Chacala, Mexico

Hey folks, just a quick note from the Jarmans on Chaitanya. We finally left Marina El Cid in Mazatlan bound for ports south. Our first stop was to be Isla Isabella, a Mexican nature preserve that consists of a semi sunken volcanic caldron as an anchorage. But the sailing was so good, I decided we would continue on. The next possibility was Mantenchen Bay outside of San Blas. Again, we were making good time, and I was concerned about checking in with the port captain in San Blas, a hitch-hike from the bay of Mantenchen. This would have to be done again the following day for our departure and seemed to be more trouble than it was worth for the short visit. So we ended up in Chacala, a small bight on the coast 35 miles north of Punta de Mita (the northern point that creates the northern boundary of Banderas Bay, where Puerto Vallarta is located). Chacala is the site of a former palm tree plantation, so it appears truly tropical. It has a long white crescent beach with gentle surf. There are about a dozen large palapa restaurants that seem pretty empty now. Perhaps there is an influx of tourists on the weekends. The village consists of not mush more than a trailer park, the palapa restaurants, a few small tiendas, a couple hotels and many homes from shanties to modern cliffside vacation homes. The sky is blue, the northwest swell just a gentle massage under Chaitanya, the air is 77F in the shade, and the water is 79F. The kids are restless after a day and a half stuck on the boat, and Heidi and I are trying to recover our energy after the long passage. By tomorrow morning, we will be 110 percent again and ready to sail south around Punta de Mita to one of the calm anchorages inside Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Flags) or perhaps all the way to Paradise Village Marina- what was supposed to be our home from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15. If you didn't know, I (Ian) was pooped after the trip down California, Baja, and across the Sea of Cortes to Mazatlan. I convinced Heidi and the kids to fly home to Oregon for the holidays. Now, with a renewed outlook and a little regret for being left behind by our cruising friends that were better disciplined and stuck with their plans, we are heading south. We should meet up with Captain Tom and Amy tomorrow if we make it to Paradise. Sunbaby and Sunshine are already a couple hundred mile south of us and unless they find a spot they really enjoy and hang out for a couple weeks, we may not see them again this year. (sniff, sniff) That's all for now. Feel free to email us at this address-WDC5551@sailmail.com- we really relish the few emails we get. And don't forget to check our blogsite www.sailboatchaitanya.blogspot.com
\Ian, Heidi, Jonah and Gabriella on Chaitanya

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