Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Gitano del Mar, s/v



20.8N 105.6W. Marina Riviera Nayarit, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico.

We haven't tied to a marina since we left La Paz in very early October. But a few system "issues," the need for fresh water and the need to clean the boat of the incredible amounts of dirt and dust that the winds have packed upon the ol' girl pull at us to pull up anchor and head in for a few days.

It is unnatural for us to be tied in....to us, boats, like Gitano, fare better at anchor riding the winds and tides. That said, however, the experience here has been a good one. The marina is new and under construction. There is a lot of dust and noise and not all the services are in place. It is wonderful to take long, hot (some of the times) showers without worrying about the water supply. The walk in to town is a long and dusty one, but it seems quite a bit easier without having to deal with landing the dinghy on shore to sync up with tides and sometimes strong winds. We have washed down the boat several times -- inside and out ... and we are, for the first time, "power sluts" as we are able to plug in to shore power here at no cost and charge up the house bank batteries and run all the electrical equipment we want to no end.

We will be heading out tomorrow, so I thought I would put up this quick post with another view of Gitano del Mar.

Ciao!

The Other Side of the Life.




20.8N 105.6W. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico.

Our refrigertion system on the boat started having problems that quickly transformed into "not working." So, Steve researched the available resources and including asking other cruisers and locals for information on where to go to get what we need to at least begin diagnosing the problem. We needed refrigerant and a hose to recharge the system. Long story short, we tied in to the marina and headed in to town...walked to several hardware and automotive stores...then took a bus to another town...then another even longer bus ride to the big city ... and after four or five hours we finally found refrigerant but no line. OK, now what do we do? Steve -- never one for simply giving up -- buys a bicycle pump that he cannabalizes the line from, and then with some vinyl line, masking tape, a couple of hose clamps, a piece of fuel line and a connector makes what we need to get the job done! It wasn't perfect but it worked. It worked so well, in fact, that Steve's efforts ended up fixing the problem...at least for now. Excellent.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

The Life.


20.8N 105.6W. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico.

It is Super Bowl Sunday and we are still in Bahia de Banderas. Hard to believe as we were getting ready to head south just over a week ago but…the water warmed up and a new swell arrived…so here we are. Steve surfed for four days straight. The Humpback whales have finally arrived with the warmer water – very late this season. We enjoyed a wonderful sighting two days while under sail to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle – where a cow and very little calf swam very slowly only forty feet off our starboard side. The calf appeared to be keeping full contact against the cow and when they surfaced for air…it almost looked as if the cow was very gently lifting the little guy up to show him how it was done. Probably not what was really happening…but that is how it looked us as we watched entranced by this elegant and quite touching duo.


Waves, wind, water, whales....the life.

We are here in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in order to tie up to the new marina here to get some work done on the boat. She really needs a good fresh water cleaning after all the wind born construction dust she has been subjected to both here and in Cabo San Lucas. We also need to do some troubleshooting on our battery bank and refrigeration systems (though it looks like Steve may have fixed the refrigeration this morning while at anchor here).

Anyway, we are looking forward to watching the Super Bowl at Ana Banana’s and getting to work first thing Monday when we arrive at the marina.

Go NY Giants!


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Jan 2008 Punta de Mita