La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

 (pronounced wanna-cox-lee)

(More simply known as La Cruz)

And Back to Mazatlan

Includes the Salvation Army Chidren

Sunday, January 17, 2009:  After leaving Las Tres Marietas it was just a short distance before we found our anchorage spot just outside the newly opened beautiful La Cruz Marina.  There appeared to be around 80 boats already anchored and we recognized many of them.  La Cruz is only about 10 miles from Puerto Vallarta and we found it hard to believe that such a charming small town could still exist that close to a large city.    Other than a couple of condos sprouting up here and there and the newly opened marina, this town appeared to be just the same as it would have been 100 years ago. 

Monday, January 18:  First things first, we had heard that there was a great marine store in P.V. called Zaragoza.  Charlie was looking for parts to fix the raw water pump so first thing on Monday morning we set off to find the bus into P.V.  No problem finding the bus stop about 3 blocks from the marina and best of all, the crew of Hipnotical was also waiting for the bus and was getting off at the stop we needed to get off at.  They steered us in the direction of the bank and  Zaragoza's.  We walked into the door at Zaragoza's and spotted Mark and Wendy of SolMate.  Mark and Wendy had rented a car so after we finished shopping, they took us to Home Depot and Mega for some grocery shopping. 

Tuesday, January 19:  Inauguration Day   We watched the inauguration of Barack Obama in the cruiser's lounge at the marina.   

Wednesday, January 21:  The marine store Zaragoza did not come through with the parts for the water pump so Charlie got a hold of  "Tea Lady" who scheduled an appointment with her husband "Teapot Tony", the local marine mechanic, to take a look at the pump.  He determined that he could rebuild the existing pump.  He also had a brand new pump for sale.  We did both, repaired the old pump and reinstalled it, and put the new pump away as a spare.  We moved into the marina to make the installation easier and it was so nice there we remained at the marina for the duration of our stay in La Cruz.

To our delight, we were joined by SolMate and Black Dog.  Then Psyche came to the anchorage.  It was nice to meet up with the "group" once again.   We have been travelling the same route with these sailboats since leaving Mazatlan on December 30, 2008 and have become quite fond of them.

It rained today for about 3 minutes.  I hollered at Charlie to close the hatches, and by the time he got on deck, it stopped.  This was the first rain we saw since we left Coos Bay on September 11, 2008.

Between January 22 and February 1 we spent our days working on the boat, socializing with our cruiser friends, touring Puerto Vallarta and neighboring towns.  We also hired "Luis the Dock Master" to remove the varnish from our hatches, hatch doors and combing.   Luis grew up in Chula Vista so his English was perfect and we enjoyed talking with him and were extremely happy with his work. 

For such a small, still very Mexican town, it had it all.  In not much more than about nine square blocks were a town plaza, cathedral, ice cream shop, mercantile store, hardware store, veterinarian, 2 bakeries, tortillaria, umpteen taco places including one called "Tacos on the Street", an Italian restaurant and English pub.  At night, cooking took place outside on the sidewalks in front of houses and the tiny town came to life.  Parents sat on benches in the town plaza and kids ran and played tag and hide and seek like we did back in the 50's.  One of our favorite places was called "Octopus Garden".  Inside is the best coffee I (Sharon) have found in Mexico, but best of all is the collection of Huichol Indian artwork.   Pictured below we are wearing silkscreened t-shirts depicting Huichol traditions .  Charlie's is the "Tree of Life" and Sharon's is "The Flood".  

THE FLOOD    The Flood brings about the change from the first to the second world.  As the floodwaters retreat, Takutsi Nakawe, Grandmother Growth with her feather wand and her cane, spreads calm, preparing the rain and seeds to spring forth in the new world.  Watacame, the first man, transforms into the sacred maize, peyote and deer, becoming Kauymarie, the Older Brother Deer the interpreter, who stands here with Tatewari, the Fire God and first shaman, also in the form of a deer.

The beach was just about a block away and the pugs loved their daily walks and especially romping with Bentley from Bamboo.  It had become a morning ritual to walk with Bentley and Michelle.  As you may recall from reading the earlier pages, we have been following Bamboo since they stayed over in Coos Bay on their way to the Baja Ha-Ha.

This is Bentley from SV Bamboo

This is the beautiful marina at La Cruz.  Talk about a small world, the boat with the yellow mast is Thin Wolf.  When we had engine trouble in San Francisco, we pulled into British Marine in Oakland right next to Thin Wolf, who was also there having its engine repaired.  It turned out it was also on its way to join the Baja Ha-Ha and after all this time, we are on the same dock again.  Thin Wolf is on its way to the South Pacific.

Sailing our Tinker dinghy are from left to right: Finn Malone, age 7 from SV Whistler Niall Gifford, age 9 from SV Totem Timothy Malone, age 10 from SV Whistler These boys really knew their stuff!

Monday, February 2, 3 & 4:  Tamale Day.  There is a holiday called "Three Kings Day" a week or so after Christmas.  We were in San Blas at the time of this holiday and I purchased a ring bread with candied fruit on top to take to our dock potluck with SolMate, Black Dog and Tamarra.  I was told that inside the bread ring was a plastic baby.  The person who gets this baby must make tamales on February 2.  Not only did I get the baby, but I got two of them.  I assured our friends that I would make tamales on February 2nd.  After all, how would they know if I made them or not.  How was I to know we would end up on the same dock in La Cruz on February 2nd. 

As it turned out, I didn't have to make the tamales.  There was a group of women from the Apostolic Church who make tamales each week on Wednesday.  But because it was constitution week, they began making tamales on Monday and continued making them on Tuesday and Wednesday.   So on Monday we placed an order for enough tamales to feed about 12 for the potluck that evening.   We were so amazed at the operation, I asked if I could come back on Tuesday to take a few pictures.  After taking the pictures on Tuesday, I was invited to return on Wednesday to learn how to make tamales.  This was a hands-on experience I will always be fond of.  The pictures to follow don't need explanation.  I do want to tell you, however, that the only modern appliance I saw was an ordinary blender.........not a food processor, but a plain old blender that they used to chop some chilies for the sauce.  The tamales were cooked in giant pots over a wood flame on the ground.   These women make about 400 tamales each day and the proceeds go to a building fund for their new church.    They have been doing this for 25 years.  I was told they go to church on Saturday so the men can work on building the church on Sunday, their only day off. 

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This is Rosa.  She is 18 and her English is excellent.  She told me she grew up in a small village not far away and learned English in school.  She is married and is expecting her first baby, a girl, in May.  She told me that the women in her church don't wear pants or jewelry so before I went to make tamales with these wonderful, happy women, I purchased a skirt.  They all say a prayer before beginning the tamale-making process, and after it's all over, they clear the table and sit down to a specially prepared lunch.  They made shrimp ceviche the day I was there.  Later that week I was invited to attend a baby shower of another young woman in the group.  I asked Rosa what they call a baby shower in Spanish and her answer was "baby shower".    By the way, Rosa also told me that only married women may go to a baby shower and absolutely no husbands are allowed.

Making Tamales the Old Fashioned Way

I got into the act.....	They thought I was pretty good for a gringo

Tuesday, February 5 to 9:  Puggles got a tummy ache probably from eating something rotten on the beach and got to visit the local vet.  Friends, Clarence and Sharon Harvey on SV Lotus arrived and shortly after, Steve and Kathy on SV Psyche from Lotus, CA arrived,  (Note:  One is named "Lotus" and the other is from "Lotus" and coincidentally, both boats are Taswell 43's).    Sharon went to a Mexican baby shower.  We enjoyed more socializing with Mark and Wendy of Sol Mate, Drew and Debbie of Black Dog, and of course, Michelle and her dog Bentley of Bamboo.  We did some sightseeing in Puerto Vallarta and went to a street market in Bucerias.  Bucerias is a small town just south of La Cruz about three miles on the highway that leads to Puerto Vallarta. 

	The anchorage at La Cruz.  You can see condos on the right of the picture and another one on the left.  The town itself is located between the condos.
The local veterinarian

 The Carniceria (butcher shop) above raises its own meat.  To the right is the town plaza and a favorite spot to gather at night.

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Cooler chests like the one on the bicycle can be found nearly everywhere with warm tortillas inside.	Tortilla machine	Downtown La Cruz with cobblestone streets

Wednesday, February 10:  It's time to leave this beautiful place and begin heading north for the last leg of our journey.  We fueled up with 32 gallons of diesel at a cost of $1101 pesos.  The exchange rate is about 14 to 1.  We left the fuel dock at 11:52 a.m.   We will stop over at Punta Mita, Chacala and San Blas on our way back to Mazatlan.

Between Chacala and San Blas, we went through a pod of whales with spots.  Some of them came very close to our boat but didn't completely surface.  Still, some great whale pictures.   Update:  September 2009.  After checking with others and seeing pictures of these on www.ourtigger.com, it confirms that these large spotted creatures are whale sharks. 

Tuesday, February 16:  We arrived at the old harbor in Mazatlan and relocated to the Singlar Marina the next day where we had reservations during Carnaval Week which ran from February 19-24.  Rick and Sheri on "Tigger" arrived about 2 weeks earlier and we managed to get a slip right next to them.  Just a day after we arrived, we heard George and Pam on Mollyhock on the VHF radio asking for information on entering the estuary.  Before we knew it, they were in a slip next to us.  By the way, Mollyhock, Tigger and CaST Away are all from Charleston Marina in Coos Bay. 

Here's the bad part. . . . . We went to the big Carnaval Parade and I forgot to put the battery back into the camera after charging it.   I had so been looking forward to photographing the beautiful floats.  Oh well, maybe next year. 

But wait!  Kathy on "Psyche" gave me some of her pictures, so here they are......

Mollyhock, CaST Away and Tigger	These strange fish swarmed every day next to our boat in the Mazatlan marina

Wednesday, February 18:  Sheri on Tigger arranged with her friend, Korina, to drive us inland to two colonial towns.  The first town we visited was Concordia, built in the 17th century and just a short distance away is the much smaller town of Copala, built in 1565.  On the way out of Mazatlan we drove through an area that most people don't want see or hear about.  The one-room shacks with dirt floors, constructed of scrap wood, cardboard, rusty tin and plastic tarps that house the poorest of the poor.  The children that attend the Salvation Army Children's Home come from areas like this.  What a shame.  The pictures of the children shown below are washed and wearing clean uniforms, but they don't come into the Home looking like this.  It takes months to get them healthy.  The man wearing the blue shirt pictured on the right spends thousands of his own money getting their teeth fixed.  Many are malnourished when they begin coming to the Home.   These are the sweetest and most loving children and love to give their audiences big hugs.  You just want to take all of them home with you.

The Salvation Army Children

Both times we visited Mazatlan our timing was perfect to enjoy the shows put on by the children of the Salvation Army Children's Home.  At Christmas when we were there, these little kids work many hours a day putting on shows for local groups and at shopping malls to raise money to help keep the Home open.  We were told that none of the children were orphans, that they all had at least one parent.   Most of them are picked up by bus or van each day and brought to the Home for meals and schooling.   They are required to attend school if they go to the Home.  About 15 to 20 of the children live permanently at the Home because the parents cannot afford to keep them.   We were there again on February 20, 2009 for another show.  The pictures below are a combination of both the Christmas show and the one in February.