boards.  It was fun to watch the surfers catching the huge waves! Surf shops are abundant here. The town has such a fun, artsy vibe. We will definitely be back!

Being that Mexico is a developing country, there is a lot of visible poverty. We saw this in Sayulita and we see it every day. The Mexican people are happy to have something to sell, whether it a homemade food at a roadside restaurant, fisherman selling their fresh catch from their overnight excursions, a man pushing a cart selling strawberries, the lady at the lavanderia washing clothes all day with her little baby at her side. This is the reality outside of the resorts and high end hotels. It is easy to take our wonderful convenient life for granted. We are so lucky. But the truth is, the Mexicans are one of the happiest cultures in the world. They are content with their simple life. (lesson??)

Sayulita surf town - feeling blessed! 

Artsy Sayulita!

Darryn & Murf on the streets of Sayulita

The Sunday market here is the best outdoor market I have ever experienced! It is set-up along the breakwater which is a long concrete path that curves around the marina. The market is about a half mile long and has everything - homemade crafts, art, clothes, vegetables, gourmet spreads, bread, hummus, fruit drinks, jewelry and lots of fresh prepared food! Many are vegan surprisingly, and very delicious! So every Sunday we usually eat our breakfast and our lunch at the market, and buy our produce for the week. Then Darryn leaves and I keep shopping! I have purchased three dresses, two leather bracelets, yoga mat bags, a purse and many other fun things. I love it! 

The first week we were here we ventured in to Puerto Vallarta, then south to the jungle, for some zip lining with our friend Eric and his friend Debbie on Sprezzatura. We took a high speed large dinghy to a bay and then transferred to a open air bus to get to the jungle. There wasn't room for me on the back so I sat in the front with the driver. We drove for about 25 minutes up into the back country. The lines were high up in the trees, over running water. It was so fun! We both even tried it upside down. What a trip! There was lunch and tequila tasting afterwards. A trip to Mexico is not complete without zip lining!

Zip lining in the jungle!

There are many Canadians here, what a surprise right? And many of the boaters are from either Vancouver, Seattle, California or other parts of the Pacific. We meet new people every day, mainly because Murf wants to say hi to everyone who passes by. We have also joined a volunteer organization called the Panama Posse. It is a group of like minded boaters, both sail boats and power boats, that are traveling the Pacific, Sea of Cortez, Central America, Panama Canal and Caribbean. They hosted a seminar in Barra de Navidad (the Christmas sandbar) which is south of Puerto Vallarta. We rented a car and drove 5 hours down the coast to attend (we would have boated down but we had a haul out scheduled for boat maintenance the following week). The roads here are very rough so everything takes longer. The trip was only 250 km! The seminar was at a resort in Barra, and there is a small marina there as well. The grounds were beautiful. There is a small town across the water which is accessible by a panga taxi (a panga is the typical boat used by Mexican fisherman). It is a small rough town but charming all the same. We ate dinner at Bob's Steakhouse one night. Bob (80 yrs old) opened the restaurant a week prior because he was bored! He told us he was sick of watching TV! He waited on us and the experience and food were very good! Then there is the French Baker...  he travels from  the town into the marina every morning on his panga boat. He has a beautiful spread of pastries, and he sells fresh coffee (the best) and even bottles of wine from France! (he and his partner are from Normandy, France). We had heard about the French baker so it was a delight to experience it and purchase some goodies (wine, coffee, croissants and a beautiful fruit tart)!  

The Panama Posse seminars were held Thursday - Sunday. They were very informative and we met some very nice people, many that we will see on our travels. We learned about first aid, marinas and towns, how to prepare for the Panama Canal crossing, culture, weather and maps etc. Crossing into different countries takes some planning! We had a social hour with the gang on Friday night and a potluck on Saturday night right by the water at the marina. Many Canadians and even a few couples from Vancouver.

Panama Posse Crew at happy hour

The Panama Posse routes, marinas and anchorages

The French baker in the Barra de Navidad Marina!

The marina in Barra de Navidad

The day after we arrived back in La Cruz we hauled out our boat for bottom paint, thruster & stabilizer service and other maintenance. It is quite a production hauling a 30 ton boat out of the water! We stayed in town at a simple hotel called the La Cruz Inn for four nights. Darryn left early every day to participate in the work being done. The hotel has a small restaurant that is arguably the best in town. The tables are set out right on the sidewalk and is the "Cheers" of La Cruz! There is always someone sitting outside sipping a margarita or having breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

Curandera getting hauled out for maintenance    

We only have a week left here in La Cruz with a flight to Minneapolis for Christmas. It is going to be a shock to the system to enter into a winter wonderland from hot and humid weather. We are really looking forward to spending time with family and friends. Then off to Vancouver for a few weeks. We will be back and ready to head south down the coast to southern Mexico when we get back in late January! Adios Amigos! Happy Holidays!