A Blast in Banderas Bay!

   With the weather still unseasonably hot, Valhalla arrived in Banderas Bay.   This beautiful bay is 16 miles wide and 20 miles deep and normally, the wind blows a consistent 12 to 18 knots.  At the end of November, we are still waiting for winter to arrive and looking forward to cooler temperatures.

  Located just 6 miles North of Puerto Vallarta, we got a slip at Paradise Village Resort and Marina for our first long term stay. The resort is beautiful and the marina is very clean, safe and secure.  Valhalla needs some attention and this marina is our perfect new home away from home while we get things done.

Mayan Pyramid

 







 We've been here for almost a month now, but have accomplished a lot work wise and managed to squeeze in plenty of fun adventure days in between.  I guess you could say, we are adapting well to “Mexican time.”  Since we've been here, we've lost all sense of time not knowing what the date is or even the day of the week is most of the time.  If we need to know, we look at our cell phone to verify!

Up the Mast Without a Ladder!

 We’re proud to say, Valhalla is looking good!  She’s now sporting her new SHADE bimini which looks and works great!  We have worked really hard getting her all cleaned up inside and out after her 1700 nm journey from San Francisco.  She has had her bottom cleaned and her deck waxed!  Also…her rigging cleaned and her mast waxed.  Don also repaired our radar issue in which he had to climb the mast several times to pull, rerun and rewire it to get it working again!

Flying Fox

 In between work, we've enjoyed a few great adventures and several great bay sailing days.  At last, the consistent winds of Banderas Bay (we've heard about) have arrived!  Beautiful…warm weather sailing.  We met the “winner” of the Baja Ha-ha here in Paradise.  He invited Don and I to go out sailing the bay on his trimaran, Flying Fox, a Corsair 31.  We did a scenic tour along the coast from La Cruz to Los Arcos and back to Paradise.   In only 9 knots of wind, the boat sailed easily at 7 knots; a totally different feel from a monohull skimming along right on top of the water!

Puerto Vallarta - Sister of Guadeloupe at the Malecon

    We met another couple from the Ha-Ha, Jeff and Nelia from Reflections.  They invited us to go to Chasers, a sports bar, to go watch a light-weight boxing match.  The match was between rivals, Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines and Manual Juan Marquez from Mexico.  This was the 4^th match between to two boxers and we secretly rooted for Pacquiao as Nelia is also from the Philippines.   Unfortunately for Nelia and Pacquiao, the fight ended with a knock-out punch in the 6^th round!  Needless to say the bar was full of Mexican’s who were elated at the outcome!

That's a Croc!

  Behind the marina in Paradise Village is a swamp/estuary where we took the dinghy crocodile hunting.  Rumors of crocodiles were proven true on our second hunt.  There are beautiful houses and lots of wildlife to be found such as iguanas and pelicans roosting in trees.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love!

What...No Swimming?

A Day at the Beach

On the morning net, we learned of a tour that takes you on a day hike through the jungle skirting the ocean to a waterfall in Quimixto.  By word of mouth, 4 cruising couples filled the van of our tour guide and off we went.  There was Celeste and Paul from Beguine, Julie and Ken from Kia Ora, Nelia and Jeff from Reflections and Don and I from Valhalla.  Our guide, April, has lived here 8 years and without her, this adventure would never have happened.  

Cruisers Gone Hikers

     

A View from the Jungle

 We drove an hour far South of Puerto Vallarta to Bocha de Tamitlan and parked the van.  The walk was rated a 6 out of 10 on the difficulty scale as we walked through jungle, along cliffs hovering over beaches and over very primitive bridges.  The walk was gorgeous! We saw lots of birds and butterflies.  We made it to Las Animas where we enjoyed lunch and muy frio cervezas.  After lunch we boarded a panga (water taxi) that took us to the small Mexican village of Quimixto.  

It's a Jungle Out There!

Tired Tourist Taxi

Four Feet are Better Than Two!

The Watering Hole

Their main source of income is taking tired tourists via mule up the well beaten path to the waterfall.  We opted to continue hiking and walk UP to the waterfall as opposed to boarding the dirty beasts. A nice waterfall and swimming hole AND uno mas cerveza for our reward at the end of the trail.  After we got back down to the beach we boarded another panga for our quick return back to Bocha de Tamitlan.  The ride was a BLAST!  We sped along so fast surfing between the rows of rolling waves so close to the rocks and shore.  It was against the grain of all the sailors aboard this panga.  We were all in awe of the crashing waves against the rocks that we were so close too. It was a GREAT day for sure. 

Blast Off

  We have had a blast here in Banderas Bay.  The weather is perfect now that it has finally cooled down!  We’re sure its probably not like the winter you’re having at home.  Tomorrow we leave Paradise to spend Christmas with the Beguine in Tenacatita, about 115 nautical miles south of Banderas Bay .  Today is winter solstice and the end of the Mayan calendar, but the beginning of a new cycle.   It’s also the beginning of a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!           

  

Let’s all “live, love and laugh”… a good motto for all and from,   s/v Valhalla!