The sail trip to Puerto Vallarta with Larry and Betti….Merry Christamas!

When I got back to Mazatlan, Trevor had already been visiting with his Dad and Betti for about a week.  I hear they went to a movie, christmas singing, plenty of dinning experiences, etc.

Movie time! and in english ; )
Trevor relaxing at the pool
Trevor’s many meals with his dad and Betti

When I got there…Betti said and I quote: “We want to show you how wonderful Mazatlan is so you all come back…” and that is what they did: They took us out to dinner, showed us around town and the malecon, and shared their privileges at other resorts so that we could enjoy pools and wonderful lunches.

 

These cool half car took us lots of places. I think they are called “toke tokes” but they were super fun to see the town.
Cheese ball
The restaurant they go to often…they knew everyone!!!!
At the restuarnt, we had custom and freshly made salsa…AMAZING!!!
Mazatlan’s Plaza…there is a plaza in every town, usually the center of town and this is where the activity is really vibrant! We saw live music, hip hop dancers, painting, vendors, christmas lights, lots of families and tourists.
The “Toke toke” we took to dinner, I sat up front to chat with the driver. He told us all about old town and was incredibly friendly.

It had been decided that the 4 of us would venture into the blue aboard Slow Flight to sail to Puerto Vallarta (PV) where they would take a bus back to Mazatlan.

Provisioning for our sail trip with Larry and Betti…look no hands

We left a day 1/2 after I landed back from the states so trevor had to do most of provisioning and getting the boat ready for the trip.  We set sail to Isla Isabel, the “Galapagos” of the Mexico where it is of sorts, a national park.  It was an overnight trip so Trevor and I took turns at the helm. Betti got a little sea sick but we quickly remedied it with medication.  We ended up staying  2 nights at Isla Isabel.

Rock outcroppings just outside Isla Isabel
The friggets birds circling around the boat.
At anchor in the bay at Isla Isabel
Hike to the Crater on Isla Isabel. The trail was trough lush trees and we literally were underneath all the bird nests above us. We took a video of all the sounds…it was a surreal, especially not being on land for a few days. We felt so little!
a photo of a photo…I probably should not quit my day job…wait I don’t have one : )

We then headed off to Matanchen for 1 night.  On our way there, Trevor caught a Blue Footed Boobie on his fishing line.  Unfortunately we had to reel him all the way to the boat but we did get the hook out of his wing.

This photo is from the internet but I thought I would at least give you an idea of what this bird looks like. To me they are super cute…but may not be the smartest of the bird bunch!

We had a wonderful dinner despite the “jeje’s”…which are little noseemum that itch like crazy…worse than mosquitoes!!!  To say the least…after visiting this town, we had a slight infestation of biting bugs.  Both Larry and Betti had MANY bites and we debated what type of bugs we had aboard.  We came to the consensus that it was not bed bugs but the “jejes”.

Burning coconut husks to keep the bugs away…it worked but the smoke was a bit much and didn’t fair as a good appetizer
Betti and I at the restaurant
Trevor and his dad….Trevor getting “horns”
I never know what to order so I often ask the server what is good and/or what is the favorite…this is what I got and it was fantastic!

Anchor up and we headed to the town Chacala and stayed 1 night.  We met fellow sailors, Hal and Nancy, aboard SV Shakedown.  They told us we could take our dinghy to the dock where the fishermen were.  We did but Trevor didn’t feel good leaving the dinghy there so we dropped off Larry and Betti and took the dinghy to shore in front of the beach palapa for dinner.  Well….we had a FIRST….We swamped the dinghy!!!!  I was soaked from head to toe…Trevor hopped off just in time to NOT flip the dinghy.  We were the evenings entertainment as it was right in the middle of dinner time.  We still enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the beach : )

The fisherman’s dock…there were steps to board on and off against the rocky and mussel covered cement walls.
This was some of the catch of day.

We then headed to La Cruz on December 24th,  which is a smaller and more local town in Banderas Bay, just 12 miles away from Puerto Vallarta. On our way to La Cruz we had a serious wildlife adventure!  We saw 8 whales: most of them flapping their fins and some with a full breech out of the water.  We had dolphins at the bow and we even had mating turtles!  We also had long lines and we caught one on the prop.  The fisherman quickly came over and had to cut the line….no damage to our boat or propeller.

Larry at the bow enjoying the sun
Turtle style…”get a room”…wait that’s our bad!
Long line fisherman. These lines are about 1 mile long and only have a 2 liter pop bottle as floats on either end of the line. When the swell of the ocean is up, you can’t see the “pop bottles” so we had to keep a watch out at all times.

We docked at the marina rather than anchoring out in the bay for ease.  We stayed in La Cruz over the Christmas weekend and had a blast, minus the clock Trevor broke : )

Veggies at the Sunday market in La Cruz
Sausage at the Sunday market in La Cruz. We bought some awesome sausage for dinner at a later date for pasta.
Friut at the Sunday market in La Cruz
We must of ate our way through the market that day…here is a yummy food vendor
The fish market!
Betti getting her “shop” on! She got a beautiful dress, earrings and a necklace to match. Even a mat made out of bark.
This dog was hilarious! Someone gave him a plastic cup frozen…he used his intelligence….
Merry Christmas!!!! Dinner at the marina.
Christmas lights at the La Cruz marina

After a few nights enjoying the holidays at La Cruz, we needed to get Larry and Betti to Puerto Vallarta (PV) to catch their bus back to Mazatlan. We actually sailed most of the 12 miles to PV.  Betti wasnot feeling well that day and slept.  We were not sure what it was and when we reached the dock at Marina Vallarta, it was decided to take her to the hospital to get her checked out.  After a few nervous hours, she was discharged and feeling a little better knowing it was not Denge Fever.  Back at the boat, Trevor and I slipped out to have dinner while they packed and got ready to leave the next morning.

We loved having Larry and Betti aboard Slow Flight….it was a chance for Trevor, and I, to show them what life is really like for us because it is so hard to explain all the small details that we live by and why we do what we do aboard.

Larry and Betti, thank you for enduring us and our silly ways! We hope our 5 star rating still stands even after the experience has had a time to settle in : )

 

 

3 comments

  1. I loved reading your blog and the pictures! I am headed to Mexico in April to use those sailing skills that Trevor taught me! Tim in Texas

  2. What a wonderful adventure!
    So many memorable moments..
    -Hiking and snorkeling around the island those first few days and seeing the birds all puffed up to attract their mates……I am so beautiful!…Come to me!
    -catch and release of the blue footed boobie and being able to see one of these beautiful birds so close up even if unintended.
    -The day of whales and dolphins and romantic turtles..oh my!
    -smudge pot dining
    -Good food
    -Great company
    The very best thing was spending time with you two and sharing in your wonderful adventure. Memories we will always treasure. Your 5 star rating holds!
    Happy travels. Much love. Dad and Betti

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