March 15th to 29th, 2008 NUEVO VALLARTA (PARADISE VILLAGE MARINA) WITH VISIT FROM MARGARET & CATHERINE

The Puerto Vallarta pirate ship greets "Passat II" at the entrance to Nuevo Vallarta.


Why do Canadians love Mexico??? The "before" pictures. Taken by our guests Margaret and Catherine at their home in Prince George as they left.


Margaret and Sandra at the dock in Paradise Village Marina, part of a 5 star resort. The resort orientation includes a lecture by a trained seal.


Happy hour on the beach.



Dining out, happy hour at the yacht club and dining in.



Sandra in the surf and pools.




"Dangerous Curves Ahead?" Having four sons we were a bit worried about having a female teen aboard. Also, it is one of the few times in Barrie's life the females have outnumbered the males in residence. It turned out to be a great experience, with both Margaret and Catherine providing great company.


Some of the non-human neighbours.

March 11th to 14th, 2008 CHAMALA, (ISLA PASAVERA) & LA CRUZ

In Bahia Chamela, we started out anchoring in a tiny bay behind Isla Pasavera. Very picturesque, but subject to the unusually high swell. In the late afternoon we moved to the main anchorage, behind the large reef pictured above. We were pleasantly surprised to find SV "Last Mango" and MV "Misty Michael" in the anchorage. They were on their way south to Costa Rica for the summer. We spent the next day in the village with Mike and Gladys off SV "Last Mango". The village does not have much to offer. A picture of the reef shows the unusual high swell. A palapa on a plateau stands guard over the entrance.

We listened to the Don Anderson weather report and determined it was best to leave in the early evening to round Cabo Corrientes at dawn. We were very surprised to see a number of boats leave at 1 pm, as they would have to face the strong afternoon north west winds and seas. One of these boats returned before we left and the others arrived in La Curz just two hours ahead of us, in spite of a six hour head start. Some days you get it right.


We are welcomed into La Cruz by the Puerto Vallarta sky line. SV "Passat II" shown with both sets of "Flopper Stoppers" out, as the swell is still bad. They really help to dampen the rocking motion.


We joined fellow Bluewater Cruisers Pam and John abourd SV "Passages" for an adult beverage before they headed south toward South America.