January 16th – Bahia Navidad – Jim’s Blog #16

We were still in Tenacatita on the 13th and took another dinghy trip over to Manzanilla where I was able to load blog #15. However, the internet I was using wouldn’t upload any pictures or film clips. We took a walk through town down to a fenced-in lagoon, where we saw three 8-10’ long crocodiles lying partially submerged in the dark water next to the fence. While we were watching, one of the crocs jerked its head a bit and captured a small fish that must have been swimming by. Either this was one of the stupidest fish in the world, or the crocodiles really do look like logs from underneath. The croc opened its jaws several times to chew on the fish and finally swallowed it down. How many times do you get to see a crocodile feeding? I’m not sure the croc was done feeding, as it appeared to be eyeing a dog that was being held up to the fence by its youthful owner to see the croc. Thank goodness the fence was higher than the kid could reach, as it probably saved the dog’s life.

We had a wet trip back across the bay, but suddenly realized we had become so inured to the potential hazards of boating that we were in the middle of a bay – at least a mile from any shore – and we had not taken life vests with us. Suddenly we sighted a whale not 100 yards from us, and visions of Captain Ahab and Moby Dick came to mind. As we clutched the inflatable dinghy in lieu of life vests, the whale breached and then flipped up its tail in a direction away from us. We quickly made a commitment to carry life vests with us in the future. A simple flick of a whale tail could send our dinghy flying, and who knows what lurks in the minds of whales. They might think they were being friendly, but it wouldn’t help us much if it tried to nuzzle us. We have a little better chance in our 15 ton sailboat of avoiding any amorous whale advances, but you never know.

On Monday we moved the boat to a different anchorage in the same bay; so that we were near the palapa restaurant where another cruiser had invited us for a birthday party for his wife along with about ten other couples. The surf had built up overnight to a level that made for good body surfing, but not good dinghy maneuvering for landing and launching again. We made it in fine, but a cruiser behind us got flipped in the surf and we had to retrieve oars, hats, life jackets, etc. They were so drenched that they insisted on being launched back through the surf to go get some dry clothing. In the course of that process they got thrown around by two additional waves, but made it back out. Later they came into a portion of the beach that was quite a ways away, but that had smaller waves. They also brought a change of clothing in a dry-bag (used by kayakers to keep their belongings dry when they are tipped upside down in white water) just in case they had another accident.

The party was a great success with a rum cake that was more rum than cake, and all the tequila and beer that one could want along with a chicken fajita lunch/dinner. I mentioned the waves were good for body surfing; so I went out after lunch and body-surfed the waves for at least an hour. I kept the swimsuit on and all my belongings in a little package in order to take no chances when we launched the dinghy back to the boat. In this case we put Sheilagh in the dinghy close to shore and I swam the boat out to beyond the surf – after waiting for the calm between wave sets. We ended up having no trouble making it back out, but it does explain why cruisers don’t go into shore for the night life on the beach – it is critical to get back through the surf before dark to have any chance of making it safely back to the boat.

Tuesday, the 15th, we pulled up the anchor and headed for Barra de Navidad, where we are now. It was only a 2-3 hour motoring trip south (no wind). As we approached the entrance to the harbor we saw very large waves crashing into the beach outside the harbor and were glad we were headed into the harbor. The harbor has a lagoon behind it, where some 30 of us are anchored. The challenge here was getting into the lagoon through a narrow channel that has mud and sand bars on each side. Earlier cruisers had checked the depth of the channel and provided four latitude/longitude coordinates a few hundred feet apart that showed the best way to go. All we had to do was select the waypoints on our GPS, one after the other, and follow the electronic arrow into the lagoon. This high-tech equipment is great. Just 30 years ago we would have had to put someone into the dinghy with a lead line (heaving line with a weight on the bottom and markings up the line indicating the various measurements from the weight up) and follow the dinghy in the sailboat to make sure we didn’t run aground. A crew of two, like ours, just wouldn’t have hacked it back then.

Our first night at anchor was wonderful, since it was the first time in two weeks that we had no wave action affecting the boat. The lagoon has perfectly flat water at night, and the pangas and dinghies are usually through for the day by 9PM. Each sailboat in the lagoon sits perfectly upright, and all are pointed into the wind; so the sight is quite majestic. Last night the moon was extremely bright, causing the white decks of the sailboats to practically glow. We all illuminate an anchor light at night, which is a light at the top of the mast which can be seen from all directions to warn other boats that another boat may be in their way as they are passing through. Since the lights from shore are quite a ways off, the stars seem extremely bright overhead, and as one’s gaze drops lower, the anchor lights come into view – looking like large planets in the heavens. You can imagine the sight of some 30 of these lights all shining out, with a mast and sailboat holding them up.

Today we took our dinghy around the anchorage and into town to get the lay of the land. There is a different little town on each side of the harbor entrance, Barra de Navidad on the north and Colimilla on the south side. Barra is in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and Colimilla is in the Mexican state of Colima. The little town of Colimilla is dwarfed by a luxury hotel, the Bahia Grande Hotel, which controls the marina. They have an interesting price structure at the marina - $800 a month or $80 a day. This means you pay a month’s worth of docking there in just 10 days; so it pays to stay for at least a month. Our budget doesn’t call for staying in marinas; so we anchor for free in the lagoon with most of the other cruisers. Those who can afford the marina, or who have relatives staying in the Bahia Grande Hotel, can make use of the swimming pool and the other facilities that abound there. When we learned this, we immediately contacted my sister, Lisa, and her husband, Bob, to see if they were interested in taking a vacation to Mexico – they had indicated an interest in doing something like that earlier. We haven’t heard back yet.

We have joined the other budget cruisers and land on the north side of the harbor in Barra de Navidad at the Sands Hotel, where the hotel is less luxurious, but more welcoming. Our dinghies are protected there and the hotel gets a lot of cruiser business for food and drinks. The town of Barra has a mix of concrete streets, brick streets, cobblestones, and dirt – depending on the location in town. The Malecon is filled with the usual tourist-inspired shops selling all the same serapes, jewelry, slingshots, beaded belts, swimsuits, etc. that we have noticed in every town along the coast. Somewhere in Mexico there must be an army of Mexicans manufacturing this stuff in their homes or factories to sell to the tourists.
Every time we sit down for a couple of tacos or cervezas in a palapa, we are approached by three or four Mexican salespeople carrying cases and display boards adorned with jewelry, or wrapped up in the hammocks or blankets they are selling, or hoisting wood carvings of fish, horses, sailboats, etc. We cruisers don’t have anywhere to put these things, so we usually say, “No, gracias,” and turn away. However, the other day, we needed a present for the birthday party; so we asked to see some necklaces from one of the young ladies carrying a display board filled with them. I was quite impressed with her sales ability.

She first followed Sheilagh’s gaze after sizing up what Sheilagh was wearing, and had her hands on a necklace that seemed to be where Sheilagh was looking. When Sheilagh reached out and touched what she was interested in – a red/orange coral necklace – the girl had it unfastened from the board in a split second and into Sheilagh’s hands. As Sheilagh was looking it over, she also brought out three other necklaces of the same color but different designs. She also suggested some others based on what Sheilagh was wearing at the time; so we explained it was a present for someone else. She quoted a 120 peso price, and we offered 60 pesos as a starting position. She came down to 110 pesos, but we weren’t willing to pay that much. We thanked her and started walking down the beach.

She followed after us and came down to 90 pesos, and then 80 pesos, which we agreed to. Then she brought out another board with earrings fastened to it, and pointed out the ones that would go with the necklace. We finally escaped, only to be approached by another young lady selling salad bowls, cutting boards, serving utensils, etc. – all made out of monkeypod. We were not interested, but our earlier purchase apparently indicated we were fair game. We left her and walked to a nearby palapa for a cerveza before heading back to the boat. As we sat down, we noticed the first salesgirl talking to the one with the wooden items, and suddenly the latter was back to make sure we hadn’t changed our minds. Our walking away from the first salesgirl and our subsequent purchase was not viewed as a way we had negotiated the price down to what it should have been. No, it was taken as an indication that we were not firm in our resolve not to buy something; so the word was passed that we were “easy” at least that’s what it seemed like.

We now have internet access in the lagoon. A former cruiser decided to settle down in Colimilla within sight of the lagoon and began working with the local school to furnish computers. He realized there was an untapped need for internet for cruisers in the lagoon; so he bought a server and charges $30 a month for access. The $30 is used for buying computers for the school; so everyone benefits. We had to visit him at his home to sign up and were blown away with the grandeur of the house and the garden in the back – something we could probably afford if we sold our condo in San Diego. We noticed that there were no doorknobs on the outside of the main doors in the nicer homes; so they have to be unlocked by someone inside or with a key in a dead bolt. There must be an 8-10’ adobe fence entirely surrounding the compound, and we noticed a maid and a gardener while we were there. Although it was quite beautiful, one couldn’t help but notice the squalor outside of the compound.

We also learned an interesting fact about building structures in Mexico. We had noticed that most of the buildings – homes and businesses – in Mexico seem to have rebar sticking up through the roof, as if no one has found a way to finish off the house. The owner of the home I just described told us that the buildings are left that way on purpose – as if another story will be added on at any time. The reason for this is that the taxes on completed buildings are quite high, but as long as the building is under construction, the taxes are minimal. Therefore there is every reason to never complete a building – or at least leave it looking as if there is more building to be done. Apparently on some of the better buildings the owners seal the rebar where it sticks out of the roof and even paint it to keep it protected from the elements. Nothing like passing tax laws that keep buildings from ever being completed! There is always a way around every law, I suppose. With that little piece of trivia, I will sign off. More later . . .