Hot cat
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Hot cat |
Our 30 mile trip from Chamela south to Tenacatita was a flat, glassy motor for the first four hours. Finally, an hour out from Tenacatita bay the wind filled in from the NW and we had a slow downwind wing & wing sail into the bay. Still sailing, we turned into the large bay surrounded by large jungly mountains and found all sorts of wind from the NW and had a romping flat broad reach right up to the anchorage.
Tucked up behind the NE beach we anchored among the 50 (!) other boats. It was a nice flat anchorage, if not so private; hardly any swell was making it in to us from the Pacific. Since this was the farthest south we would be traveling, we had decided we'd hang out here for a month just enjoying the calm anchorage, warm water, beautiful beaches, and other friendly cruisers.
There are so many cruisers in Tenacatita that they have a local VHF net each morning. We started our day at 8 am by listening to this net with our coffee enjoying the various announcements such as new arrivals and departures, weather, items for trade, events, etc. Many of the nets were run by cruising kids and those were really fun to listen to as they took their duty very seriously and did a terrific job.
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Putting through the mangroves |
It was HOT in Tenacatita! Each day was in the mid to upper 80s and only around 70 at night. We were still trying to get acclimated to the heat so spent much of each day either swimming in the 85 degree water or lounging in the shade, particularly at the palapa restaurant onshore that the cruisers gather at each afternoon to drink cheap very cold beer. The cats were really hot and spent each day laying with their bellies in the air on the cooler cabin floor. Precious with her long hair was really miserable, so we tried to give her a hair cut. She wasn't too keen on that, nor did it seem to help much, so she just continued to lay in the shade too. Luckily a 10-15 knot breeze would blow over the anchorage during the hottest part of each day and combined with the windscoop over our forward hatch, the boat would stay fairly cool and breezy.
Tenacatita has a marvelous "jungle river" trip that you take the dinghy through to get to the palapa restaurants on the more populated tourist beach on the west side of the bay. Actually a saltwater mangrove lagoon, a two mile tunnel snakes through the brilliant green mangroves like a narrow river. It is a beautiful trip with many wonderful birds and the mangroves themselves are fascinating with their long brown roots seeming to drip down on all sides. The best part is to stop in the middle with the mangroves reaching over your head, cut off the dinghy motor and just drift around listening to the trickle of water and the chattering of birds. If you are really still, you may see a cayman lizard slithering around in the mud....
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Tenacatita tourist beach |
One of the times we took the jungle river trip by dinghy over to the main tourist beach, we splurged at one of the restaurants on the famous "fish rolls" of the area. They were, by far, the most scrumptious meal we've had in all of Mexico. The fish roll is a white fish fillet rolled around a number of juicy pink shrimp and vegetables, with bacon wrapped around the fillet. Then the roll is fried or steamed and served on a plate smothered in a creamy almond sauce. Just delicious.
Across Tenacatita bay lies the little town of La Manzanilla. It was a long 3 mile dinghy ride across the bay into town, but it wasn't a bad trip, only 15 minutes, as long as the wind was not blowing and kicking up wind waves. We found La Manzanilla to be very colorful and quaint, bedecked with jungle plants and flowers and many friendly people. The town also had an excellent restaurant/coffee shop that served scrumptious chorizo, a spicy pork sausage mixture they would stuff in a fluffy omelet. There were a number of small tiendas we were able to get some basic provisions at and even a torterilla and internet cafe.
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Shady crocs of La Manzanilla |
La Manzanilla also had a lavanderia or laundry service. In many places in Mexico, you just drop all your laundry off at a lavanderia and then pick it up either later that afternoon or the next morning. For the same price as washing it yourself in a U.S. laundromat, it comes back to you washed, dried, neatly folded and fresh-smelling. Such luxury!
The most interesting thing about La Manzanilla was the 15 or so crocodiles living on the edge of town in a fenced-in lagoon. However, the fence had holes large enough to drive a Volkswagen through so we're still not sure what was keeping the giant crocs in. It added an element of danger for sure. Supposedly the crocs stay in fresh or brackish water, but we sure looked around us before going swimming after visiting them.
It was in La Manzanilla that we caught the bus into Melaque/Barra de Navidad, the two larger towns in the bay just south of Tenacatita. Although only a 5 mile or so trip by water, it was a 25 mile trip by bus through winding jungle hills on a skinny two-lane mountain road. The ride through the countryside was beautiful, lined with lush flowering tropical plants and towering palm forests. On one particular ride, we certainly got our 9 peso's worth of thrills; this particular bus had some sort of engine problem and would creep up the hills at a walking pace, then when we reached the top, the driver would try to make up for lost time by screaming down the other side. We'd try not to look over the cliff edges at the farmland far below while the bus shuttered down the steep road. We swear we were on two wheels a couple of times as the driver veered around the corners. Quite an exciting ride, certainly rivaling Knott's Berry Farm.
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Dra. Rubio's pharmacy and office |
We only stopped in Melaque briefly to visit the cash machine, so did not see much of it. Barra de Navidad, the smaller town on the south part of the bay was a really charming quiet Mexican beach town facing a lovely turquoise bay with honey sand and brilliant white surf. Admittedly, our favorite part of Barra was Tess's Malt Shop, an oasis that served giant American-style bacon-cheeseburgers and fries and the most delicious, creamy malts we'd ever had. A truly nice taste of home!
Our main reason for visiting Barra de Navidad was for Michael and his ear to pay a visit to Dra. Rubio who was recommended by a fellow cruiser. At her office, located at the front part of her pretty house, we waited in line for about a half hour to see her (no appointment needed). Once in her clean office, she looked into his ear and in clear English declared that Michael had a hole in his eardrum! She explained that water probably had gotten into his inner ear through the small hole and caused the vertigo. She said it was good he had been staying out of the water, continue doing so and all he could do was continue waiting for it to heal. She took us next door to her pharmacy and sold Michael some antibiotics to take for a week or so to prevent infection. The best part was that his consultation cost only US$15 and the antibiotics were around US$20. What a deal!
We figure Michael must have burst his eardrum while diving months ago in Los Frailes, but he could not remember experiencing any pain which is one of the major symptoms. He was just glad to hear that it wasn't a terminal illness.
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Quiet sunset in Tenacatita |
Back in Tenacatita we had fun participating in some of the cruiser events. Every Friday evening, there was a dinghy appetizer raft-up. About 15-20 dinghies would be tied together in one corner of the anchorage and all sorts of delicious appetizers would be passed around. So many really, that no one ate dinner later. Everyone would introduce themselves and it would just be a generally fun way to get to know new people.
One evening the catamaran Island Sonata invited anyone over who had an instrument for an evening of music-making. About 15 people gathered onboard in their spacious cockpit, including Michael with his guitar and Sara with her flute. All of us tried to play a number of songs together; thankfully there were some real musicians onboard who helped us novices along in the group songs. M.J. on Island Sonata had a full-size electric keyboard plugged in that she played beautifully. Doug from Whistledown made everyone cheer with his great renditions of Johnny Cash songs. Greg and Sujata on Maajhi-Ré were amazingly accomplished musicians. They both played the guitar, with Greg playing the mandolin as well and Sujata singing with her spectacular voice. They sang a number of beautiful songs together and it was spine-tingling they were so good. We had a really amazing time playing and listening to the music drifting over the calm water in the warm night air of Tenacatita.
We had a few memorable hikes around the Tenacatita area. There were some quiet dirt roads that led from the boat anchorage to the Tenacatita tourist beach which we explored a few times. The only danger seemed to be the plants -- as part of the "thorn forest" vegetation zone, all the trees and plants in the area seemed to live up to their name by harboring from huge to teeny-tiny thorns. It was not the kind of place you'd want to get off the beaten path.
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Tenacatita red rocks |
One place we stumbled upon was a fascinating area of red lava rock right on the shore. The ledge was full of interesting tide pools teeming with tiny fish, sea urchins and countless other creatures. The waves crashing on, through, and around the rocks were very dramatic and we must have watched for hours.
We are not cruising with a watermaker and find we can make the 60 gallons of fresh water we carry in tanks and jugs and sunshower last several weeks, especially if there is non-potable water available for showering. Drinkable purified water is available in 5-gallon containers (just like the big blue bottles in the U.S.) but we have not had to buy any yet. We have always been able to find a drinkable source, often from other cruisers with large watermakers who find they must give water away since they do not use the water in their tanks fast enough (having to run the watermaker at least a few times per week).
When the 205-foot motoryacht Lady Lola anchored amongst the 40 or so sailboats in Tenacatita we couldn't resist. We loaded our two water jugs into the dinghy and motored over to ask if they had any fresh water to spare. The friendly crew said they certainly did, informing us they use 2000 liters per day just to wash down the decks. So with our two jugs filled with 12 gallons of the freshest water we've had for weeks, we expressed our many thanks and dinghied away.
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Fiesta! |
The town of El Rebalsito, about 2 miles inland from Tenacatita was having their annual fiesta so we decided to check it out on the final day. With the crews of Rouser and Whistledown we hitched a ride into town in the back of a Canadian RVer's pickup. The fiesta got going around 3 pm in the small town's main hall. There were a number of other gringos there and we heard that the final day was for the whole town and visitors. The hall was filled with tables and chairs and a DJ was playing some traditional Mexican music at the only volume they seem to have down here (distortingly loud), interspersed with what must have been a high school band. We sat on some chairs kind of on the sidelines and before we knew it, we each had a fresh cold bottle of cerveza in our hand, gratis. Before we'd finished it, we each had a plate of the beef and rice dish they were serving everyone, complete with as many fresh tortillas as we could eat. And before we'd even got half done with our cerveza, a fellow had come by and handed everyone another. What a fiesta!
Adults and children were talking and drinking and eating and dancing and laughing and just having a good old time. All of the locals had their best cowboy hats and boots on and it was just a great sight to see everyone having so much fun in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. The town of El Rebalsito sure knows how to put on a fiesta!
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Jammin' on the beach |
On one of our last nights in Tenacatita, our friends on Rouser and Waking Dream organized a magical beach party. On a smaller beach adjacent to the anchorage, they got a bonfire going and even set up lanterns and Christmas lights in the trees. The whole anchorage was invited and just about all the crews showed up with an appetizer for the potluck, which as usual, turned into a feast. It was a marvelous evening of visiting with new and old friends. Then as the sun went down the instruments came out. As before, the musicians were just amazing and for hours singing and guitars, drums and even Island Sonata's electric piano filled the night air. The music was only interrupted by Waking Dream's fireworks show. We would be heading north from this point, some of our friends heading south, and others heading west to the South Pacific. It was marvelous to have one last evening with everyone together.
Our last few days in Tenacatita were spent gathering up what provisions we could in the tiny towns of La Manzanilla and El Rebelsito for our 300-mile trip up north to Mazatlan, which we'd hoped would be quick but we never knew what the weather would really do.
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The Rousers live up to |
Our good friends Eric and Angela on Rouser would be heading south then west from Tenacatita. We'd known these two amazingly fun people since meeting them in Olympia last summer, right before we would sail our two boats down the coast to San Francisco. And here we were still together all these thousands of miles later; it was very bittersweet to say goodbye to them as they are off to the South Pacific and New Zealand for a few years. We'll miss them dearly as we head back up the coast and into the Sea of Cortez.
