A Short Stop along the Way

On a whim, we decided to stop in Acapulco on our way from Puerto Angel to Zihuatenajo.  We’ve been to Acapulco several times on land with our dear friends the Saal-Dalmas as Dennise’s parents have had a house there for 30+ years.  We’ve made a lot of wonderful memories there, and because of this, we had decided not to stop there on our way south (also because we had time constraints).  But on a whim, we decided to stop there this time around, and we are glad we did.

First, it’s always nice coming in to a familiar place.  We knew where the grocery store was, where a healthy restaurant was, and the basic lay of the land.  Second, Acapulco is perhaps one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world.  Truly.  Arriving by sea this time was exhilarating (mixed with some melancholy since the Saal-Dalma family was not here).  And last but not least, there are kid boats here – YAY! 

There have been very few encounters with other kids since the beginning of the summer, so our kids were going a bit stir crazy.  Nonetheless, we met up with Santosha, a beautiful family (Tammy, Patrick and their 10 year old son Jack) in the last 3 days we were in Huatulco.  Tammy owned a yoga studio back home and she’s an incredible instructor. The boys really hit it off too.  We even spent a day with them at San Augustin beach (also known as Playa Sacrificio) where there is perhaps some of the best snorkeling we’ve ever done, and had a great meal.  We had a great time with them, really connecting, but then it was time to go. We and our kids were so sad that we had such a short time with them, but so goes the cruising life.

So when we heard there were more kid boats in Acapulco, we thought we’d take a break from our travels.

And so in Acapulco, we met up with the crew of Blue Sky as they are completing the last leg of a five year circumnavigation which will be completed when they return to Zihuatenjao next week.  Five years!  Emma and Jim are from Redondo Beach, and their kids are Phoebe (12) and Drake (11).  Our kids instantly connected – they are both outgoing as most cruising kids are.  We were in awe of their stories about helping locals in small villages in Madagascar and other places we’ve never heard of, by trading goods or simply applying basic first aid to save a young girl’s hand.  They make our trip seem like a jaunt to the corner store.

We also met up with s/v Lisa Kay.  We had been in contact with the crew of Lisa Kay (Lisa and Larry and their 10 year old son Ben) for a while.  First they had responded to our message on the “Southbound” email list for cruisers heading to Central America, when we asked for other kid boats.  The next time we ‘met’ was again not in person, when we were heading south to Zihuatenjao from Mazatlan, and, passing Barra de Navidad (where we had spent several weeks last season) we heard chatter on the VHF radio.  Having been traveling on our passage for a couple of days and not quite sure which time zone we were in, I put out a call on the VHF radio for a time check.  Larry came back with the correct time, and then we chatted a bit.  Later, via email, we remembered that we had emailed several weeks earlier.  Then again, about 100 miles south of Acapulco, we heard Lisa on the VHF (a pretty incredible thing since VHF radios do not generally transmit long distances).  They suggested that we make the stop in Acapulco as Ben was interested in meeting Harrison.  And so when we got closer, we decided to head into the bay.

We'll be adding links to their blogs to the right of our blog.  I've got a lot of catching up to do!

We spent the day yesterday at the Acapulco Yacht Club.  Then all five kids had a sleepover on Lisa Kay last night after going to see a movie in town.  They all slept in the same room and were up until 2 a.m.  Can’t wait to see how our kids behave today!  Michael and I got a night on the boat on our own and caught up on some episodes of Mad Men (an HBO series that we’ve recently gotten into).

We are now back on board, heading out for our 2 day passage to Z-town.  Once there, we’re planning another inland trip for a few days and then back for Sailfest, a sailing regatta and basic celebration week in Zihuatenjao the first week in February.

-Barb, written en route to Z-town on an overnight passage
Posted while in Z-town