We tied up in Marina Rivera Nayarit the Thursday before Christmas and began getting the salt out of things to stow below while we spend time stateside. Christmas Eve we spent quietly on the boat, but Christmas Day we got together with lots of other cruisers and local “gringos” at a favorite hang out. The restaurant provided turkey and the rest of us provided the pot luck food. Turned out that there was plenty of goodies and we all ate our fill.
After we had eaten our fill, Santa arrived to pass out gift bags to 400 children from the local area and it was great to see the gifts light up their faces.
Before Santa handed out the gifts a group of the children sang Christmas carols for us in English.
We spent several afternoons on the beach in Chamela enjoying cold beers and sometimes ceviche.
The dinghy landing was right in front of the restaurants, so we picked the one with all the strands of shells. Most days the beach was occupied by only a few tourists but on Sunday the traffic really picked up and we enjoyed watching all the families enjoying themselves in the sand.
We even got to watch as jet skis were attempted to be launched from a trailer backing into the water over the sand flats. The truck got well stuck but was eventually pulled free with another pick up leaving the trailer and jet skis in the water. With some effort they got the skis off the trailer and the trailer pulled ashore.
Yesterday, Saturday, there was lots of activity around us on the water. We opted to spend the day on board after three days of great dining ashore. Thursday evening we ate at a nice little restaurant on one of the walking streets and enjoyed a super Mexican “combination” plate. Bill and I shared the large plate of food that included tostados, enchiladas, a large chunk of beef and a small bowl of beans plus tortillas on the side. Including the four beers that we drank plus the tip, the meal came to $15.50 total for both of us, not a bad deal and the food was real good.
Friday we again enjoyed a meal in town this time picking out a beach side restaurant. There we enjoyed yummy chili rellenos stuffed with cheese and shrimp and for dessert - fried ice cream with lots of cinnamon. There are way more places to eat here than there are tourists to eat in them so we are usually the only clients in the restaurants that we visit and many nearby ones have none at all.
Yesterday we had 70 gallons of diesel delivered to the boat at about $3.50/gallon – not a bad deal and it sure saved Bill’s back from lugging the 5 gallon containers by himself.
We went into town yesterday to check in with the port captain and while we were there we checked out the street scene. The Town is set up for the tourist trade with nice brick-look sidewalks and streets. The sidewalks in the downtown area are covered with tile roofs and there are several streets that are closed to traffic, allowing the tourists to wander between the many restaurants and shops without car traffic. Bill and I visited the ATM at one of the banks and across the street was a restaurant specializing in tamales, so there we went to eat an early dinner. There are many interesting restaurants and we will check out a few during our stay here.
I have been enjoying kayaking each day and visiting with fisherman that are out in the bay tossing their nets as I paddle past. I spent about an hour swimming under Lanikai with a brush trying to get much of the green fuzz off of her. Bill is hot and heavy into his computer work and seems to be enjoying it still.
We will check out another restaurant tonight and the beer is cold here too!!
The last few days have been rainy and drizzly due to a tropical low pressure system that moved ashore south of here – in the Tehuantepec area – yesterday.
We continue with the fuel transfer (from aux tank to main tank) in the daytime while we are onboard. It finally ‘sucked air’ this morning indicating that the lower tank was empty – its a very slow transfer pump. We have transferred about 55 gallons of fuel from the lower tank, giving us about 182 gallons in the 200 gallon main tank. No need to stop at a fuel dock here!!!
Tuesday Bill spent some time in the dentist chair getting started on the repair of a badly decayed tooth that has been breaking off parts over the last two years. It did not bother him, so it was easy to put off the repair. But time is good right now to get it fixed. Tuesday was all the drilling for a triple-root root canal; he was in the chair a full 2 hours. He has another appointment tomorrow (Friday) and a few next week – then hopefully his tooth will be as good as new. He has been spending much onboard time getting started on his UNISYS project. He needs to get things all set up while we have internet. As flaky as the internet here sometimes is, he says that he is accomplishing much.
Today we walked over to Santa Cruz to visit the immigration office; the markings on our tourist cards were just scribbles and we needed to know how long we have in the country. It turns out that they could check on the computer and we have until mid-March to play in the warm weather, not that we will stay that long. While in Santa Cruz, we stopped in at a favorite restaurant and had tuna and shrimp salads for lunch with cold cervezas and ice cream and coffee for desert.
The restaurant was almost empty as we ate. Doreen went for a swim in the sea. By the time we were leaving (about 2PM) other customers were finally arriving.
