Sailing Vessel Timoneer: Banderas Bay

From San Jose del Cabo we were surprised to have some light but sailable wind, we crossed the Sea of Cortez, arriving in La Cruz (part of Banderas Bay) two days later. We dropped anchor and headed to shore immediately to visit our friends on SV Mambo, who happened to be having a party that very evening. We socialized with other cruisers and expats living in the area who were happy to share their local knowledge on what to do, and where to go. The following day we ventured into town for the Sunday markets, located right on the waterfront.

It happened to be Easter around this time- Semana Santa (Saints week), and so the beaches were packed daily with Mexican families who come out in full force with 'everything but the kitchen sink', bringing chairs, tents, shade, crockpots, alcohol and music. There is always a mariachi band playing somewhere, even on the beach!

La Cruz is a very charming small town, lined with cobblestone streets and colorful flowers. Children run around everywhere, Grandmas sell their food directly from their kitchen. There is also a vibrant sailing community here, and lots of activities going on, from yoga to workshops to craft groups and swap meets. Plenty of people sail the Pacific Puddle jump from here, while others continue North or South (as we were).

This boat was anchored at La Cruz when heavy swell came in and broke their rope to chain splice and washed it up on the rocks!

We stayed in Banderas Bay for 2 weeks, and dropped anchor a few different places. We spent a while in Punta de Mita which was closer to the surf breaks, and structured our days around going surfing and napping through the hottest part of the day. We bought a hammock and strung it up on the bow- a perfect place to read and nap, as the wind and motion of the boat do all the hard work.

Surf breaks- La Lancha, Playa Anclote and El Faro- all accessible by dhingy!

Ceviche just never gets old..

We made a day trip (hitch-hiking) to the nearby town of Sayulita, a place known for its 'hippy' vibe. We didn't bother bringing the boat, as there is no safe anchorage there and it was slightly North to where we were. The hills there boast of brightly colored mansions that seem to have been imagined first in a drug induced bout of inspiration. In town, locals (of the foreign kind) get around in golf buggies.

We also made a day trip to the Marietas Islands, a few miles off the coast, known for their caves and unique wildlife. We were told that we needed a permit to anchor there as it is a government protected area and tourist hotspot, but upon finding that this permit was only obtainable at Puerto Vallarta (a two hour bus ride) we decided to plan on a very early arrival. We set our anchor at 7.15 and headed straight for the famous 'hidden beach' which we had seen many times on posters and hoped we would get there before the crowd. We found a tiny opening (was this is???), tied off the dhingy, and proceeded to swim through the opening. There was a strong surge and it was dark halfway through. Yes, it was scary! It looked nothing like the photoshopped pictures, but it was still really cool to swim through a cave and come out the other side to a secret beach. As we swam back out, the boats and tour groups started arriving.

This great picture I took from the internet, maybe if we had an underwater camera or a drone we could have got this shot?

This picture was taken from inside the 'bowl' after swimming through the cave

After, we explored the second island, managing to almost capsize our dinghy on the way in (talk about an adrenaline fuelled morning), we walked along the beach, through caves and up onto the large grassy knoll, where I almost stepped on a brown snake, which ended our trip walking through the long grasses on a bird infested island. Bird eggs + Tall grass = SNAKES right?! Back on the beach, we met another group of people, their guide politely informed us that it was a $1500 fine if caught going onto the island. Woops. We made it back to the boat and were greeted by a government patrol boat who also politely informed us that it is forbidden to anchor there without a permit. We couldn't have gotten out of there faster! It was lucky we didn't get fined, and also lucky that we got to see everything before being kicked out. I guess the proverb rings true- It's easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission! But really, we are terribly sorry for being such bad tourists..