We have had many adventures and rode many waves since we last updated our webpage. We have really been enjoying Mainland and the weather has defiantly gotten warmer. Last time we posted we were in Bandareas Bay near Puerto Vallarta. After reprovisioning at La Cruz we headed to Yelapa on the other side of the bay. It can be a very dangerous place to anchor because it is so exposed to swell and wind. With no swell predicted to hit for the next few days and the wind light and variable we decided to make a go of it and we are so glad we did. It is the most amazing little town that you can only reach by boat. We anchored our bow anchor in about 75ft of water and our stern anchor was pretty much on the beach in 5 ft of water. Needless to say we were very close to shore. We had the most amazing next two days of exploring this little town. It is quite the little hippie stoner retreat area. WE met a very nice man, Brad as soon as we went ashore . He owned the hotel right on the beach and gave us great information about the town, let us use his shower, and gave us three movies that have not even come out on DVD yet. He thought they would be good to trade with cruisers along the way! The second day we were their we hiked back into the mountains along the river that runs down to the ocean to a waterfall. It was such a different environment from the touristy beach palapas that we saw when we arrived. With in fifteen minutes we were walking through little local villages that lined the river. Their were tons of horses, pigs and roosters. Their were authentic old barns with amazing saddles, women doing laundry in the river, men using horses to carry wood to different construction sites and small stores with all the local produce. We lhad learned from Brad that when tourism hit Yelapa most of the locals moved back into the mountains along the river. WE feel so blessed not only to be able to visit little anchorages like Yelapa but to have the opportunities to see how the locals live and experience authentic Mexican villages.. Yelapa was a great place to stay for a few days but we decided not to push our luck with the weather and to head on to find those oh so needed waves at Punta Mita.

We had an amazing day sail back to Punta Mita where to our surprise their were some small waves. We dropped anchor and had a short evening session before dark. The next few days were heaven for us. A south swell had hit and their were fun waves for four days in a row. We went on one crazy adventure to find a local spot we heard of and ended up taking four buses, hiking on private property and squeezing our boards and bodies under a barbed wire fence before we found the little spot. It was a fun wave but we are still not sure if it was worth the effort. After fun waves and to much sun we decided it was time to head on. We made one more run into Puerto Vallarta for boxed wine and a headset so we could hook up skype and took off south. We were all prepared for some good strong winds while passing Cabo Corrientes which is often compared to Point conception but we got not a breath of wind and ended up motoring the whole day to Ipala. Ipala was a small little town and the anchorage was not that great but we ended up meeting two guys from Santa Barbara on Ciao Bella so we stayed the night and hung out with them. It actually ended up that we had some major coincidences with Jim the captain of Ciao Bella. We were having cocktails on their boat when Jim told us that he used to own a Downeast 32 just like ours. We told him how much work we had to put into her to make her look like this and how she used to be an ugly brown color before we painted her blue. He then went on to tell us that the Downeast he used to own was an ugly brown also and that it was named Tropic Cloud! At about that point both of our jaws dropped and we started laughing. That was the same name that we found on our transom when we sanded her down to paint her. We gave him a tour of our boat and sure enough it was his old boat. It is moments like these when you realize how small the world really is.
We made another stop at Chamela for a few days before heading on to Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad. On our way out of Chamaela we heard Attu, the Westsail that we cruised down the entire Baja with call us on the VhF. WE had not heard from them in over a month and it was great to finally meet up with them again in Tenacatita. When we arrived at Tenacatita it was hot and we were tired and feeling kind of bored. We were sitting in our cockpit trying to decide what to occupy ourselves with when we got invited to get towed on our surfboards behind this guys dingy. It was such a god sent. We both really needed a pick me up and with no waves in sight this was the next best thing. For the next hour we took turns surfing behind his dingy all over the bay. The sun was setting and the ocean was as warm as a bath tub. We were incredibly sore the next day but it was such a blast! While we were getting towed around the bay Brandon noticed that Caringoram, the boat that we left San Diego with and had not seen since Ensenada was anchored up just a few boats away from us. It was so great to meet up with them and exchange stories of the last few months. Currently they are heading north to Puerto Vallarta but there is still a chance they will head down south still. We only spent two days in Tenacatita before we went around the corner to Barra de navidad. It was a great little town and their were a few small waves to be had. We ended up staying almost a week because we liked the town so much. After baguettes and croissants form the French baker in town and a few surf sessions we once again pulled up anchor and headed out of Barra with our friends Attu. We were both sailing along at sunset when we looked back and saw Attu’s sail caught around something and it didn’t look like they could get it down. After a while we learned that their sail had somehow wrapped around their forestay and it broke their forestay leaving it streaming aloft. NO Bueno! They ended up motoring into Manzanillo but we kept on a straight track to our next destination where we were praying we would get the wave we had heard so much about.
The first morning at Caletta we were woken up to a military boat with fifteen men with machine guns right outside our boat. They ended up boarding us, checking our paperwork and all of our compartments and then left. All in all they were very nice and polite but it was kind of intimidating to wake up to. The next week though was non stop fun. We surfed and surfed and surfed until we literally collapsed. WE got so lucky and got their just as a huge swell was hitting. I was only able to surf the first few days and then it got way to big for my liking but it was awesome to watch and I haven’t seen Brandon so giddy in years. It was a great little hideaway that we would either have to hitchhike, take a taxi, or ride on the back of and ice cream truck with horribly annoying music to get to but it was so so worth it. The town was so great and since it is not a major stop for most cruisers it was not touristy at all. It was an old cowboy town with leather shops and carnecrias everywhere. The carnecerias were pretty intense with cow heads, eyes still attached, hanging from the ceiling. YUCK! The people were so nice and it was so great to connect with all the local surfer kids. It is amazing how just having a surfboard in your hand instantly makes you best friends with all the local kids. The local surfers were nice and they had such a great attitude in the water. One morning we were heading in to surf and a little boy was sitting watching the waves and asked if we would rent him a surfboard. After saying no dinero a few times and walking away I saw him sit down and watch all of his friends out surfing. I couldn’t leave so I turned around and rented him the board. On our way back to the boat the little boy ran up to us and with a grin from ear to ear he gave us both a high five. Having just had a great surf session ourselves we all shared the same feeling and it felt so good to have helped him out.
We got lucky with surf but not so lucky with a calm anchorage. The price you pay when you are sailing to surf. So after five days of great waves and rocking back and forth in the huge swell we decided to leave and head for Zihuatanejo. We stopped in Ixtapa first where we spent a night in a marina and washed down the boat and filled up our water tanks. It was only the second night we have spent in a marina since we left and it felt so good to tie up and not have any worries for a night. We are currently in Zihuatanejo and it is crazy. It is Semanna Santa which equates to Mexican Spring Break. Everyone in Mexico takes the week before Easter off and goes to the beach. The entire beach is packed with people and the anchorage is constantly bombarded with jet skiers, parasailers, hobie cats and pangas. It is pretty fun to watch but I cant wait for it to calm down tomorrow. Tomorrow I pick my parents up at the airport. We are so excited to hang out with them for a few day. Zihuatanejo is a great place and it will be a lot of fun to see the town with them. It will also be nice to see some familiar faces!