Saturday, December 26, 2009

Breathless & T.I.T.S. 12.26.09

If anything, the title should at least get your attention! Haha… As I mentioned before, our new friend, Ernie, had volunteered to take us back to La Cruz on his boat the following morning. We woke up and Michael went to a little coffee shop for some coffee & breakfast and we sat, people watching, while enjoying our breakfast. It was raining/drizzling but no one seemed to mind a bit. There were families, folks going to and from work, lots of exercisers, and several folks just strolling along the boardwalk. It was a great people watching morning. Bob hollered down from the condo and asked if we wanted coffee and we went up to the condo after everyone was up and about. It was a great, relaxing morning away from the boat!

Mer-men? From the Neptune float in the 2009 Carnaval in Mazatlan

Around 11:00 the group of us – Michael & I, Bob & Marlene, and Cyndi meandered down to Breathless. S/V Breathless is a stunning vessel. It’s a 78’ Maple Leaf, ketch-rigged sailboat.

S/V Breathless sailing in Banderas Bay

It’s absolutely beautiful. Once aboard, we were introduced to Larry, Ernie’s crewmember for the past 10 years, and given the grand tour which included a spiral staircase, full kitchen (I don’t consider this a galley as it has full-size appliances!), 5 staterooms, a great entertaining area below, the list really goes on and on. This boat was magnificent – stunning in every way.

Michael and Larry on the bow of S/V Breathless

We had a great group aboard for the day – Michael & I, Bob & Marlene and Cyndi, their daughter, LaLena & her son, Nick, Ernie & Jerry, and Larry, the crewmember. Ernie powered out of his slip and maneuvered this huge boat like a master, making turns I was certain we would never make.

Nick, Cyndi, Bob, & Marlene in the cockpit of Breathless

We motored out of Marina Vallarta and threw up the mainsail, though there was no wind to speak of. The morning was overcast but we had a great motorsail over to a spot on the South side of the bay called Las Animas.

The beach at Las Animas in Banderas Bay

The conversation never ceased as we motorsailed along. We arrived at Los Animos and were met by a panga who, along with Larry, secured us to a mooring ball while the group clambered into the panga. It was a little easier said than done but everyone made it safe & sound. Then the panga took us in through the surf, spun us around, & beached the panga….like he had done it a million times before (which I’m sure he has). Once we were beached, we jumped out of the panga into knee high water and walked up to a restaurant for some coldies & snacks!

Ernie, the owner of S/V Breathless and LaLena enjoying a drink and snacks in Las Animas

The sun finally managed to peek out of the clouds and turned into a magnificent day! We chatted, enjoyed watching the folks out at the beach, watched the vendors selling their wares (pies, flan, and the regular stuff), and just enjoyed the amazing day.

People packed the beach at Las Animas

After a while, it was time to go so we waved for our panga driver who, again did his acrobatic beaching and loaded us into the panga. Back on board Breathless the engines were fired up and we were on our way! Banderas Bay is approximately 15 miles across and the decision was made that instead of taking Breathless all the way across the bay to La Cruz just to let us off, we would instead be lowered into the dinghy and blasted across the bay by Larry. Cool! The dinghy was brought around and we crawled down into a 12’ dinghy with probably a 50hp engine and were, literally, blasted from one side of the bay to the other! I’ve mentioned that I had a pinched nerve in my neck and I was unable to move well, unable to turn my head, etc. I figure the dinghy ride over either helped or made it ten times worse! I’ll never know… Larry was great though and we made it to the other side of the bay in about 35 minutes. We were dropped off at the boat – wow! Boat to boat service! What an amazing morning. It was yet another example of how much fun you can have when you open yourself up to opportunities when they come along!

Once we were back at the boat, I took Anne up on her offer of a neck massage and was rewarded with an amazing massage. What a great Christmas present!

OK…so what’s T.I.T.S you ask? Why it’s Taco’s In The Street! :-) Just one of the great traditions in La Cruz is tacos in the street on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday. There is a street where the tables & chairs are placed in the street – many, many tables – and a couple vendors make up tacos, quesadillas, or tostadas with great salsas & mouthwatering goodies. We met Bob & Marlene with their other daughter, Sherrie, along with a couple from Christmas dinner and some friends of theirs. Anne & Jeff from Outrider came along with us and we all took up a large table and ate like kings & queens. It was incredibly busy – there must have been 100 other occupants but even with the other patrons our food was delivered incredibly quickly and it was absolutely scrumptious! Tacos in the street, or TITS as we call it, has quickly become a must-do while in La Cruz! It was getting late (it must have been 8:30 or so – cruiser midnight!) and my neck was still giving me trouble so we decided to hoof it back to the boats for the evening.

Another memorable Christmas & the day after! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well!!

Rene

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