San Blas - Bahia De Chamela

19 31.70 N 105 05.50W
We were sad to leave San Blas – we would have liked to stay longer and explore the town.  We did one trip into town with the dinghy – hummm 4 miles out and around the bluff to the estuary that leads into the township – a very long wet sloppy trip but worth it.  The town was simply fascinating – cobblestone streets, burnt orange, yellow, orange, red and various shades of blue buildings next to each other – some only a few feet wide – everyone selling something to try and earn a dollar.  We went on a jungle cruise – it took over 4 hrs and we enjoyed every minute of it.  Miles along a river estuary watching baby and large crocodiles sun bake, we saw numerous turtles all piled on top of each other and many varieties of birds.  We stopped for lunch at the half way stop – the owners had fenced off a small area for visitors to swim before continuing their trip – I could just imagine hungry crocodiles on the other side of the ringlock wire fence!!!

Unfortunately San Blas is infested with a variety of bugs – you name it and they have it – especially “no see ums” (American for horrible biting bugs that are very very small).  In order to avoid bugs infesting your boat you need to stay at least 1 mile off shore – this was the rolly area so we went closer to the beach and paid dearly for it – I was spotty red for a few days and quickly learnt to paint myself liberally with the highest concentration DEET lotion I could find. 

Ex New Yorkers Norm Goldie and his wife Jan have lived in San Blas for many years and he now devotes his time to monitoring HF radio over night and assisting any sailors and fisherman that run into trouble. He runs a cruiser’s net at 8am and shortly thereafter goes to bed for several hours. He is a wonderful source of information and quite a chatterbox - he will give you a 20 min spiel on his qualifications and resume - repeatedly !!  Each morning Norm asks about your plans for the day and instructs on the best way to carry them out.  Norm knew we were going to take our dinghy up the estuary to look for animals and birds. Norm asked Don to go from VHF to HF so he could relay some details in private. Norm warned Don not to go ashore once out of the town area, especially where there were people or houses as a few years ago a mentally retarded Mexican had taken a shot at a dinghy that got too close - after Norm signed off we listened on the same channel to someone in the Pacific relaying our warning without accuracy - he was warning all cruisers that there was an insane man shooting at all cruisers in San Blas so don't go there !!! What a terrible thing to do to such a wonderful city and its people. 

We met a couple at San Blas from a yacht named “About Time”.  Jeff and Sharon are very generous, friendly, outgoing people and we thoroughly enjoyed their company on the jungle tour and later followed them to Chacala Bay.  We spent a day on the beach there under the cover of a palapa (grass hut café).  We talked with a Canadian couple who had 2 children – a baby boy and a little girl who only spoke French.  Sharon played with the girl for hours, much to her mothers delight – the little girl chatting away in French, Sharon in her bad Spanish and excited English.  Unfortunately Sharon and Jeff had their dinghy stolen when tied to the side of their boat overnight – this is a common occurrence and using a wire cable tie does not inhibit the thieves.  The only semi secure way to protect your dinghy is to bring it aboard each night.  We hear of so many dinghies that have presumably been stolen that I wonder what they do with them all – there must be a good market for them somewhere but the locals all use pangas – fiberglass 16ft skiffs and an inflatable would look severely out of place and very noticeable.

From Chacala we sailed to Punta de Mita and anchored for the night – this is at the top end of Banderas Bay. We left early the next morning to check out one of the Tres Marietas islands.  Supposedly excellent snorkeling (not just good but excellent according to our guide).  There was a very large swell and a lot of wind, the anchorage was pocket size and taken up with 2 power boats.  Needless to say we anchored, swam, couldn’t find the “excellent” snorkeling site but did see some colourful fish and packed up and left.  We arrived in La Cruz that afternoon and were greeted by our long lost traveling companions Jeff and Sharon.  We spent the next few days fixing our windlass – a clump of chain had knotted and when pulled up it pushed the pipe that the chain threads though (spurling pipe for mariners) to the side which bent a screw and dislodged the helicoil thread insert.  In order to fix it we had to replace the screw and helicoil – well that entailed a very long hot dusty sweaty hike through the back streets of Puerto Vallarta to find a helicoil (which is like a spring that threads into the screw hole that you put the screw in). You can imagine the fun we had trying to explain in 3 or 4 word Spanish vocabulary what a helicoil is to the the bewildered Mexican shopkeepers. Such a simple job took forever – as usual on a boat.  Whilst at an internet café (which more often than not the internet does not work) we met a man named Don who is escaping the winter in his home town which at present is minus 30 somewhere in Canada  Don spent the afternoon driving the four of us around Porta Vallarta to all the big box stores (American for supermarkets and bulk shopping) – he was great and such a help to us.  Before leaving La Cruz we attended a seminar on El Salvador – a couple are organizing a rally in March.  The talk was excellent and we were given an information package with maps etc.  I am really looking forward to visiting this place now – we had intended to sail right past the only port in Guatemala (it is very expensive and not friendly towards cruisers) and onto El Salvador – from there it is easy to catch a local bus to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua – the visa which will be issued when we arrive covers all those countries and costs $10 per person.  Sounds like we may be there for a while – especially as there is a beautiful hotel where we will either tie up at their marina or anchor and use their facilities – 2 swimming pools, 2 restaurants etc etc – wonderful !!!

I am writing this at 9pm – whilst sailing overnight to Bahia De Chamela.  Don is having the first sleep while I do the 3 hr watch.  It is a very dark night with a warm breeze – so far the wind has behaved itself and we are making excellent ground with very little boat movement – perfect !!!  Lots of stars – a good time for making wishes and making plans.  There is a lot of phosphoresce in the water making it look surreal.  I hear a snort – is that how you would describe the noise a dolphin or whale makes ???  anyway it is whale season here and babies are being born – I just hope that one does not fall in love with the hull of our boat, make all the right moves only to be jilted and become enraged – I don’t want any bumps in the night !!!

When the current 3 hr watch is up Don and I used to take some time to bring the other up on the latest developments.  We would exchange wind strengths, predicted wind strengths for the next 3 hrs, current and future position, wave and swell height, any vessels sighted during the watch and a discussion on those still in sight or on radar, sail plan and predicted sail plan for the next 3 hrs, arrival time etc.  Now (being seasoned sailors) I go and poke him hard and lie down next to him and fall instantly asleep, then what seems a few minutes later he is doing the same to me (I think he changes the clocks during his watch to his advantage).  Well this time was no different – he was comatose on his side of the bed after waking me and assuring me it really was my turn.  I had just reawakened with a fright wondering how long I had fallen back to sleep for (it was only a minute but it could have been an hour).  I got up, used the bathroom, threw cold water on my face to help me stay awake at least until I climbed up into the cockpit then went into the galley and made a cup of tea.  I now had my cup of hot tea in one hand, computer in another and balancing a book negotiating our 5 steps in heavy swell.  Upon climbing up the companionway I glanced up and saw a white see-through apparition sitting near the control station blankly staring out to sea.  The whole demeanor of the ghost was placid as if from another world – the see through bit was a bit spooky though.  I was almost to the top stair and deciding whether to scream or silently go backwards when the “thing” turned slowly and spoke in monotone to me – I was too scared to realize what it said and after a period of sheer immobilizing terror I realized it was Don – oh boy I swore – words came out of my mouth that I didn’t know I knew.  I abused him, mentioned every fault he had ever displayed and every fault he may in the future display – I ranted and raved like a lunatic (I never exaggerate!!).  Did I mention that I had been reading a Dean Koontz book that was about a serial killer, the whole book took place within 24 hrs and was real sitting on the edge of your chair terrifying stuff – with that in the back of my mind Don’s silent visit was not appreciated.  He tried to appease me by telling me he wanted me to know that there was a ship about 20 miles out to sea and another about 15 miles – going in the opposite direction to us !!!!  I doubt he will ever be so thoughtful again.  God bless him.