The next day we moved to the municipal marina near the airport as Tom had a friend from New York (Brian) flying in on the 5th. This made it a lot closer to pick him up and gave us another chance to do some marina shopping. We found Marina Vallarta to be a bit run down and alive with locals trying to sell us anything one can imagine. This was definately not the place for serenity. The docks were also a bit run-down. While we were there my inverter/charger kept blowing their breakers. I got out my volt meter to investigate and found 137 volts. YIKES!!
Next morning I woke to find a multi-colored diesel sheen on the water. That was enough for me. As soon as the crew roused themselves from a night of shore-leave, we departed for Marina La Cruz. Even though it's only a few miles north, it was a totally different world. This is where a lot of cruisers hang out while in Banderas Bay. Very quiet. This was more of what I was looking for. While there I found my friends from Channel Islands Harbor, Rick and Karen aboard Eyes of the World and fellow powerboat cruisers Larry and Lena aboard Hobo.
Behind the Marina is a little town called La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (try pronouncing THAT one!) It's a really quaint little town where many X-pats reside along with the locals. What a great place! We had dinner at Filo's , which is the local hot spot with a gringo band.
Next moring we left Marina La Cruz to explore more. Banderas Bay is appx 20 mies wide by 15 miles deep. There are a lot of places to see. Near the north end are a small group of islands called the Las Tres Marietas. Care must be taken when approaching as all the isands are surrounded by rocks and reefs. What a beautiful spot. Tour boats from the mainland where there with boatloads of eco-tourists, but we found a good place to anchor for the day. Tom and Tucker went snorkling while Brian and I swam of the stern of the boat.
After a day of sun and fishing we cruised north to the far end of Banderas Bay and anchored up at Punta de Mita. We dingy'd ashore to the small town and resort there. There are a zillion waterfront palapa restaurants there. A bit pricey but the food was great and the views priceless.
As the time for my crew to be in PV was winding down, I gave them the option of where to spend their final days aboard. It was unanimous, Paradise Village was the favorite, although mine was La Cruz.
The last three days were spent at the beach, volleyball court and getting to know new friends from the U.S. Friday morning things were a bit quiet abord as everyone packed for their re-entry back to reality.
