Excerpts
from the log with selected photos
.
R&R: A long stop in Puerto Vallarta (January
27, 2001 to April 13, 2001)
January 27, 2001
"At 0900, we
went through the breakwater at Nuevo Vallarta and turned left into our slip at
the Paradise Village Resort & Marina. We are now overlooking the ostriches
and peacocks in the pen in front of our boat. What a place. We have all the
amenities of the resort as a part of our marina fee...including the spa, pools,
etc. There's also a new shopping mall adjacent to the marina. So, who wants to
visit us?
It's a tough life
down here in PV. We have to walk on the beach every morning and Suzy's already
got some tennis friends. In fact, she's got a game in the morning. So, we're
adjusting just fine."
Our slip at Paradise Village
just behind the ostrich pen.
Here's one of our "next
door" neighbors!
February 15, 2001
We're having a
great time. This is a wonderful place. The marina is just behind the hotel and
we have a very short walk to the beach. The beach is magnificent. It goes
continuously for about six miles and has many secluded spots. If that's not
enough, the hotel has it's own zoo with tigers, rare birds, deer, monkeys,
crocodile, etc., including the ostrich and peacock pen which is right in front
of our boat slip. You wake up to some pretty exotic sounds here. We also have a
new mall (albeit, a small one by US standards) about 3 walking minutes away.
There are also two large pools at the hotel and at least four first class
restaurants. We're NOT roughing it here.
The beach at
Paradise Village that goes for miles…as far as you can see!
"Nuevo
Vallarta, where we are, is several miles north of Puerto Vallarta and is
actually in another state. PV is in the Mexican state of Jalisco and NV is in
the state of Nayarit. Nayarit observes the same time as US Mountain time and
Jalisco observes US Central time. To keep it simple, Paradise Village uses PV
(Jalisco) time. So, we have now come from Pacific to Central time. It is
amazing how far east we've sailed coming down here. We're actually on a
longitude that puts us east of Santa Fe or El Paso. We've sailed about 600
miles east and about 700 miles south.
We've been into PV
a few times now. You can take the bus for 10 pesos/person (or $1 US). A taxi is
about $15 US (negotiable). It's a neat place with many restaurants and fine
hotels. Several cruise ships stop here as well. No question, it's a tourist
economy here. PV was made famous in the 1950's by Tennessee William's movie
Night of the Iguana, which starred Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon and
Deborah Kerr and was directed by John Huston....so, how's that for
trivia."
Statue honoring the
director that help make PV famous in the 1950's, John Huston.
February 17, 2001
"This week,
Suzy's parents (Pancho & Mia, alias Ed & Jean) are here visiting us
from Santa Fe."
Suzy & Mia stop
in front of Mia's Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta.
So, Pancho decided
to stop at his restaurant as well!
Suzy & Mia
doing a little shopping in PV.
February 27, 2001
"The weather
has been beautiful almost the entire time we've been here. It's usually in the
60's at night and the 80's during the day. We did have a few days of rain last
week. But, nothing major. Cooled things off. But, for the most part, it's been
very nice.
One thing we've
really enjoyed is meeting the other cruisers here. Every morning at 8:30am
there's a cruisers radio net on the VHF radio. Between 50-70 boats check in
from the three marinas and the outlying anchorages. There are two main
anchorages. One is just off the town of La Cruz, about 8 miles north of us, and
the other at Punta de Mita, about 15 miles NW of here. The net welcomes all new
arrivals and says adios to those leaving. Then they give a weather report, tide
information, announce who's headed to the States that can carry mail, answer
questions on where you can buy things, announce current events, etc. It's very
useful & helpful. A lot of the cruising community is here right now because
of the Banderas Bay Regatta...a big event... which is coming up March 22-25.
Its sponsored by the marina we're staying at, Paradise Village. So, all the
events will be here making it nice and convenient for us.
Beautiful morning
picture with fog laying along the distant surrounding mountains.
March 19, 2001
"Just before the
regatta, our son, Kevin, came down to visit us for eight days. He went surfing
every day in a rented Chevy surfmobile and had a good time. We enjoyed his
company and showing him the sights."
Kevin in the little
Chevy "surfmobile" leaving Paradise Village.
March 27, 2001:
The big news is the
Banderas Bay regatta. This is the highlight of
the cruising season in Mexico...and it is quite an event. It was held March
22-25 here at Paradise Village. There were 58 boats competing and probably 300
boats came for the event. People stayed at one of the three marinas or anchored
out at La Crux or Punta de Mita.
We decided not to
race FINAL STRAW. Instead, I crewed aboard C'EST LA VIE, a 47' Catalina, owned
by Keith and Susan Levy from the Sacramento area. Keith's a retired judge...and
they're a really fun couple. Keith was helmsman, Bob from WANDERING STAR was
tactician, Debbie from DIFFERENT WORLDS and Tom from TAI TAN were grinders,
Susan did foredeck and I was mainsail and headsail trimmer. The races were
three days with parties every evening. On Friday, we had very little wind. No
boat in our class was able to finish before they called the race. On the second
day, we had good wind and placed 2nd, with a six minute lead over the third
place boat and nine minutes behind the first place boat...over the 11 mile
course. On the third and last day, we had an exciting race and did well placing
third. We missed second place in that race by just six seconds. So, overall, we
tied for second. The parties were great fun. They had the Nayarit Folklore
Ballet dance for us one evening. They were muy bien and quite colorful. Another
night, we had a local group called Leyenda that play flutes and pipes and had a
beautiful Peruvian sound. In fact, I now have one of their CD's. So, the whole
event was a lot of fun and a great way to meet other cruisers doing the same
thing we are.
Heading out to the
race course aboard C'est La Vie.
The crew of C'est
La Vie at the Banderas Bay Regatta awards dinner.
