Pictures Speak Volumes

Buying Fresh Pineapple in Barra



Market in Barra

Crates of Produce - Barra

Leonard's Favorite Kind of Shopping - Melaque

Days are filled with enjoying the area of Bahia de Navidad, visiting its surrounding villages and relaxing at the Navidad Marina Resort.  Pictures say it all.




Fresh Corn on the Streets of Melaque

Meat Market in Melaque

Beach Scene - Melaque

Watching the Pelicans Feed at Melaque

Steep Streets of Colimilla Village on the Lagoon south of Marina de Navidad



Village of Colimilla on the Lagoon near Marina de Navidad 



Cactus in Bloom at Colimilla

Special Encounters



Approaching the Grand Bay Hotel at Bahia de Navidad

Stunning Grand Bay Hotel and Resort

Our Adorable Visitors

Posing on the Bow of Got D' Fever

Friends Doug, Lynn, and their dog Higgins aboard Miramar

Java Playing with her New Friend Higgins

Another short two-hour excursion along the coast and we were at Bahia de Navidad, home to the five-star Grand Bay Hotel and Marina Puerto de la Navidad.  The day seemed to be filled with one special encounter after another.  The first was seeing the impressive Grand Bay Hotel in full view as we entered the marina.  The exquisite architecture of this hotel nestled in the hillside looked as if we had just arrived in France or Italy – a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the amenities of a first-class resort.  The second encounter was most unexpected.  We heard what sounded like children's voices close by.  Leonard stepped outside and found two adorable little kids dressed in nautical attire having their picture taken.  Their parents were using our boat as a backdrop for their photo. The kids were so cute, I had to grab my camera and take a picture as well.  The parents seemed to know we were enjoying the company of their children and asked if they could take some more photos on the bow of our boat.  We said sure, welcome aboard!  The four-year old boy looked the part of a sailor handling the windless, and the one-year old girl in her sailor dress acted as mate.  We gave the kids some candy as they finished their last photo and then it was adios; what a fun encounter!  Our arrival at Marina de la Navidad also coincided with the start of a week-long Fishing Derby.  Contestants were bringing in their prize catch to be weighed and measured – an opportunity for us to see some really big and colorful looking fish. Boats were coming and going throughout the day as people gathered to inspect the fish, take photos, and enjoy the festivities.  Finally we found time to go to the office and pay for our moorage and to locate the showers, laundry, and other services.  As we walked back to the boat, we met a guy named Doug from Victoria, BC.  We struck up an interesting and enjoyable conversation with him and agreed to get together the following day.  Before turning in for the evening we met his wife Lynn and the four of us briefly shared our mutual experience of traveling down the coast from the Pacific Northwest.  As the conversation progressed, we learned that they had stopped at Alameda California; and like us, had become friends with Michael and Judy.  We soon realized that this was the same Doug Michael had told us about and the same Doug who was bringing Michael some boat parts.  What a small world!  In the morning, we had another pleasant surprise.  The French Bakery boat was making his rounds through the marina and stopped at our door to deliver some pastries, compliments of Doug and Lynn - what a nice gesture!  We returned the favor with a bottle of Pellegrino and spent the day with Doug and Lynn touring the nearby village of Barra de Navidad.  The following day, the four of us rode the bus into the town of Melaque on the northeast end of the bay and had lunch together at a seaside palapa.  The day finished with a fun spirited game of dominos back at the marina aboard their sailboat Miramar.  We brought Java along to get better acquainted with their dog Higgins.  After several introductions over the previous two days, Java decided Higgins was pretty cool and they have became doggie buddies.




Some Colorful Looking Fish

A Proud Fisherman and His Catch

The French Bakery Boat



The French Baker at Got D' Fever

Self-Guided Jungle Tour



Heading up the Estuary

Pelicans Perched in the Tree Tops

The Pretty Estuary

We spent three nights anchored in Bahia Tenacatita and enjoyed meeting other boaters that were anchored in the bay and had fun participating in some of the organized activities like beach bocce ball.  Java thought the balls rolling around in the sand were for her benefit so we kept her occupied by throwing her Frisbee along the beach.  We dipped in the ocean from time to time to cool off , taking Java with us so she could ride the surf, so cute!  Java also went with us on our dinghy ride through the lush mangrove lined estuary.  We saw brightly colored little red crabs and lots of birds, especially pelicans, herons, and egrets.  As we continued up the estuary, the channel became quite narrow with trees and brush squeezing the sides of our dinghy and branches closing in overhead.  We had to stop the dinghy several times and raise the outdrive to clear away some limbs in the water, a real life adventure like in the movies!  The channel finally opened up at the end of the two-mile estuary where we discovered a picturesque landing for dinghies.  A trail that once led from the landing to the ocean beach nearby is now closed due to an on-going local land dispute.  As a result, access from the estuary is no longer permitted and the area is now fenced.  That being the case, we turned around and headed back through the jungle, Leonard had fun practicing some of those speedy panga maneuvers on the way back.  Later that day we visited a couple aboard their sailboat who had invited us over for drinks and snacks.  Robert and Virginia are about our age so we ended up talking about the hippie days.  I must admit that Leonard and I were just pretend hippies but these guys were the genuine article.  They had lived on “The Farm” in Tennessee, a well-known community farm that still exists today, growing crops to benefit the common ownership as well as charitable organizations world wide.  Interestingly, Robert came to the conclusion that trying to make everything equal for everybody just doesn’t work and has long since moved on with his own business ventures.  We are always pleasantly surprised by the fascinating and interesting people we get to meet while boating!



The Estuary Starts to Narrow!







Enjoying the Adventure

Picturesque Dinghy Landing

Whale of a Story

Mother Humpback Whale

Mother and Calf

Baby Humpback

Photo Taken by Friends David and Barbara

We left Bahia de Chamela on January 14^th for the short four-hour trip to Bahia Tenacatita, arriving around 2:30pm and anchored in the bay.  As dusk approached, we heard a whooshing sound moving through the water.  I went out on the bow, and to my surprise saw a mother humpback whale and her calf right next to our boat!  Humpbacks migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter and early spring.  The calf is born tail first near the surface in these warm shallow waters.  The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for its first breath helped by its mother using her flippers.  Within 30 minutes of its birth, the baby whale can swim.  The calf nurses for approximately six months, then a mix of nursing and independent feeding for about six months more.  We watched quietly as mother and calf moved slowly near our boat, perhaps in the nursing and feeding phase.  We noted that the mother whale would spout or breathe at the surface about 1-2 times per minute in this restful state, spouting a double stream of spray from her two blow holes.  Like all baleen whales, humpbacks are seasonal feeders that filter feed on krill, plankton, and small fish.  During the winter months, adult humpbacks fast, living off their own fat.  Humpback whales have a gentle and docile nature except during the winter breeding season when males have brief bouts of fighting.  The males also sing haunting songs and put on quite a show, thought to attract the females by slapping their flippers and lob-tailing.  Most spectacular is the high breach, finished with a tremendous splash.  It’s no wonder that humpbacks are popular among whale watchers and can easily be identified by the stocky body, humped back, and by the knobs or tubercles on its head and lower jaw.  Being so close to our boat, we could clearly make out the knobs on both mother and calf.  After their inquisitive inspection of our boat, they eventually dove under and we could see the arched or humped back, from which their name is derived.



Such Large Creatures!



Our Whale Encounter at Dusk

Baby Dives Under With Mom

Anatomy of the Humpback

Spare Parts, You Can’t Have Too Many!



Drain Hole at Bottom of Sea Strainer

Sheered Off Drain Plug

Bag of New Sea Strainer Plugs and Sheered Off Top

Sea Strainer with New Drain Plug

While anchored in Bahia de Chamela, Leonard decided to take care of some routine boat maintenance.  He went in the engine room to clean out the sea strainer basket for the starboard engine, a simple procedure of removing the drain plug from the sea strainer and lifting out the basket to be cleaned.  The simple task, however, did not go as planned.  After rustling around below decks, he appeared with one of those expressions on his face - “why me? I don’t believe it!”  When he backed out the drain plug on the sea strainer it had sheared off, leaving a piece inside the drain opening.  Not a good thing he explained – a piece of neoprene plug left in the drain opening meant water would leak out which could potentially introduce air into the cooling water when the engine ran!  Fortunately, he had a bag of spare plugs for the sea strainers - something we never imagined would be needed.  It certainly drove home the lesson that you can’t have too many spare parts, even the most inconspicuous and smallest of parts!  Of course he had to get the broken piece out first.  The piece was lodged flush with the surface of the drain hole with nothing to grab on to.  With a sharp pointed knife, he pierced the piece of neoprene plug and was able to unscrew it far enough to grab it with a pair of pliers.  With the sea strainer cleaned and the new plug installed, we were back in business.  Leonard’s next project was to dive the bottom of the boat and check out the zincs and prop shafts.  After setting up the hooka-hose and air tank, he dove under the boat while I checked his tank gage and listened to make sure he was still sucking air!  After a few minutes, he bubbled up to the surface and reported that the zincs were in decent shape, not needing to be replaced at this time.  The huge amount of growth on the bottom of the boat, however, was troublesome.  HHAn inordinate amount of algae, seaweed, and barnacles had attached themselves to the props and prop shafts, no doubt affecting our speed.  I guess it’s not too surprising considering that we’ve been cruising in very warm water during the last several months; not nearly a concern in the Pacific Northwest!  Leonard went back under the boat with a scrub pad and went to work cleaning the props.  There was so much growth to remove that the intense scrubbing literally disintegrated the pad!  To clean the shafts meant using up most of the air in the tank.  Leonard decided it would be wise to leave air in the tank in case of a real emergency, like untangling fishing net or other debris that could get wrapped around the prop.  Cleaning the shafts would have to wait until a later date.



Top Lid on Sea Strainer

Air Tank and Hooka-Hose

Leonard Diving the Boat

Bahia Chamela on the Costalegre Coast



Beautiful Bahia de Chamela

Sea Stacks at Bahia de Chamela

Birds Among the Cactus

 

Our Dinghy Anchored at a Secluded Beach

Booby

Booby

After a somewhat sleepless night of toss and roll on the ocean swell at Yelapa, we departed in the morning at 5:30am to take advantage of the calm seas to round Cape Currents or Cabo Corrientes.  True to its name, we did experience some strong current around the point where the coastline turns and heads in a southeast direction.  This beautiful remote coastline known as the Costalegre Coast extends to Manzanillo and includes about a dozen beautiful bays easily reached in short day hops once you arrive at the first bay of Bahia Chamela.  After twelve hours of motoring, we reached the scenic bay of Chamela backed by the beautiful Sierra Madra del Sur and anchored off a nice sandy beach near the village of Perula.  We spent time here exploring the area and its islands which are part of the national park system.  From the dinghy we could see numerous species of birds perched in rock outcroppings, hiding in the trees, and atop the cactus.  As we explored further, we came upon a small, secluded white sandy beach tucked between some islets.  What a perfect place to go snorkeling - the sand so white, the water a beautiful turquoise, and the rocky islets yielded interesting and colorful fish.  We anchored the dinghy just off the beach and had a wonderful time peering at a variety of fish in their water world, deep below our own.  After snorkeling we swam ashore and walked through the soft sand, sharing the beach with an Egret and several Boobies.  I had to get some pictures of these unique birds so I swam back to the dinghy to get the camera, placed it inside a “dry bag,” and swam back to shore holding the bag over my head as a precaution, swimming with one arm, whew!  After a great time at this private little beach, we motored across the bay and along the shoreline where we found a lovely private resort with a dozen casas sporting red-tiled roofs surrounded by huge palm trees.  It was a fun day, certainly better than the previous day spent on boat maintenance, which turned out to be one of those “oh my, I can’t believe it” days.  More details to follow.


A Lovely Secluded Beach

Lorena Snorkeling

Egret