Huatulco Part Twp

Huatulco Part Two

02-Jan-15 to 19-Jan-15

The next two and a half weeks were spent at the marina socializing, swimming at the Marina Park Hotel, swimming at Playa Santa Cruz, provisioning and getting the boat ready for the next part of the adventure.

It was nice to have friends in the marina. Al and Sandie on Marova (Vancouver) and Barry and Armon on Sea Swift (Seattle area). Then there were our new friends, Chris and Gerry on Misty Michael (Nanaimo), 

Jim and Linda on Liebling (Everette), Dominique, Heinz and Margarite on Meridian (California) and Jan and Ramona on Jatimo. That made for lot of socializing and story swapping.

We went to a great Blues concert on the beach with Barry and Armon. David Rotunda is from Montreal and puts on this benefit concert every year to help raise money for a centre in town that supports physically and mentally challenged children. This year he was backed up by several musicians from around the world - Spain, Argentina, Toronto and Los Angeles. The money that they made from the concert alone pays for one third of the operating cost of the centre which is not very much money at all. The music was a mixture of Blues and Rock and Roll and it was fantastic.

We also went on a roadside adventure with Al and Sandie to Cascadia Majica. We rented a car as the guys figured that we could cut the costs in half. Myself - I was pushing for the guided tour as we really did not know where we were going. I lost. Let's just say that a high clearance 4X4 would have been a better choice. We passed through several mountain passes and quaint villages and then finally descended down to the river bottom ( not literally). It is a good thing that David is such a good off road driver as we were on less than perfect roads. It's all the experience that he gained driving around the country in Napal.

David was more concerned about driving back out as the roads had many ruts, loose sand and our tires had little tread. 

When we got to one of the four waterfalls we were directed to the "reception" area by some guy walking through the jungle with a machete! There was nothing official looking about this place, just a girl sitting there asking us to pay 400 pesos in order visit the falls. Her English was non existent and David could not understand her explanation of what the 400 pesos was for. Al and David were able to barter her down to 240 pesos which makes one wonder if we were being scammed. But then we saw two tour vans, got directions to the falls, were told that the money was a park fee and carried on, this time on foot.

So we followed the river for about 15 minutes and came out to this ....

It did not take any of us very long to get into the water. 

And it was glorious. The water was crystal clear, with a combination of sand and limestone. The best was swinging on the rope swing into the large pool of water beneath the falls.

 Sandie and I were in no rush to get out of the water so the boys went on ahead to see if they could find the second cascade. So here we are, two women, in the middle of the jungle, clad in bathing suits, alone! Did we feel safe? Absolutely!!

Upon their return, we were urged to get out of the water and follow them further up the path. We had to pass through two arches in the Rock 

and then voila! Cascade number two. 

The limestone rocks were not slippery and we proceeded to walk across a part of the falls with a bamboo railing for support. 

We ended up at one of natures own natural infinity pools inside a cave. There were no bugs or slime or crawly things - just cool, clear water. It made the entire two hour drive worth it.

After we left my skin felt as if it had just had a spa treatment. Oh to swim in fresh water again!

We made it back to the highway without incident all due to David's excellent driving. But he was really ready for a cerveza by then!

When we got back to the boat we found out that our alternator would not be shipped from the factory until the 21 st of January. That meant that we would not receive it until the end of the month. There was a nice weather window coming up, for crossing the Tehuantepac so we started thinking of a Plan B.

Plan B involved having the parts sent to Chiapas instead. We could get hauled out there and do some of the installations on the hard. It is also time to have the bottom painted. Also haul out fees are really low in Chiapas - so the money we would save there could go towards the parts order.

We also asked David's sister to mail our interact cards to Chiapas. Oh right, I did not tell you that story! So pay attention you world travelers!

The interact machines could no longer read my card. And David's was intermittent. We were not sure of the activation process so I emailed my Financial adviser ( as she told me to contact her anytime we had a problem) and asked her to arrange new cards for both of us. Her instructions to make sure that David's original card was not inactivated until he got the replacement and to send them out by FedEx. We offered to pay the shipping fee - they could simply take it out of our account. Problem was, this was not her area of expertise and our instructions were not possible. Rather than consult with us the bank just sent out new cards via Canada Post to Mexico! and inactivated David's card. So we have no way of getting cash out of our account! After several more emails and delays I finally called card services myself. It seems that the bank does not deal with FedEx or UPS - just Canada Post. In this day and age of world travel I found this hard to believe. I informed them that regular post to Mexico could take up to 2 months at which time we would not be there any more. So they had to cancel those cards and send new cards to our Victoria address. Then we have to get David's sister to FedEx them to us. The cards still haven't even made it to the Victoria address yet! We are hoping that she will send them out by Monday or Tuesday. Good thing we were planning on staying here for a couple of weeks! 

And Good thing our Visa is paid off every month. So we transferred a credit onto the Visa and are able to take cash out without paying interest. We do have a TD account that we could use in a pinch - something to keep in mind when you are traveling, for sure. Till then we are using our Visa as much as possible and holding onto those precious pesos for those places that do not take Visa ( and there are a lot of them)

So Monday we fueled up. Hours on the motor are now 3049.8. We took on 270 liters for $4020 pesos. Not bad as the last time we filled up was back in La Paz.

We left the dock at 1300 hrs. Our plan was to go to a couple of the other anchorages while the other boats got ready for the crossing.

1340 Abeam of Santa Cruise where we got a look at the Stattendam Cruise ship in port.

1630 anchored in 14 feet of beautiful clear water in Bahia La India.

Snorkeling gear on and David and I went looking for fish. And boy did we find them. Huge schools of them. I was hoping to use my GoPro but it was too late in the day and the camera could not pick up the fish. 

Back on the boat for a wonderful dinner of a variation of Osso Bucco - small beef short ribs instead of veal shanks - garlic mashed potatoes and peas. Yes - peas! The captain was in heaven. And lots of leftovers for another day.

The anchorage stayed calm all night so we had a good night sleep in preparation for our 220 nm crossing.

David securing the ladder for our departure.

Oaxaca and Felix Ano Nuevo

Oaxaca City

Oaxaca state has one of the largest Indian populations, along with Chiapas in Mexico. This includes the Zapotec and the Mixtec Indians.

So many people have told us that we must go there - so what better pace to see the year end.

We took a deluxe bus from La Crucecita at 2315 for less than $30 each. The bus took us along the coast and then inland over the highlands and 4 mountain passes in the Sierra Madres. We decided to do a night run because we were only able to find accommodations for two nights and traveling at night would give us an extra full day in Oaxaca City.

This area is famous for its crafts and corn and Mescal ( made from the agave cactus like tequila but roasted in the ground first to give it a smoky flavor). Today a lot of families make a living selling their crafts of pottery, rugs and wood carvings (alebrijes). The families who weave the rugs have their own sheep, shear and spin the wool, dye the wool with natural dyes (cochineal - bark, indigo plant, plants and insects)

and then weave them in patterns specific to their families. I have to say that all of the " souvenirs" that we have seen since arriving in Mexico that I have bought or really liked have come from this area. But the heritage of the area really comes from growing corn. The ceremonial centre of Monte Alban ( one of the ruins) depicts this.

Oaxaca City, the Capitol of the state is a product of three centuries of colonial society. It has its own style of architecture and displays of the buildings and the green stone is evident everywhere you look. Buildings have low, thick walls to protect them from earthquakes and gives the city a very Europian provincial feel to it.

So we arrived at 0700 after a long but quiet "wavy" drive. We both took a Gravol to help us sleep on the bus. Upon arrival we walked to the town centre to find a place for breakfast and then went to our hotel. Azucenas is a lovely bed & breakfast run by a Canadian from Quebec.  It reminded me a lot of Susan's B&B In Belize. The rooms all face into an open court yard. The common area is on the roof where a continental breakfast is served. It is not included in the cost of the room - about $60 a night - but can be purchased for an extra $4. There was always fresh orange juice, cereal, yoghurt, granola and an array of fresh fruits and baked goods. You got quite a view from the roof top. And it was within walking distance to most of the points of interest.

Stuart and Prim had made reservations for dinner so we decided to to get a taxi and visit the ruins at Monte Alban. The place was spectacular. The Great Plaza was constructed in 300-600 BC by flattening the mountaintop. 

The site is aligned north to south  and overlooks the entire Oaxaca valley. The evacuation of this area has unearthed more than 170 tombs, ceremonial altars, stelae, pyramids and altars. There are books written on the different structures and I will leave it to you to investigate further.

Below are some of the more prominent structures. There would have been more but unfortunately a lot them were washed out. So I guess you will just have to go there and check it out yourself.

Susan should appreciate this picture. And cousin Terry too! We climbed to the top!

One of the stelae's

We spent almost three hours at the site and then returned to the hotel to have a siesta before dinner. The broken night sleep on the bus was starting to get to us.

We were able to walk to the restaurant with Stuart and Prim and they were able to point out some of the attractions that we must spend some time at. We had a fantastic Italian dinner  (where I found Santa)

and were in complete awe of the city. The architecture is lovely and the brick streets bustling with families and tourists was very welcoming. If you ever have an opportunity to come to this city, you MUST make the effort. And plan to stay for at least 4 days.

This city was designed to have a system of streets perpendicular to one another around a large central square called the Zocalo. The centre streets are walking streets so no cars are allowed except on the one way cross streets. This makes for a very relaxed but busy city core with lots of tourists, interesting shops, restaurants and numerous cafes. Coffee and chocolate are both huge products grown in Oaxaca state - sorry - no Starbucks here". The neighboring state of Tabasco grows most of the cacao beans. They are ground with almonds and cinnamon and pressed into bars. You dissolve the bars into hot milk and beat until frothy. Wonderful! They also use the chocolate in their mole paste which is one of the specialties of the area.

We spent the next day touring the Convent and walking through the museum. The Dominican order were responsible for building numerous churches and convents with the Convent of Santo Domingo being the most spectacular.

Yes this is David in a Church

The State Regional Museum is housed in the old Santa Domingo monastery. If you go make sure you rent the English video as all of the descriptions are in Spanish. The stairs, the arches, the cupolas - everywhere you look, there are lovely details in stone or in the remnants of colonial-era murals.

And a beautiful cactus garden in the courtyard.

The hotel was able to find us accommodations for New Years Eve and then we booked another night with them for the first. Now what to do for New Year's as it was pretty late in the day to be making reservations. As luck had it, we ran into the chef from the Italian restaurant and he remembered us and promised to arrange a table for an early sitting - 2000 hours - which is early by Mexican standards on any given night.

We had another wonderful dinner and then left to walk around the square. It was filled with families and musicians and balloons. I really wanted to stay til midnight but I had been fighting this flu/ cold for a couple of days now and just could not do it. But we made it back to our room in time to call Mom at midnight her time and wish her a Feliz Ano Nuevo!

A lot of things were closed on January first but I still managed to do some damage in the shops. I did add to the ship's stores: coffee and cocoa. And I did manage to buy some gifts for someone someday and souvenir's for us. And yes David - another bag! And a few pieces of black pottery and green pottery.

Scenes from the market

Grasshoppers (chapulines) - they eat these like chips! Sorry, I just couldn't go there.

All kinds of cheese

Scenes along the street

Another Church 

0930: Back on the bus and a most wonderful 8 hour bus ride - averaging 40 km. Gives you an idea as to how windy the road is. But the vistas were beautiful. 

The 8 hour bus ride was beautiful though sometimes nervy. The highway was good but there were often no guard rails. And the vistas were fantastic.

When we got back to the marina we noticed Sea Swift in one of the slips. No one aboard. We figured Barry would be at the restaurant - and he was. Finally someone has caught up to us! 

First Days in Huatulco

Huatulco

1100: We arrived at Marina Chachue and were greeted by two fellow Canadians on Misty Michael. More about Chris and Gerry later.

The marina docks are typical to what we are used to in Canada and the U.S. There are 30 and 50 amp plugs at the dock and potable water! This is one of the few marinas in Mexico where we had potable (drinkable) water at the dock. What a treat!

We inquired about the rates and they varied depending on your length of stay. If you stay more than two weeks then the monthly rate is the way to go as 17 days equals one month. Our plan is to go and visit the various bays and anchor out every couple of days and then come back in to check out some of the sites on land, as there are many. We had also decided to put in a large parts order into Defenders in Miami as the shipping rates to this area are more reasonable and we know that it will take about two weeks for those things to arrive.

The marina has two washrooms, one male and one female and an outdoor cemented shower area with two shower heads in one area. So a couple either showers together or one person takes up the whole place. Oh, and did I tell you that there is only cold water. Thank goodness the cold water here is not really cold, maybe around 20 C. It would not take very much to make this a really nice marina but the FONATUR group just do not seem to have the incentive to do so.

We are within walking distance or a short cab ride to the centre of town and some of the other bays. And all cabs are 25 pesos (about $2) no matter where they take you!

After we got settled Chris offered to take us on a driving tour of the general area. Well that took about three hours. He took us to scenic lookouts and through the town and through high end subdivisions and a few beaches. It was wonderful. 

Navy Lookout Hut

View from the Hut Looking at the Cruise Ship Terminal

We stopped for a great lunch where we met Max - informed that we would have to return the next day for warm home made cinnamon buns. Which we did and they were great along with the capacino. We managed a few more visits there during our stay!

Chris and Gerry are originally from Winnipeg and then Nanaimo and I cannot say enough about their generosity. He offered to take David to a good battery store and drive him back to the marina. They have also given us lots of information about the area.

We were quickly introduced to a few other boaters. Ramona and Jan who actually know mutual friends of ours and Jim and Linda. All three of these couples have been cruising for over 5 years! So lots of stories and information to share.

Mexico celebrates on Christmas Eve and these couples had made reservations at one of the local beach restaurants. They were kind enough to join us. The price included a margarita, appetizer, main course and dessert and live entertainment. It did not start until 2100 hours which is the normal time for Locals to go out for dinner so we decided to have a siesta! Good thing as we left at 0200 when the party was still in full swing!

On December 25th everyone rests from the previous nights revelry. Wonder why?  Gift giving for children does not take place until the 6 th of January - All Kings Day - when the three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

Did you know that the poinsettia (Aztecs called cuetaxochitl) originated in Mexico? It is named after Joel Roberts Poinsettia, the first US ambaddasor to Mexico in the 1820's.

We had a nice ham dinner and were able to talk to Mom and Paul and Debbie and my cousin Tarja. David was also able to talk to Carolyn and his sister Susan. No luck with my sister Susan or Australia though!

Boxing Day is just a normal day here. David and Chris went and bought the batteries and I spent the day cleaning the outside of the boat.  So Santa was very generous when he dropped off 4 brand new Deep cell marine batteries by the boat! 

The 27 th was spent installing the batteries 

and re-installing the gooseneck on the boom. Chris had recommended a machine shop that could bore out the hole in the cast aluminum body and insert a sleeve to bring the holes back to their original diameter to fit the pins.  The original holes were warn down and we were experiencing a fair amount of play in the fittings. And for those who do not know - the goose neck is what attaches the boom to the mast. Kind of an important part on a sailboat. And having it repaired like new was a lot less expensive then getting a new one - if we could of even found one!

The new batteries seems to have solved one of our issues as the batteries are now able to maintain a charge for a longer period of time.

The batteries may have sulphinated while the boat was sitting in the marina at a low charge. And remember the story about the big rainstorm and lightening and surcharge that we had experienced in Barra just before we left to go to Canada. We are thinking that that may have been the cause for all of these electrical issues. Who knows?

Sidebar: what is sulphinating? When a battery is under charge for a long period of time the sulphates can build up on the internal plates in the battery and the battery begins to lose efficiency. This buildup leads to the deposit of sulphur crystals which then can lead to:

-loss of cranking power

-longer charging time **

-excessive heat buildup leading to "boil up"

-shorter running times between charges **

-shorter battery life **

** we think these three things were what was going on with our batteries.

Storing batteries in temperatures greater than 75F will also increase the rate of  self-charging and increased sulfation. This doubles with every 10F. Rise in temperature over RT.

So I guess we can expect to replace our batteries a little more often than we would in the Pacific Northwest!

We put our parts order in - main things being a new furler system for the staysail, a new inverter/charger and a new Balmar 120 Amp alternator. There is a yard here for haul out but there are not very many experienced marine maintenance people. But thank goodness, David, with the help of some of our wonderful cruising buddies, should be able to install everything. But this stuff will take a couple of weeks to get here so what to do with our free time?

Our first choice was to take everyone's advice and visit Oaxaca for a few days. So I will take a break from talking about Hualtuco and give Oaxaca its own blog entry as it most certainly deserves it.