The Taco Traveler

Yesterday was a very frustrating day trying to get new moorage closer to downtown Puerto Vallarta. I like it here in La Cruz, and I won't be here for the next two weeks anyway, but I wanted to be closer to stuff when I got back and save some money while I was away. The problem with a lot of marinas down here is they don't often feel compelled to answer email or their phone, so your best option when trying to get into a marina is to just go, be there in their marina, get them on the VHF and say, "okay, what's my slip assignment?" Well, it didn't work yesterday. I won't go into detail because it's boring, but it was a complete waste of a day.

So this afternoon I'm sitting here listening to Radio Lab podcasts and working, answering emails and making stuff happen. And soon I'll start packing for my trip inland, which I've decided I'll undertake tomorrow rather than tonight. I'm flying to Florida out of Guadalajara (partly because it was $100 cheaper, and partly because I wanted to see the city), and it's a five hour bus ride from PV. So no point in getting there at 9pm, paying for a hotel room and then just going to bed. The cheaper flight will end up costing me more, of course, with two night's hotel and a 400 peso bus ride, but I wanted to see Guadalajara. It's supposed to be "Mexico's most cosmopolitan city" and I'm ready for a little more culture. We don't get much culture here on the coast (tacos, fireworks and mariachi notwithstanding).

So I fly out of Guadalajara on Friday early morning, and as soon as I land in Panama City I'll get to see the boys play t-ball. R's been giving me great reports, and it sounds like they're doing great. G is great in the field and Ty hit a grand slam last week to win the game. He can also, apparently, do a backflip into the pool. Not a back dive or occasionally a back flop, which he was doing last time I was there, but a back flip, all the way around and his feet break the surface of the water. Since he's not yet 5 (2 more weeks) I can say "my four-year-old can do a freakin' backflip into the pool. From the edge of the pool." Look for that video soon, destined to be the equivalent of Tiger Woods on the Johnny Carson Show at age 4.

So on April 10 I'm back to PV and checking out of La Cruz on 4/11 and heading either to PV for a few days or more north, stopping along the way at places like Chacala, Mazatlan and Topolabampo that I skipped over before. Then again, if the weather's right, I may just float on north and save some of those places for next year. My plan currently is to do the Baja Ha Ha next year (they leave San Diego Oct 30) and give this trip another shot. But who knows....

TT

I haven't yet updated my float plan to correct all the things no longer accurate or relevant; I've just sort of changed dates. The most important factor is I'm no longer looking for a boat; I've got one. She's a 1989 Taswell 43, formerly Bonheur, which I had to rename to Chemistry because I couldn't not think of some perverted French guy saying "Oui, j'ai un bonheur." Which probably means "I have a good life" or something but sounds like something quite different in English slang.

Chemistry is a 1989 Taswell 43.

While the price was great, she wasn't very well taken care of, and had sat on dry land for 3 years. Dust gathering, water tanks rusting, decks uncovered and the teak washing away with the rain.... So now she sits, still, in Port Townsend getting her mast step rebuilt from the keel up, as the previous one had gone rotten from water ingress. But that was the only badly built part on that boat. She's solid, and beautiful. I've repainted the cove and boot stripes to a very dark (flag) blue from the original grey, though I still have some striping to do on the boot. The one solid thick stripe down there just doesn't cut it. And in truth, the whole boat needs a paint job, as the original white has lost its sheen and is pretty well oxidized.

The Float Plan, while essentially the same from San Diego onward, is completely up in the air right now on the Seattle to California legs. I really want to do the sail from Seattle to San Francisco, but we're coming into a hairy time of year to make the trip. I do not (and nobody who'd potentially sign on does not) want to make that trip upwind all the way. If we can't get a good northerly to push us down the coast by the second week of October, I may have to load her onto a truck and ship her to San Diego (I'd skip S.F. if I had to ship her). It's nice to be flexible.

Update 2/18/2008: Updated this for the 6th time, removing all legs prior to Puerto Vallarta. Also updating to allow for shorter trips (single-handing again) and to add places as recommended by friends I've made along the way. Currently in Panama City, FL visiting the boys. Boat is in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, near Puerto Vallarta.

February 28 -- La Cruz to PV (day sail)
Approx 10 miles. Visit PV for nightlife & etc., get autopilot fixed.

Early March, 2008 -- PV to Zihuantanejo
Approx 420 miles. Including Tenacatita, Barra de Navidad and Manzanillo.

Mid March, 2008 -- Zihuantanejo, Mexico to Hualtulco, Mexico, to Playa de Coco, Costa Rica
Approx 1200 miles. Way offshore to avoid high winds coming off the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Tehuantepecers, heh heh... really - that's what they call them) as winds from the Gulf of Mexico shoot across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec through a narrow gap in the Sierra Madre mountains - picking up speed and spilling into the Pacific. The very end of this leg also crosses the Gulf of Papagayo, where more high winds occur.

Mid-Late March, 2008 -- Cruising Costa Rica's Pacific coast
After clearing into Costa Rica at Playa de Coco, we'll spend between 8 and 10 days making our way down to Golfito.

Late March, 2008 -- Golfito, Costa Rica to Pedregal, Panama.
After returning from Florida and celebrating the new year, we'll depart Golfito on a 100-mile hop around the Punta Burica into Panama and the Port of Pedregal. After clearing in at Pedregal, we'll cruise for 360 miles of islands and coastline including the Islas Secas and the Archipelago de las Pearlas before joining the rest of humanity waiting to get through the Canal sometime before the end of January. I'd hope to not have to rush through this part, as I'm not sure when I'll transit the Canal again. Assuming a Florida base for the foreseeable future, I'll see plenty of Caribbean islands and could cross the Gulf of Mexico for the Yucatan or Belize, but transiting the Canal from East to West will probably happen only one more time -- when I go back through to cruise the South Pacific. And it sounds to me like the Pacific coast has more to offer anyway in the way of nature, and a cruise of this coast won't be complete without a couple of river journeys where we can anchor and wake up in the middle of a jungle.

Late March, 2008 -- Transit Panama Canal
Need to leave a little buffer here, as you can't schedule an exact date/time for transit... basically we'll just show up at the Balboa Yacht Club and they'll tell us how many days we'll have to wait.

Early April, 2008 -- Colon, Panama to Punta Gorda, Belize
About 920 miles north up the Caribbean Sea to Belize. This could be the harshest part of the trip, with potential for battling currents and/or wind for a long passsage.

Mid April (Spring Break?), 2008 -- Belize
About 160 miles of Belize cruising inside the barrier reef, from Punta Gorda to Ambergris Cay. Boys spring break is April 7-11, so they might join me here for this easy cruising?

Mid April, 2008 -- Belize to Cozumel, Mexico
About 190 miles

Late April, 2008 -- Depart Cozumel for Panama City, Florida