GOOD FRIENDS SHARING LAS HADAS, BARRA DE NAVIDAD AND TENACATITA BAY

Our plans were altered right before the arrival of our good friends. After leaving Barra Navidad John contacted a "bug" that had him down for 3 days. As a result we were unable to make the trip to Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo for SailFest with Andanzas (Wally and Linda) as we had planned. Our guests who were to meet us in Ixtapa were able to change their flight at the last minute and fly into Manzanillo, near Las Hadas were we had been anchored while John recuperated. He was back on his feet when our guests arrived.

Steve and Chris Kuykendall

A highlight of cruising is having friends visit. It allows us a chance to share our cruising lifestyle and let them see and experience a beautiful part of the world. We have known Steve and Chris of East Wenatchee, WA for 40+ years. John and Steve spent many of their teen-years working and playing at Mutiny Bay on Whidby Island, WA.

We just had to give Chris a hard time about the number of

suitcases she brought............all in fun!!

The hotel in Las Hadas at sunset and at sunrise while the moon was still bright.

We stayed only one night in Las Hadas and then headed North a few hours to the Barra de Navidad Marina. To the surprise of everyone, we had the most spectacular lightning storm that night accompanied with torrential rains and high winds. The rain lasted for two days....very
unusual for this area.

As soon as the weather cleared up, we left for Tenacatita Bay, our favorite anchorage. We introduced Steve to paddle boarding and guys fished but with no luck.



We held a "happy hour" with friends Sandy and Chris on s/v Faith and their guests Anna and Phil aboard Serena Ray. Margaritas all around!!

Steve and Chris enjoyed the jungle ride to the village of Tenacatita. Steve bought John a great hat for the occasion.

We snorkeled at what is called the "aquarium", one of the few coral reefs in this area. A walk back to the village and beach brought us to one of our favorite palapa restaurants, where

Steve bought a Mexican tequila pitcher, that he just had to have.

We never run out of great places to have dinner. This place called Sea Master's was right on the beach. There is a fantastic new restaurant in Barra known as The Treehouse that we had to try out.....delicious food! We had a 3 hour dinner.

Our guests, Steve and Chris, departed last Friday and are now back in the PNW, trying to get used to snow and cool weather again. We will remain in Barra Navidad for the next few days awaiting Andanzas from Ixtapa.

From here we have decided to head north into the Sea of Cortez for the summer.....yes north. This year's weather has been unusually wet and windy due to El Nino. The Central American coast is experiencing the same so we have decided to wait until next fall to head south to Panama. We have logged over 5,000 km's since April and have decided to slow our pace a bit and explore the Sea of Cortez, allowing El Nino release its grip before continuing south. It is said that cruisers generally write their plans in the sand at low tide......plans are subject to change. We will keep you posted .....