December 11, Mantenchan Bay--Sheilagh's View

Its Tuesday, December 11, 2007, (I had to check at the bottom of my computer because days are starting to blur, a good thing). We’re in a large, shallow bay just south of San Blas, a little fishing town before Puerto Vallarta, which is a two day sail south of here. THIS is what we thought Mexico would look like. We arrived late yesterday and settled in just as the sun was setting behind a point with palm trees silhouetted. The bay wraps around us ¾ of the way (the entrance being the other ¼) and it is all beach backed by an old banana plantation. We were cautioned to anchor out about a mile or the “no see ums” would eat us alive! We were sure to put up the screens on the boat, spray those with repellant and then rigged a screen for the companionway entrance. No bugs yet.

When we dinghied in this morning we saw that there are thatched stalls most of the way around the beach with hammocks, plastic chairs and booths for buying food and beer. There are also coconut husks that are burned out that they use as “smudge pots” to ward off the bugs. We walked down some dirt road to the paved road to catch a bus to town. Each place we stop and explore has gotten increasingly intriguing—San Blas is a delightful place with the classic plaza, a rather garish church (with reminder not to enter with sleeveless shirts or shorts) and a “Mercado”, a series of vegetable, meat, fish and canned food stores under one roof. I’m getting better at picking out produce and paying. For bread and vegetable/fruit shops, you take a tray and tongs (for the breads and rolls) and load up what you want then give it to the “caja” who totals it up and collects your pesos. Two little kids (from the U.S.) who are cruising with their parents observed (loudly as kids are wont) that the bread shop is “dirty”—as kids are wont, they were right! There’s a different expectation about the cleanliness thing….bees and flies were crawling all over the breads and just got shooed away. We learned to carry our own toilet paper because it is often missing from a bathroom (as well as the toilet seat sometimes!) and its customary to place the used toilet paper in a trash can beside the toilet! And since I’m talking cleanliness, we take the veggies home and soak them in water with bleach added to be sure there is no bacteria on them. My stomach still gets tight on the overnight passages and I don’t need real bacteria to complicate my system!!

The vegetation is much more lush than on the Baja side, it’s got a very tropical feel to it. We’re going on a jungle tour tomorrow morning. Apparently there is a small river that comes down beside the town and several enterprising people take people up the river in pangas—seems there are crocodiles in them waters and a great variety of birds. . I forgot my camera again today but will bring it tomorrow for sure.

The next day we’re going to go to another bay a day’s sail away and then we’ll get into Puerto Vallarta. It’s so clear and quiet here, “the big city” may be annoying. I’ll let you know! Each place has such a different flavor, its difficult to make comparisons.