The Lure of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

I'll be dogged if it ain't been almost four weeks since we sailed into this bay, all the while anchored off the magical little town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.  We are a bus ride from the city of Puerto Vallarta and all the services and provisioning you could ask for in a large Mexican town.  We dropped the hook just off the beach and a couple of hundred yards from a nice resort that forgot to secure its WiFi, thus I've got internet on the boat.. at anchor.  The anchorage is just off the marina breakwater and a short dinghy trip to the dock.  At last count there were 41 boats anchored here, mostly sailboats.  Why so many boats?  I'm not sure about them but for us, there is just too much fun going on to allow our departure. 

The little town has numerous restaurants and music venues, without a cover charge, and all have a laid back atmosphere.  The cobblestone streets teem with little mom and pop taco places and small grocery stores.  The butcher is next to the tortilla shop is next to the veggie market is next to the beer store.  For those of us who won't shop at Wallmart and shy away from large chain stores it is a delight to provision here.  You feel like the peso you give to the cashier goes straight into the community.  This is a place where when you are in a little restaurant and they run out of something, the waiter jogs down the street and and is back in minutes with whatever the cook needs.  Kids play on the streets till late at night and music fills the air at all hours. 

The longer you stay here, the more people you meet and the more dinner invitations you get.  We've met a passel of people here having ingratiated ourselves into the cruising community by dent of my wit and charm and Connie's musical talents and dashing beauty. 

Connie and Jerome

Last night Connie sat in with some local musicians at El Jardin del Pulpo (Octopus Gardens) and tonight we'll have dinner aboard Lungta, a friend's boat here in the anchorage.  The marinas are in full swing in January with workshops and presentations of interest to the boating community such as electronics, navigation, solar charging systems, and weather.  

Sewing a new awning for the front deck

But still, four weeks is just too long to stay in one place, especially with the most serious boat project being a clogged holding tank!  Time to get on down the coast.  But since we stayed out too late last night we should stay another day to rest up.  Then there is the fact that the port captain won't be open tomorrow for our check out so we must wait til Monday.  And Monday will be a busy day there so perhaps we'll wait til Tuesday.  But there is an event I want to go to on Wednesday so..... See how it goes?  Insidious, the siren song town of La Cruz.

Next up (down) the coast is the wonderful Costalegre "Coast of Joy", the area of small anchorages between Bandaras Bay and the coastal town of Manzanillo.  There we will pick up our good friends Keith and Lisa Dekker and shuttle them around the cruising waters of Barra de Navidad and Bahia Tenacatita.  Later in February we are hosting our friends Scott and Karen from Seattle for a week.  In March we plan to be in Zihuatanejo for Guitar Fest.

This is NOT Traveler, I wish it was.  This is the sailing vessel Dazzler. Dan just finished painting the top sides.