La Manzanilla 'jardin' has a mascot croc living nearby

LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - The town square, referred to as the jardin by year-round residents, is the hub of life here with merchants, kids bouncing on trampolines, food vendors that set up with plastic tables, people selling recorded music, and families strolling. It's more lively at night, but almost anytime of the day, there's something going on.

And at its westerly edge is Tenacatita Bay and a small arroyo that during summer roars with mountain rain water out into the ocean, a seasonal river that actually knocked out a footbridge and did some serious damage to the small walkway last year.


A sidewalk with issues

This sidewalk - or what is left of it - is a good reminder to everyone that in Mexico, it's reallllllly important to watch where you step. I tiptoed over some of the broken sidewalk yesterday, remembering that if I fell and got hurt, it was my problem, not the city or the owners of the property.

What a novel concept! Watch where you're going.

What had me tiptoeing around was that I had heard there was a crocodile living in the swamp area there, a shallow pool that runs back close to the famous Martin's Restaurant, the site of many dinner and lunches with friends since the Admiral and I first came to La Manzanilla eight years ago.


Martin's Restaurant, a block off the square

Martin's has grown from a one-man operation into a full-fledged place, though you still get very personal service from Martin. If he personally mixes your margarita, one is probably plenty for most folks.

But while I was gazing at the ocean and the arroyo, I noticed what I thought was a log drifting across the water. Then I realized that the log was actually going against the wind.


Young croc heading for a spot to catch some rays


On the mudflats, getting warmed up

This little fellow is about a meter long and a teenage boy tried for awhile to snare him with a broomhandle and a piece of clothesline, while standing safely up on the concrete.

What exactly he would have done with the croc, had he caught him, would have been very interesting to watch, from a distance.

I'll check out the jardin later today to see if any intrepid teenage crocodile hunters are at work. This expedition cries out for the video camera.

End of an era in La Manzanilla - Jane Gorby retires

LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - It was Jane Gorby's final day at work today at Santana Realty where she has earned an international reputation as The Rentalor - more feared than The Terminator - if you wanted a nice spot on the beach here in high season.

And who doesn't?

We stopped by the Santana office right at 6 p.m. on the main drag of town to capture Jane's last employed moments before she walked down the street for an impromptu retirement soiree at Coco Loco's.

Something slightly more formal has been rumored for Wednesday night at Palapa Joe's (which was closed tonight, we were soooo sad). If that happens, I will pull out my ukulele for a quick number I wrote called, "Jane Gorby Has Finally Retired..." I wrote a couple of other songs, too, that might find their way onto the playlist, all depending on how many Cuba Libres I have before we get to that part of the program.

Arriba!

Jane was definitely Jane after her last day at work - two quick margaritas, a couple of smokes and two pieces of excellent pizza all made for a great party with a few amigos.

Her immediate plans for retirement: To do nothing. Nada, zip, zilch...

Sounds like a great plan... Wish I had thought of it...

Another day, another fiesta, and yes, another parade

BARRA DE NAVIDAD, Jalisco, Mexico - We went to Barra de Navidad Tuesday afternoon to bid bon voyage to cruisers Dan & Lorraine Olsen, soon to depart for ports of call to the south, perhaps venturing as far as Ecuador.

But before we could get through the downtown to the pangas to take us out to their vessel, anchored snugly in the Barra lagoon, we found outselves in the middle of a Constitution Day parade that had as many gringos in it as local folks.


Carnival queens in Barra de Navidad


Even the burros got to parade

The wind was howling on our way out to the lagoon - a reminder of many of Sabbatical's forays in the same waterway. The last time I was in Barra aboard a sailboat (on Sabbatical with Captain Sanders Lamont aboard) we had consistent 40-knot winds for several days, driving many cruisers to put out extra anchors and forcing them to hunker down on their boats in case their anchors let go.

We hung out in the marina, tied safely to a dock, sipping margaritas, pina coladas and a variety of other fruit-based beverages until the wind dropped to an acceptable level.

I'm not sure what caused it, exactly, but on our way in, we saw on 35-40 foot sailboat that might have misjudged the narrow (and unmarked) channel that morning and run aground. And because of the wind and falling tide, he was living a sailor's nightmare, his only hope a good high tide the next day.


Sailboat high and dry in Barra Lagoon

But there was a good-news boating story out of the whole enterprise. Dan Olsen was able to get a part fabricated for his engine, using a spare bit of plumbing obtained here in La Manzanilla from my amigo Tom. He was as proud as a new parent of the piece which he will be keeping in reserve for his exhaust system.


Captain Dan and his new boat part

Taking the La Manzanilla, Arroyo Seco tour with friends

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - We spent a fun day Sunday, showing off Arroyo Seco (and Tenacatita and La Manzanilla) to our still-cruising amigos, Dan & Lorraine Olsen and Phil & Nora McCaleb.

Phil & Nora are on their way back from Central America to the U.S.; Dan & Lorraine are heading south to Central America.

The Admiral and I are staying right here. For now. OK, at least that's today's plan.

We showed the cruisers our newest property in Arroyo Seco, an 800-square meter lot right in downtown, if downtown is the right word for a pueblo of 300 year-round residents. But during the season, a lot of people come through the place headed to the excellent surfing beaches.


Lots of room for more surfers


Waiting for the surfers


Nora, Sylvia and Lorraine at Arroyo Seco's north beach

The lot is already walled in (good for security), has power and water, and is flat enough that members of the Flat Earth Society would feel comfortable holding a convention here.

We doubt we will use the property as a convention site, but the lot has plenty of business possibilities as well as just a nice spot to build a house. Like another lot we thought we had purchased, this one benefits from the cool ocean breezes.


Downtown Arroyo Seco

After the Arroyo Seco drive through, we went to the beach at Tenacatita where I went boogie boarding again, this time with much less good result. A big wave picked me up and slammed me head-first into the hardpacked sand, then pushed me across the beach (underwater, of course) for about 10 feet.

Ow!

The women at our beachside table told me some people pay a lot of money for the kind of skin peel I got. I could have lived quite nicely without it - or the neck pain I have had for two days.

But a careful regime of M&Ms (margaritas and Motrin) seems to be getting me back in shape to tackle the waves again.

In the meantime, here's another one of those sunset videos...

Preparing the sailing dinghy for a return to Mexico

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - My much loved - and much-used - sailing dinghy was in the Land Park boatyard & repair shop today, getting fixed so it will be ready to challenge the waters of Tenacatita Bay in only about a month.

The 10-foot craft, nicknamed the Captain's Gig when it was a tender to Sabbatical in our cruising days, was badly banged up on the trip back from Puerto Vallarta two years ago. The damage was sufficient enough that a local fiberglass repair shop told me to simply buy a new hull and forget about repairs.

The manufacturer, however, said that was pure poppycock and that it should be repaired. (Actually, I believe they said it was total bullshit, but did not offer to repair it themselves.)

So today Sabbatical's retired Chief Engineer, Scott Noble, came over with sanders, cutters, vacuums, air compressors and other instruments of mass construction and began the restoration project.

I did a lot of watching, punctuated by mixing up fiberglass to put into the various cracks and crevices through which copious amounts of water most certainly would come in without the repairs.

The whole job will take a few days with the drying time needed for the fiberglass, sanding, and eventually, a coat of paint. Now that I've seen how the Chief Engineer did it, I'll attempt to fix a couple of other areas that are less critical.

When it's done, the repaired Captain's Gig should look like this.


A sistership under sail in Puget Sound

In between mixing resin and activator - and handing tools to Scott - I shot the video below: