After leaving Puerto Vallarta we did a short sail to Yelapa. We unfortunately spent only one night there, and it was a rolly one!! We didn't even get off the boat. It seemed like a neat place and hear there is a nice hike to some waterfalls. I guess we will save that for next time.
We had plans to make a few stops down the coast, however we decided to do a longer sail straight to Tenacatita, which took us 25 hours.
We have heard many great things about Tenacatita and we were looking forward to exploring the area. Our friends Greg and Kristin on Sonrisa have been in the area for the past few months, so they were a great resource of knowledge!
We spent the first three nights at "The Aquarium". There was a beautiful beach, amazing sunsets, and good snorkeling. There weren't many boats there as this anchorage is a bit more exposed to the wrap around swell, so it was a perfect place to make water. Once our tanks were full, we picked up anchor and headed towards the main anchorage in Tenacatita.
That afternoon we headed into the beach and meet up with Kirstin and some other cruisers for a late afternoon beer at the palapa restaurant. On our way over, we noticed the boat next to us was from Golden, CO, so we stopped by and said hello. Later on at the palapa restaurant there was also a couple from Sedalia, CO! It's a small world!
Other than the palapa restaurant and an all-inclusive hotel, there is not much on this side of the bay, so when another cruiser had coordinated a local panga to transport people to the other side of the bay for a grocery run, I added my name to the list of people going. It was $200 pesos ($10usd) round-trip. We had good timing as there was a farmer's market happening. Kirstin on Sonrisa had a ton of knowledge of the town, so I tagged along with her. We went to the only ATM in town, which is at the police station, hit up the produce stand, the coffee bean guy, the sausage stand, and the sourdough bakery. All in all, it was a very successful trip. That evening we attended the "Mayor's raft-up" and then there was a bonfire on the beach afterwards.
We were told of a Raicilla distillery tour which was highly recommended. I was given the number of the owner's son and setup a tour for the following day. Pancho, the owner, was scheduled to pickup us up at 11:00 at the end of the estuary. The estuary starts right out of our achoage and meanders 2.5 miles through the jungle and mangroves. There were tons of birds and red-clawed mangrove crabs...but no crocodile sightings.
Once we got to the end of the estuary, it opened up into a lagoon and we saw Pancho waiting for us in his van. It was about a 5 minute drive to his distillery, where he took our lunch order and then started the tour. Pancho does not speak English, but he uses Google translate for some of the tour, which was helpful. Raicilla is a distilled spirit originating in Jalisco. It is a cousin to tequila and mezcal, and is a product of the agave plant. Raicilla is a traditional beverage with about 300 years of history and has a protected Denomination of Origin, like Champagne, Bordeaux, and Mezcal.
There are lots of activities that take place in Tenacatita, with a very active cruising community. Everyday people swim or dinghy into shore before partaking in a beach walk or game of bocce ball, which is then followed up with a beer or margarita at the palapa restaurant. We also enjoyed a beach afternoon as well!
Between all of the activities and boat projects, we have been pretty busy the past week!
Next up, we have a short sail to Melaque/Barra de Navidad.