Note to self: Update story log
It was a marvelous swirl of activity before Furey arrived to join us for our journey north. And I certainly want to tell that story too! … so will keep it short and sporty, in chronological order:
Barra de Navidad Marina in Jalisco was only our second marina stay since we left San Carlos. One perk of this marina is access to all the adjacent grand hotel facilities: private beaches, cabanas with waiters, multiple pools, gym, tennis courts, restaurants and pool-side buffets for only 200 pesos per day and you can put all the extras on your dock-slip number! We, however, had a check list of the needful that had to get done with the boat… but the fantasy is fun!
It was necessary to travel to the largest nearby city for some boat items, so we hopped a double decker coach to Manzanillo in Colima. Mike said he is not missing having a car, but the best for him were the plethora of tuk-tuk taxis. It is just so civilized to be transported along city streets open air in the tropics on a bench seat buzzing along at 40kmh wide eyed with toothy grins.
We liked the industrial grit of the huge industrial port and downtown Manzanillo yet the nearby bays for anchorage were close and seemed quiet. We decided to sail south for a stay.
Bahia De Santiago welcomed us for the tail end of Easter celebration. The celebrations go noon to 3am on the beach with a great deal of music. Our favorite style is Banda … how can you not love the base of a sousaphone?
There is an estuary providing dinghy access to La Boquita, an end-of-the-trail vacation zone for locals. Accessing the estuary requires some good timing to surf in on a wave through the narrow opening and then caution for tides… so, clever as we are, we figured out a work around utilizing the bridge over the estuary entrance between resort areas. This saved us headaches navigating swimmers and shoals. Dear Millie was perfect and did not drift from her spot every time we beached.
I mentioned the bays for anchorage “seemed quiet”… yes, but… some holiday makers sure love their jet skis! With jet skis to rent, jet skis to share and jet skis to investigate boats at anchor. It seemed we were a turnaround destination from any point of launch. Long or short ride, easy peasy, and yet there is not a floating picket fence I could pop up to define my sense of personal space. Ah well, I just had to smile and wave then go below where I fought nausea due to the concentric rings of waves were bobbing and rolling us side to side.
The long shoreline was white sand and edged in the water with floating swim nets. Three generations, maybe four, were represented by families enjoying the water and waves. I was looking at real estate magazines..hah! I actually do that everywhere we visit! And then I imagine looking out at the water and thinking “wouldn’t it be great to have a home you can take with you to far-flung places”. SVCalla Lily is serving us well.
