March 27, Yelapa

The anchorage in Yelapa

When I got up this morning I honestly thought that today was going to be just an average day with not much to write about but the cruising life has proven me wrong once again.  Arising early around 6:30am to make the 19 miles across Banderas Bay I was greeted with a boat grrrr.  While everyone slept I started the engine and walked forward to the bow to raise the anchor so we could be on our way. As I pushed the "in" button on the windlass all I heard was a click.  Dang, same problem as yesterday when we got to the anchorage except this time bringing the anchor up by hand was NOT on my "want to do" list.  I probably could pull it by hand but it would be a serious struggle and most likely would take 30 minutes to an hour of some serious effort.  So I went down below, got a cup of coffee, pulled out my Nigel Calder "boat fix it Bible" and researched what the problem could be.  Without getting into the whole ordeal, I did some electrical tests on the system and figured things out enough to get the anchor up "under power" and get on our way.  Needless to say, the windlass is not fixed and in the next day or two I will need to dig in and take care of of few things to make it a reliable system again.

Our first stop this morning was "Los Arcos", a few very small islands about 8 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta famous for it's excellent snorkeling.  There is a pretty big swell in the bay right now and it made the conditions not exactly prime along with pangas full of tourists trying to experience the same place we were.  So it was a short stop and we then headed further west along the steep, rocky shoreline of the south side of Banderas Bay towards the town of Yelapa.  Yelapa is a remote town, no roads lead here and can only be accessed by burro trail or boat, and is inhabited by the indigenous Chacala indian tribe who have been here since around the 1400s.

As we arrived we went ashore to the beautiful sand beach inside of this tropical cove Tallen stepped up to go for a tandem parachute kite ride where they tow you up to about 1000' then the kite releases from the boat and glides over the bay, surrounding tropical forest and beaches to land back on the beach about 20 minutes later.  He said it was one of the coolest things he has ever done.  After Tallen's flight we all hiked up to the waterfalls above town, took a very refreshing fresh water swim and then finished the day off with a dinner on the beach under the palapa.  Ya, it was another postcard day. ha.

It is pretty rolly here in the anchorage but it is quiet, serene and beautiful.  Well worth a few rolls during the night.  As the day closes so do I.  Ciao for now.

Bret, Tallen, Karla, Aven
SV Liahona