Puerto Vallarta, A Hard Rock Life

I can't take credit for the Annie reference, that was completely Erica's creation.

But it's true I've made it to Puerto Vallarta! This area truly is teeming with exiting things to do. When I first arrived I took a short bus ride to the next town north of here called Bucerias. It has a concentrated tourist center with some really quality restaurants and shops. They also have a nice open air market on most days that grows even bigger on the weekends. You can find literally anything here: tools, clothes, sculptures, paintings, ornaments, food. It's all there. And of course you are right next to the water so there are a variety of top notch seafood restaurants that all have seating right on the beach.

Sirocco is currently tied to the dock at Paradise Village Marina. The marina rates are very reasonable, even though it is considered high season. I also have complete access to the entire Paradise Village complex, including all their pools, spa, beach and gym. For the first four days I was here, it was really nice to go jump in the ocean then hit the hot tub after a day of working on the boat. There wasn't much boat work to be done, but there was a nasty mess created in the long term food storage area underneath the cockpit. It appeared to be tomato soup and beans mixed together and left to sit in the baking tropical sun. Not a good combination. But some elbow grease and bleach made it like new and forced me to go either throw out containers from back there or bring them into the kitchen. Moral of that story is don't over provision with canned food before you leave the states!

Now Erica and our friend Bridget have arrived and we are staying at the Hard Rock which is conveniently located right across the street from Sirocco. We will be staying here until Tuesday when we'll take off to sail to Cabo where Erica and Bridget will fly back to the states. My dad will be joining me in Cabo for the bash up the coast. If all goes to plan I hope to be in San Diego by March 27th or thereabouts.

Here are some pictures from the trip up from Huatulco!

Erica descending the stair case in the Hard Rock. We are staying on the "Rock Royalty" level so they do make you feel pretty special.

Eating at a nice little seafood place in Bucerias. It really feels more like southern California here than Mexico sometimes with the number of expats and tourists.

Manuel Cota, a senator for the state of Nayarit, was out and about in Bucerias talking to constituents. He seemed very down to earth and had a large group of people following him hanging on to every word.

The beach and palapas in front of the Paradise Village resort. Not a bad to way to relax after a long trip.

After spending the night just bobbing around Banderas Bay, I motored in at first light and was tied up to the dock by 9 am. Here's a picture of the hotels in Nuevo Vallarta.

Sirocco at anchor in a tiny little cove just south of Chamela Bay, Jalisco.

Enjoying a nice Fresca in Chamela Bay before heading north to Vallarta, about a 100 mile trip.

In Acapulco I found a sistership to Sirocco! Cal 39 as well and probably very similar model year. However it doesn't look like this one gets out very much, which is sad.

In Acapulco these Beetles are everywhere. About 80% of their taxi fleet are these little cars.

Coming into Acalpulco. I had to stop to get fuel as well as add a remote starting solenoid on the engine to solve a "hot engine" starting problem. Basically the wire going to the starter gets too hot when the motor has been running too long and therefore increases its resistance. Not enough voltage is then present at the starting solenoid and when the start button is pressed, nothing happens. This fixed completely solved the issue, which only occurs when the motor has been running for 12+ hours and may not even matter when I get to cooler climates.

Before I left Huatulco I sailed around to a little bay where the Club Med was located to relax and clean the bottom of Sirocco. Fine day, but a little to much swell to enjoy the little reef that lays off the left side of the beach. Oh well, next time I suppose.