Gone Surfin'

Sorry for the delay in posts (mom).  It seems internet access is a little harder to track down than surf in these parts, and anyone who knows us (or if you don’t, please reference two posts back) will accept our apology, as we have been having a little communion time with a warm water right hander.

So here goes a quick  anchorage update…

 Matanchen Bay                        lat. 21 30.832   long. 105 14.155

After leaving Isla Isabella we made our way back to the Mexican mainland to Matanchen Bay. It is a large bay just to the south of the town of San Blas. After pulling an overnighter from Isabella, we decided to treat ourselves to a cubeta of cold cervezas and bite of  food on the beach after dropping the hook*. (*hook is the pirate term for anchor) This reward had its repercussions, as we quickly became acquainted with the pesky locals. They go by jejenes. Translation: vile microscopic sand fleas whose bites will keep you awake at night lathering yourself with vaporub. Yes, vaporub. A recommendation from a local woman, which actually did gain us some relief.

In addition to this, Matanchen did offer a more pleasant experience in the form of a panga ride through a mangrove chocked full of birds and crocodiles which ended at a fresh water spring. On arrival to Tovara Springs, we made haste to take advantage of the rope swing and refreshing salt free water, which our bodies thanked us for.

Chacala             lat. 21 09.849   long. 105 13.633

On leaving Matanchen, we set our course for Chacala, a small village tucked in a quaint little bay. Our dinghy had been leaking, so Marc took this opportunity to patch it, as it was an easy swim to shore, therefore we could leave the dinghy on deck to dry. The whale watching in this area is out of control.  It seems every time you look at the horizon a whale is throwing itself around playfully.  Simply spectacular!

Punta Mita                 lat. 20 46.010   long. 105 31.138

Punta Mita is the northernmost point of Banderas Bay. At its mouth, the bay stretches 20 miles or so across and at its easternmost point lies the town of Puerto Vallarta.  Alas, we have hit the surf zone.

Punta Mita offers a fun right over rock reef and has a few different sections. Surf Tip: Take the wave in past the exposed rocks, as this section is steeper and offers the opportunity for a little cover up. Beware of kicking off the bottom as it is an urchin habitat.  Directly inside of the anchorage at Mita there is a wave similar to san-o. Consequently, it seems to be a SUP magnet and ground zero for the abundance of “surf schools” that all the surrounding hotels host. Further down into the bay we also surfed a break named La Lancha. It seems as though it is a beach break but has some rocks scattered about. It was predominantly a right the day we surfed it with an easy take off and possible barrels over the bars inside. Which Marc made sure to sample.

We enjoyed a little over two weeks here. In one of our bus jaunts back from re-provisioning in Vallarta, we decided to hop off the bus a little early and check out the town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. As is protocol after a successful day of doing “chores”, we promptly popped the cap off a cold ballenon, and went in search of  some tacos. Before the sweat had time to drip off the bottle we were seated in the taco stand of our “soon to be amigos”, Jaime and Rosa. And so began my first borrachera* as Marc calls it. (*Borrachera is the term used for pretty much willingly getting kidnapped by locals and involves the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol) Now, I know that sounds dangerous in those words but I assure you it is all in good nature, which we will further describe in our first installment of borracheras…