March 25, Guayabitos

I'm not going to lie, just as Bahia Chacala is described as the "quintessential" anchorage on the Mexican Gold Coast, today as a whole was the quintessential day in the life of a cruiser. We woke up a little later this morning in Chacala to calm, aqua waters and waves crashing along the white sand beach.  Yesterday afternoon as we sat at a thatched palm restaurant enjoying a cold drink a man approached us with a large bucket filled with huge strawberries.  We obliged and bought a kilo.  This morning Karla made crepes filled with fresh strawberries that did not suck. ha.  Shortly after breakfast we pulled anchor and headed a short distance south to Bahia Jaltemba and the small coastal town of Guayabitos.  We had easy 8-10 knot breezes off of the starboard beam so we immediately killed the motor and threw out the main and reacher.  There was an easy long ocean swell with only but small ripples telling of the afternoon breeze.

Remembering something from the days of the original Liahona I asked the kids if they wanted to swing overboard on the leeward side of the boat in the bosun's chair.  It was a quick reply yes so I grabbed a spinnaker halyard that was not in use, tied a bowline to the d-ring in the chair and within a few doubtful moments in their minds if this was dangerous or not, Tallen was swinging free over the ocean at the end of the halyard coming from the top of the mast.  As he pushed off the stern of the boat he would swing outward and forward as the line held him fast and then being cushioned by the lee side of the reacher just as he thought he was going to slam into the side of the hull.  Just about the time the fun was starting with the bosun's swing a group of dolphins, probably the largest dolphins I have ever seen, decided to join us for a swim and surf in the wave coming off of the bow.  So there was Tallen, swinging over the water about 10-15' off the side of the boat and 4-6 dolphins swimming below him breaching with each breath.  Pretty freakin awesome!  The dolphins stayed with us for about 5-10 minutes then moved on.  After that Aven took her turn in the chair and by the smile on her face it appeared that she didn't hate it. ha.

We gracefully sailed into the quaint little bay, behind a small protective island and set the hook in white sand only 6' below the keel.  An afternoon of walking into town for some ice cream and a bit of exploration and then we were back on board resting enjoying the endings of the day.  Tonight we will enjoy the fruits of our labors late last night in Chacala where I was not able to convince either Aven or Tallen to get in the dark waters of the night to find some lobsters.  Even though it was only me, I was able to put 7 small lobsters in the fridge for a steak and lobster feast tonight.  THAT is what I call a quintessential day in the life of a cruiser!  And that will be just about enough truth for one day my friends. Ciao for now!

Bret, Tallen, Karla, Aven
SV Liahona