| Legacy Sailing | |
| Photo Gallery 25 |
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| December 2004 Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad, MX |
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 We headed south from Mazatlan the first week of December and made two
overnight hops down the coast to get to Tenacatita, our favorite
destination from last year. The 'season' at Tenacatita is just
starting, but the water is clear, clean and warm, and several other
cruisers, including the 'mayor of Tenacatita,' Robert from Harmony.
The daily swims to the beach and boche ball on the beach have resumed, as
has the weekly "Mayor's night out" dinghy raftup. After a
few blissful days at anchor we headed into the marina at the Grand Bay
Hotel for three days. We needed to check in at Barra de Navidad for
this section of coast, pick up some provisions, and enjoy unlimited fresh
water from the hoses there. After our three days we were glad to
head back to Tenacatita for Christmas and New Years at anchor.
Shortly after New Years we headed back into the marina at Barra for a
resupply mission. We were so slow getting underway the day we had
planned to depart that instead we moved out to the lagoon for one night.
The lagoon is protected and calm with none of the ocean swells which reach
most other anchorages in Mexico. But the waters are murky and
brackish, so not suitable for swimming or watermaking. A day late we
started south again. |
|
 One
of the hedonistic joys of Barra is the daily delivery of fresh goods by
the French Baker. Fruit, coffee, and fresh croissants for a heavenly
breakfast! |
 Our
friends Robert and Virginia from Harmony took us to lunch at their
favorite restaurant in Barra. Here we sat on a slant and enjoyed
great food. |
 Hung
with care, our xmas stockings hang alongside the chimney (mast) next to
our tree (which even has its own light). |
 Back
at Tenacatita many boats were decorated with Christmas lights. One of our
favorite was this powerboat with the brightly lit palm trees on the
foredeck. |
 The
cruisers anchored in Tenacatita celebrated Christmas with a progressive
dinner beginning with appetizers on Euphoria. |
 Later,
main courses and side dishes were shared on Moira. From left to
right Lois (Texan), Cathy (Spirit), Shirley (Windsong), and Chris. |
 Susan
of Moira had prepared a turkey roast and a pork roast wrapped in phylo
with an apricot sauce. Frank (Windsong) smiles approvingly at the
selection. |
 The
final stop was Legacy for desserts. Suli and John of Euphoria
produced a hand cranked ice cream maker which was a great accompaniment to
the pies and other goodies. |
 We
joined Al and Cathy for a trip by taxi to the nearby town of La Manzanilla.
We had this great view of the boats at anchor from the hilltop along the
way. |
 La
Manzanilla (not to be confused with the city of Manzanillo) is on
the south side of Bahia Tenacatita. Pangas pull up on the beachfront
of the town. |
 The
beach is covered with tables and colorful umbrellas from palapa
restaurants looking out on the bay. |
 The
pavement ends where an officer directs traffic onto the dirt main street
just back from the beach. |
 One
of the 'not to be missed' attractions of La Manzanilla is the lagoon full
of cocodrillos (crocodiles)! These beast are held back from town
(NOT!) by a flimsy fence full of holes and missing sections. |
 Near
the main square of La Manzanilla along the main drag is this great
structure. The upper floors seemingly grew from the more sedate lower
floors complete with watch tower. |
 Residences
and small tiendas front the colorful flowering bushes and palms. |
 Upon
our return to the anchorage, Al wheels his cartful of beer and groceries
back or dinghies on the beach. |
 On
the 30th of December the 2nd annual Tenacatita Biathlon kicked off from
Harmony. Minnow led off for the Legacy team. |
 The
human swimmers were watched by Kira as she cheered on her teammate Minnow
from the dinghy. Halfway to the beach Kira took over. |
 On
the beach, Virginia from Harmony completes the first swimming leg in
great spirits. |
 Chris
coached Kira and Minnow on the running leg which they are shown finishing
here. |
 Back
on Harmony the competitors (Kira and Minnow too, 1st in 4 legs) gathered
in the cockpit for mineral water and fresh brownies. |
 From
the smooth waters of the Barra Lagoon there is a great view of the Grand
Bay Hotel by the entrance from the sea. |
| Updated 11/14/2006 |
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