Tenacatita 1.14.10

Ahhh…..Tenacatita! I mentioned on the last update that we pulled into a calm bay, dropped our anchor in 10’ of water and all was well. And it has stayed well. So well, in fact, we will probably spend as much time here as possible. As long as we don’t run out of gas for the generator or we can find some somewhere, we’re staying! The water is an incredible jade green color and crystal clear, you can see all of the fish swimming around the boat, our anchor & chain on the bottom, and every rock & seashell as if they were just a foot below. It’s incredible! The air temperature is in the upper 80’s and the water temperature is in the low 80’s. This spot is as close to paradise as I know.

I’m currently sitting in the cockpit of the boat looking around and will try to describe what I see! The pelicans & coastal birds are flying around the boats giving us quite a show of their grace and beauty while trying to find breakfast. There are obviously large fish under the water as I’ve seen several fish jumping out of the water right beside the boat. We make it a habit of throwing our garden waste (fruit & veggie scraps, mostly) overboard and there are lots of fish underneath our boat that appreciate our offerings as well as the shade that the boat provides. I’m currently facing southwest and I’m rewarded with a stunning rock face that is covered in green, yellow, pink & white – several variety of trees all with different colored leaves, super tall cactus jutting out of the rock face, shrubs, some beautiful blooming trees with incredible pink & white blooms, and vines everywhere. And there are those cool air plants that are everywhere too. That rock face comes down into the bay with no beach to speak of, but large rocks with waves that slide up the face and tumble back down. It is one of my favorite sounds. I can see 5 boats by turning my head side to side, but I know there are another 20 of so behind me. The boats come & go in and out of the anchorage daily. Some stay for lengths of time (there have been two boats here for more than 2 months), some stay for a week (about how long we’ve been here), and some only for a day or so. This is just one of the stopping points along the way.

It is one of the spots that offers so much though, which is why we love it here. I mentioned how gorgeous the water is, which allows for swimming daily (sometimes multiple times a day!), snorkeling, kayaking, & even some surfing. But that’s just the beginning of it. Every day around 2pm at the beach there is some activity going on that you can join in, watch, or just ignore! Bocce ball games, volleyball games, Mexican train dominoes, walks along the beach, organized swims into shore (from a boat), you name it – there’s something going on! Fishing from the dinghy, from the boat, spearfishing while snorkeling… And if that doesn’t suit you, you could always spend as long as you want sunbathing, reading, or just lounging in the hammock we have strung up. Did I mention….ahhhhh……

There are a group of boats we’ve spent quite a bit of time with – Slacker, Outrider, Maradon, Overheated, Pacific Voyager, & others. Barry & Pat on Pacific Voyager (our sister ship) is headed down to Ecuador this season and we knew the time was getting short to spend one-on-one time with them so while we were in Chamela we setup a dinner with them…..on the evening of the day we all split & headed to Tenacatita. Luckily, though, they also came into Tenacatita and anchored just behind us and we had a lovely dinner of Alaskan halibut & veggies with them that evening. We were bummed to see them go the next morning but know they have a good weather window and the time was right to head further South. We hope we will be able to hook up with them sometime again, but realize it is unlikely. That is the hard part of cruising – meeting folks that you really like and realizing you may not see them again. But the time spent with them was fabulous and we will remember it forever.

We have had some funky weather this season – rain! I can count about 6 times this season where it rained and it hasn’t stopped the further South we have come. Since we arrived in Tenacatita, we have had a couple of overcast days – somewhat of a problem for us since they’re a low solar day and we rely on solar power to charge our batteries, run our refrigeration, & keep our lights burning! Luckily though, the sunshiny days have well outnumbered the overcast days and well…an overcast day out here is better than any day at work anyway. Wink, wink! The lightning & thunder have been a bit of a treat though!

It’s about an hour later than I first started this update as we’ve had a couple visitors come by the boat in their dinghies to chat. It’s a very social community. I’m now facing the gorgeous beach that we play on during the day as the wind has shifted. The beach is about a mile long from the entrance to the jungle river trip to the Blue Bay Hotel, an all-inclusive hotel set up against a large rock separating one beach from the other. The beach itself is a honey colored sand and is lined by palm trees. A group of 4 horses can be seen being ridden along the beach a few times a day and there is a little palapa restaurant called La Vena that sits in the far corner by the river entrance. It is rumored that the area is owned & maintained by ‘plantation’ workers and only those associated with the plantation are allowed at the beach, but I can’t find any specific info. I will tell you, there are hardly ever any people on the beach save those at the hotel and, well, that’s OK with me too! Haha…

Speaking of the jungle river trip, we went up to the town of Tenacatita via the jungle river trip a couple days ago in search of fresh veggies. Anne & Jeff on Outrider, Mike & Julie from Slacker, Neil from Moondance, & us made the trip up the estuary to town. The jungle trip is so much fun, no matter how many times we’ve done it. The mangroves are amazing, the birds beautiful, and don’t forget the little red footed crabs! It’s a lot of fun roaming through the mangroves that surround you, duck under tree limbs overhead, & shimmy around fallen trees that obstruct your path to get into town. Once in town, there is a spot to leave your dinghy and a group there to provide security from 9 to 5. They charge a modest 20 pesos, about $1.50 and they help you park & re-launch the dinghy, as well as take any trash you have. Not a bad service! We spent the day checking out the town – walking from one end of town to the other (it’s a small beach town), checking out the full RV park in town, salt & pepper beach (a black & white coral beach), seeing what the vendors had to sell, & finally settling in at one of our favorite restaurants – Restaurant Cato – for their famous ‘Rollo del mar’ which is a thin filet of white fish, topped with shrimp & veggies, rolled up, wrapped in bacon and served with a creamy almond sauce over the top. It’s scrumptious and a specialty in this area. It’s a must try when you’re down here!!

Oh, I almost forgot – the sky is a bright blue color interspersed with white fluffy clouds. We’ve had several ‘pineapple express’ days where a small cell of weather comes our way for a few hours, half days, etc. But today it’s nice, perfect for bocce ball games on the beach!

Well, I guess that’s enough typing for today – my chore for the day is done! Now it’s time for some the big decision…..snorkeling? Or kayaking?

This is the life…..
Rene