We pulled into the marina in La Cruz in Banderas Bay (near Puerto Vallarta) at approximately 11:30 a.m. today after having been followed by a pod of dolphins and having had a mama and baby whale duo breach about a boat length off our starboard bow. This after a relatively uneventful 19 hour overnight passage from Tenacatita Bay. The timing for our arrival had to be just right in order to round Cabo Corrientes in early morning; at any other time the seas and winds can be extreme. We couldn't have planned it better: the seas were flat calm as the sun rose, with a full moon still behind us.
It really feels like home here. After all, we spent at least 3 months last season in the area so we know it well. We heard the usual characters over the morning VHF net even before we docked. We saw some familiar boats and some friends that we hadn't seen for a while. We'll spend the next 4 days here getting ready for our trip to California for a bat mitzvah and a bar mitzvah, as well as some re-provisioning.
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is a great little town that has both benefited and suffered from this relatively new marina. It used to be a sleepy fishing village but now boasts several excellent restaurants and some marina services. However, many of those with beachfront property soon found themselves facing a high cement wall, landfill, and the ominousness of condos that will soon go up. On the other hand, business is good for the residents of this town, and the fisherman have a beautiful new Mercado de Pescado (Fish Market) to sell their catches. The whole place felt magical to us as we walked the streets this evening discovering what was new since we left last spring.
And it feels much like home.
-Barb
Marina Riviera Nayarit
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico
I still remember the pretty quaint and peaceful town. Enjoy the quiet solitude before going back to "civilization" with all its action, festivities, old friends, etc. - a whirlwind compared to what you're used to...
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