Living the dream of cruising the world on our 45' sailboat, the Liahona. We are limited budget cruisers just trying to enjoy every moment of this amazing life and sharing our experiences along the way.
Having family and friends come aboard to share is what it is all about. For them to see what we see, do what we do and live what we live, even if for just a few days or so, is always awesome. My oldest son Tanner has never been to the boat so when he finally made it down it was destined to be great. Without going into a long dialog, here's the video that shows the highlights. Enjoy.
Each season on the boat we like to take
a trip or two inland to put our feet on solid ground and enjoy the
beauties that we normally don't get to see. One of our trips this
year was to beautiful Guadalajara where Bret was able to reunite with
his Mexican “family” that he hasn't seen in 35 years. So we
rented a car in Barra de Navidad and headed east. The overland trip
was beautiful and we again were amazed at how many miles we could
cover in just a few short hours. The miles pass by much quicker at
60 mph instead of 7!
Guadalajara is a beautifully historic
city and Marne was anxious to see the “old town”. We were able
to stay with the Padilla family who have been friends of the
Mitchell's since the 1950s. After the big city we wandered back west
to the town of Comala which sits at the foothills of the Colima
volcano. We were hoping to get closer to the active volcano but that
just wasn't possible so we had to enjoy from a distance. We left
Comala the next day and headed to the El Salto waterfalls and then on
back to Barra where we found the Liahona just where we left her, safe
and sound in the Barra lagoon.
Every year when we make our way south
toward Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay we look forward to seeing
whales. A large number of humpbacks calve in or near Banderas Bay
and by the time winter months are well set in whales can be seen on
almost every passage we make whether short or long. This year has
been a bit different but only for the better. For the last 2 months
or more we have seen lots and lots of whales. Many more than in
years past.
The video in this post was taken on
Feb. 18, 2018 at about 9am. We were anchored in the La Cruz
anchorage and just about the time we finished with our morning coffee
and daily check-ins to the SSB and ham nets we heard a small dog on a
neighboring boat barking and whining and then heard a big crash into
the water like someone dropped a boat out of the sky to land just a
few yards away from us. We bolted up top to see what the commotion
was about and discovered 4 whales bounding through the outskirts of
the anchorage and passing between ourselves and the vessel anchored
next to us. There was one youngster in the group that was certainly
enjoying himself as he continually jumped out of the water, roll over
and crash onto his back sending water splashing over his mother who
never left his side.
Once they cleared the anchorage I put
the drone up in the air to get a view from above. It was
spectacular! I follow the group for about a mile as they made their
way west toward the little surf town of Punta de Mita which sits on
the far northwest side of Banderas Bay. As you watch the video pay
close attention to the “escort” whale, a very large whale and
probably a male, as he scans the area around the mother and calf. Typically this escort is trying to discourage other males from mating with her as well as scanning for predators such as Killer whales. Anyway, without further
chatter...enjoy the video!
If you like community and having plenty to do while cruising then Tenacatita is the place for you. During the winter months cruisers converge on Tenacatita Bay just a few miles north of Barra de Navidad for it's protection and variety of activities that can be enjoyed there. Among them are Bocci ball on the beach, a daily group swim, runs, paddleboarding, snorkeling, Mexican Train Dominos and just about anthing else you might think of along with an occasional swell good enough to surf. When you get short on provisions you can either take the mother ship or dinghy over to La Manzanilla, just 3 miles across the bay to get whatever you need and enjoy a meal out.
Each year Robert and Virginia on s/v Harmony organize a triathalon which includes a swim to the beach, run down the beach to the resort and back and a paddle back out to Harmony. You can do it as a team or by yourself. It is all just good fun, nothing competitive and if you are the champ you get crowned with Harmony's plastic crown. Here is a look at this year's event. Enjoy.
During our extended stay in Tenacatita Bay we saw many whales out in the bay but we were delighted with this visit of 3 whales that came within a couple hundred yards of the boats anchored on the outskirts. When I saw that they were so close I launched the drone and got some pretty cool footage of of the threesome. Enjoy.
As a note...it may seem to you that the footage is in slow motion but all of this footage was left in realtime speed. It speaks to the grace of movement and tranquility of these majestic animals.
