Vallarta Visit

Ready for our Plus ride!

Our Primera Plus bus rolled out of Melaque up Highway 200 at 10:15 AM on the dot. We were packed and ready to explore the big city of Puerto Vallarta, five days of fun and friends. This adventure came about when our good friends John and Loretta Sutherland told us they would be in PV for Loretta's birthday. Since we were bus-ride close, Linda made arrangements at a couple hotels and the trip came together.

The drive up was uneventful. Highway 200 is a windy stretch that follows the coastline northwest and then at Tomatlan cuts across the land forming Cabo Corrientes and rejoins the coast at Boca de Tomatlan. It then follows the coast of the Bahia de Banderas into the sprawling vacation fun land of Puerto Vallarta.

After a little over three hours of travel, our bus turned a corner and stopped at a busy intersection in Old Town PV.  We gathered our packs and Linda programmed her phone to lead us to our first stop the Hotel Rosita. We walked the ten blocks to the quaint old hotel and checked in

View from Sutherland's room at Hotel Rosita.

As we finished up with the check-in process, John and Loretta walked in the front entrance. Immediately the two ladies started making plans for the evening.

The Rosita is a quaint 70-year-old hotel located directly on the Malecon with the surf slapping aginst its breakwater. Our room was on the second floor and overlooked the street. It was nicely furnished and provided us with ample space to move about. Road noise was less than we thought it would be and we actually enjoyed watching the events unfold just out our window on the main street.

John and Loretta's room was located on the third floor and overlooked the Malecon with a spectacular view of the Bahia de Banderas and the shoreline of Puerto Vallarta. They were able to sit out and enjoy the evening breeze off the Bahia.

Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Our first two days were spent exploring the markets, Malecon, and sites found in the historic old part of PV. The area was very crowded with tourists and we had to avoid eye contact with every huckster and condo salesperson. This was an almost impossible task. We were bombarded with greetings and if you took the bait you almost had to be rude to get out of their grasp.

Though annoying, we looked at it as just part of the adventure and got very good at letting them know that we were not interested without being too rude.

The art and colors in this old town area were amazing. I think this was the thing that made our stay in both the old town zone and the Zona Romantica so enjoyable. You were constantly treated to wonderful eye-catching art all along the walking areas and shops.

Night view of the Bahia de Banderas.

During our two nights at the Rosita, we ate at two very different restaurants. Our first night we dined on the sandy beach next to our hotel. The food was marginal, and a bit expensive for what we ate, but you could not beat the location and since it was Loretta's birthday, that was all that mattered.

The next night, Linda worked her magic and found us a place two blocks off the Malecon into the city to a taco joint that provided great tacos at a very reasonable price. We ate with the locals and enjoyed watching all that goes with the ambiance of a corner taqueria.

On our second day, Linda and Loretta climbed the stairs up to the Mirador La Cruz del Cerro where they got a tremendous view of the entire PV shoreline. John and I stayed back at the hotel making sure the coffee was good and breakfast was satisfactory.

Later that morning, we made our way through the streets to a bus stop and caught a local bus that took us all the way across town in search of the pier where the local fishermen bring their catch after the day of fishing. We got to see the entire city but didn't really find the marina we were hoping to find.

We ended up eating lunch at the Marina Vallarta. This marina was more of a yachties hangout so we didn't get to see any "daily catch" in the area.

Tacos al pastor at the taco stand.

A little disappointed that we didn't see any of the panga fleet returning with their catch, we caught a crowded bus back to our hotel. The bus rides were something that made the trip well worth the 40 pesos it cost each couple to go out to the marina and back. By this time in our stay we had decided that people watching would play a huge part in the enjoyment of this adventure. The bus did not disappoint on that front.

Back from our exploration, we prepared our backpacks to move to our next hotel that next morning. We didn't know exactly how far the Casa Dona Susana was from our hotel, so John flagged down a taxi cab and we made our move.

Tacos!!!

As we rode to the new location John made arrangments for our taxi driver to return in the morning and take us out of town and to a quaint little puebla, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle or just La Cruz. We had the bus experience under our belt. It was an easy agreement that we should spend the pesos for a taxi for this next excursion to visit John Karpenko at the Marina Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

We checked into our rooms at the Dona Susana and spent the evening walking around the Zona Romantica. Our hotel is located in the heart of everything in this area and just walking around is a unique experience.

The two Johns at Marina Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

At 9:00 AM sharp the next morning we loaded into the taxi that John had secured the prior evening. Our driver was very happy to be driving us to La Cruz. He and John talked about fishing and John found out that he had never been out of PV his entire life.

After our driver dropped us off, we walked to the marina deli and had a quick bite to eat. John K. showed up and we had a great reunion. After a bit, Cherie arrived and John introduced her to the gang. We then loaded on to Mangata, John's sailboat, and headed out into the Bahia de Banderas to sail.

The winds were good and we spent the day chasing whales and talking. At one point we noticed a couple of honey bees flying about. Soon we had more bees flying about. One point there were enough bees that everyone started getting nervous. How could there be a swarm of bees this far out on the water? Cherie got stung and several minutes later I got a sting on my arm. The fight was on! Normally we don't kill bees, in most instances, we can run away from them and stay safe. This time we were on a boat and the bees were sticking around. With no place to run, we decided to fight. We killed several using shirts and towels. My sting was swelling and starting to hurt. This lasted for about forty-five minutes and then the bees were gone. Just like that.

We sailed on and saw several pods of whales. At the end of our day, we dropped the sails and hopped into the refreshing water for a swim. Ducking under the water brought you the sounds of the whales. This was a first John and Loretta.

Returning to the marina we docked the boat and went into the facilities and took showers. From there we walked to a restaurant called Osos and had dinner. It was open mike at the bar and by the end of our evening, we were all out on the floor dancing and singing. What a fun way to end a great day!

We caught a taxi back into PV and went to bed. Thanks, John K, for a wonderful day on the ocean.

Our next day was filled with beach time and shopping. What can you say about that except that it was great people watching.

Saturday morning Linda and I got up and had breakfast. We were packed and ready to go so we caught up with John and Loretta and said our goodbyes. We had such a great visit with them and enjoyed our little vacation immensely. With our bags on our backs, we hiked up to the bus stop and waited for our ride back to Melaque. Going home always takes longer than coming, the bus rumbled on and we were ultimately glad to get back to our little casa.

Swimming and listening to the whales in the bay.

Our dinner at Osos in La Cruze.

Creating the beautiful seats in the
Parque Lazaro Cardenas y Estacionamiento.

There seems to be a theme with the vendors here. (Enough said.)

Crossing one of the bridges to the old town river island area.

The required PV sign pose.

Mirador La Cruz del Cerro

View of Hotel Rosita from Mirador.

Our room at the Hotel Casa Dona Susana.

Linda taking in the happenings from our balcony.

Sailing, Takes Me Away...

Seat #4 on the Plus bus. 

Linda waited with me as we sat in the Primera Plus bus terminal. In my pocket was my 375 peso ticket for seat number four on the 10:30 AM bus to Puerto Vallarta. I hoped that my seat would provide me a chance to watch the countryside go by without any annoying distractions. Our bus pulled in and I loaded my small suitcase into the luggage hold. Linda gave me a hug and a kiss, told me to be assertive and friendly and I climbed into my seat.

John picked me up and we
dinghied out to Mangata.

During the past few days, Linda had given me a few Spanish lessons hoping to improve my confidence and improve my chances of getting on the bus, off at the PV stop and into a taxi to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. She always worries about my timid nature and hopes I can survive with my very limited language skills.

The bus filled and it slid out into traffic, northwest on México 200. The drive was 143 miles to the central bus station and then I would get a taxi on to La Cruz, another 13 miles around Bahía de Banderas. In La Cruz, I would meet John Karpenko and we would board Mangata, his 37 foot Hunter Legend sailboat.

Dinner in La Cruz with Captin Karpenko.

During the four hour ride, I sat next to a French Canadian who really didn’t want anything to do with me. I tried to chat when we first climbed into our seats, but he quickly turned to his traveling buddies and started speaking French and basically ignored me. Even when he turned forward he showed a lack of interest by singing little French songs to himself. I didn’t push it and settled in watching the world go by.

Day sailing on the Bay of Banderas.

We reached the final bus stop and I clambered out and grabbed my suitcase. Having been to this terminal before I briskly walked out and immediately caught a taxi. I tossed my gear in the back seat and climbed in next to the driver. My driver was a nice fellow who kind of spoke English. He had been to Yakama, Washington and worked there for a year so he was aware of the area I had come from. He was a real talker and wanted to talk politics, family, and many other topics. I nodded my head and listened, understanding about half of what he said.  

We arrived in La Cruz, found the marina and parted ways.  He was happy with the tip and I was happy to relax after discussing a bazillion topics.

The sunrise through the marine layer
as we cross Banderas Bay.

John was in a weather seminar, learning what to expect for the next week or two. I found the meeting room, talked my way inside and sat down to wait. Forty-five minutes later, John was finished and we greeted each other and walked to the dingy dock. I loaded my two bags into the boat and we made our way out to Mangata at her anchorage. I stowed my gear as we chatted and exchanged news from Melaque and home.

We turn the corner around Cabo Corrientes
and are greeted by a pod of four whales.

Once I was settled we untied the little tender and chugged into the dinghy dock. We walked into town and grabbed dinner and bought some food items for our trip. I was a bit worn out from my bus ride so we didn’t stay long once we ate.

We got up the next day and readied the boat to do some day sailing. The weather report said that the wind would be light in the morning and pick up later in the afternoon. We set sail out across the Bay of Banderas where we spent the day tacking, jibing, and just plain having fun in some very consistent wind. At the end of the afternoon, we returned to the La Cruz anchorage and fixed Mangata on the hook.

Our trolling set-up on the starboard side of the boat.

We dropped the dinghy into the water and headed for the docks and John took me to one of his favorite little restaurants and we had an amazing meal of tacos and tamales. We did a final stop at the store and picked up some sweets for breakfast and then returned to the boat. Everything was set for our departure at 5:00 AM. We turned in and got a good night’s sleep.

The arsenal of plugs we tried during our trip.

The next morning we hauled anchor and were on our way. Our course took us across the Bay of Banderas 24 miles to Cabo Corrientes.  As we motored we were greeted with a magical sunrise, whales, and a few Tortugas. There was little wind and the ocean swells were very comfortable.

John's new seat cushion in action.

Cabo Corrientes” means “cape of currents,” referring to the strong ocean currents found in its vicinity. As we made our first bearing mark and turned southeast we ran straight into the currents of Cabo Corrientes. For the next eight hours, we had 8’ following seas, very little wind with a course directly into a four-knot current. Our speed over water was 4.5 knots and our regular speed was 6.5 knots. The current was relentless but we had to motor on. As we rounded the Cabo, water temperatures dropped from 84 degrees to 72 degrees. Though we saw a lot of bait fish we knew the water temperatures were not favorable for the bigger predator fish.

Our day was spent motoring up and down the following swells. There were very little winds so we used our jib to help us push through the swell. Our first anchorage was at a small beach called Ipala Bay. There was probably room for four boats total in the anchorage, we arrived to find it empty. Later, a second boat pulled in and stayed the night.

Our first anchorage at Ipala Bay.

We lowered the dinghy and motored into the beach. We had a delicious dinner at Resturant Candie's. This place was huge and had one of the newest,  most modern kitchens I have seen down in Mexico. The beach must draw a big tourist crowd, but today there was a comfortable amount of folks enjoying the food.

Time to eat!!!

We stayed overnight and in the morning pulled anchor and made our way to Perula.  We arrived at this lovely spot about 1:00 PM and joined about seven other sailboats. The afternoon was spent on shore enjoying a great lunch at Restaurante El Pirata and then gathering some needed supplies from the local bodegas. 

Back on board Mangata, we fixed dinner and then John watched some basketball on his computer. I spent my time watching the Snow Moon rise into the night sky. It was a very relaxing evening.

Two nights in Perula and we then set a course to Tenecatita Bay. This is a very popular cruisier destination and when we arrived there were at least thirty-five boats of all descriptions anchored throughout this sheltered bay. If you are not familiar with this anchorage, La Manzanilla (a small town in the SW corner of the bay) can be spotted across the water to the east.

Wonderful fish dinner.

John and I spent two nights in this anchorage. During the day we motored into the beach and ate at La Vena Resturant where we met a couple of cruisers. Rick and Karen Ranney live on their sailboat Avalon. We shared stories and had a fine meal together. They were traveling southeast and were interested in exploring Barra and Melaque. We filled their notes with tips on restaurants and places to visit. Another comfortable afternoon spent laughing and chatting.

The next morning John and I pulled anchor and headed home. The ocean was flat and we made good time to the lagoon in Barra. I helped John get fuel and water and then we put Mangata on the hook. I called a water taxi and thanked John for a super fun trip. 

Though the winds were not favorable for sailing I once again learned so much about being on the ocean. John is a super guy to be with and I really enjoyed our time together. Thanks again Captain Karpinko for all you taught me!

Who said shark?

The water taxi dropped me off and I immediately caught a regular taxi back into our place in Villa Obregon. I sure missed Linda during my trip and it was super fun to surprised her when I returned. 

Looking for our second anchorage at Perula.

Mangata on the right.

Watching some NCAA Basketball!

Snow moon.

Setting sun as we approach Estero de Tenacatita.

Dinner duties.

Evening weather watch.

View from Mangata on the hook at Estero de Tenacatita.

Anchorage is busy at Estero de Tenacatita.

Estero de Tenacatita.

Snow moon over the water at our Tenacatita anchorage. 

John at the helm of Mangata.

Our course and location on the chart plotter.

One of my turns at the helm.

End of voyage selfie entering Barra lagoon.

Fueling up at the Grand Bay Marina.