Current Position: Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico.

I've been here now for a little over two weeks. This is the longest time I've ever spent in one port. The time here has been great; it's given me the opportunity to get to know the area and some of the locals. The places that we have visited in Mexico so far have fully disproven any preconceived notions that I might have brought with me. Now I'm really hoping to have some time to explore inland and can't wait to get to the southern state of Oaxaca. The cuisine in this southern state is world-renowned — throughout Mexico, it's known as the "land of seven molés". I look forward to trying all of them along with the famous quesadillas filled with squash flowers.

Cathy flew into Puerto Vallarta last Wednesday for an 8-day visit. I took a bus to get her and, of course, I was a bit late due to the fact that I forgot to calculate the one-hour time difference between the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. This time change takes a bit of getting used to, especially since Punta de Mita is right on the border between these two states.

We spent her first couple of days here on the boat. Unfortunately, the weather was a little unsettled and the anchorage was quite rolly. She did a great job of getting used to the constant motion and never suffered from seasickness. We're also having serious problems with the BRAND NEW outboard motor. Cathy has gotten a crash course in cruising and learned the First Lesson of Cruising, which is essentially "Cruising means fixing your boat in exotic places."

Every three days, the new motor stubbornly and inconveniently refuses to start! We row in through breaking waves and place a call to the shop where we had just purchased this beast less than a week ago. After some very rough spanglish we find out that the store manager and all the mechanics are gone and won't be available until the following Monday. There's not much we can do, so on Friday we grabbed a longboard, hopped a cab, and headed for the surfing town of Sayulita.

Sayulita, in my opinion, is a must-see town! Not only is it a surfing mecca, but it's a small Mexican town that retains its charm despite the resident expatriate gringos and the influx of tourists. The town itself resides in a deep valley right on the coast, and the surrounding mountains are covered in lush jungle and dotted with various types of casas (houses). In the middle of this town is a central park which, on any given night, can have a hundred people or more eating dinner from the local stands, visiting with eachother, buying from street vendors, or just sharing a cerveza. As towns go it's one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

We had reservations at a beachfront hotel called Papa's Palapas, which Cathy had booked ahead of time through Sayulita Properties. When we arrived, we were informed that Papa's was under construction and they would be upgrading us to a house. I was pretty bummed about this: Papa's Palapas is right on the beach, possibly a 15-second walk from the surf. There wasn't much we could do, so we agreed to check out the house. Walking up to the house, I was blown away. It was nestled at the top of the southernmost hill of Sayulita with an amazing view of the valley, the ocean, the mountains, and the surf. Stepping inside, I was filled with a feeling comparable only to purchasing my first VW Bus or the first time I sat aboard Tramonto. It's that feeling where, although you have never been there before, you know you are home. This is a place I could live forever.

The only thing our three days in Sayulita lacked was good surf. I was forced to compete with hordes of people for mediocre 2-foot waves, but at least I was doing it in paradise.

We had arranged to take a jungle hike on our last day in the area. Pedro, our local guide who lived in a neighboring town, met us very early Sunday morning and drove us to San Pancho, a small town just north of Sayulita. Although the hike wasn't as remote as I would have liked, Pedro did a great job of filling us in on the local flora and fauna. Also, he is quite knowledgeable about the area and its history. We learned how the locals make the thatched palapa roofs, saw a few exotic birds (although our 7 am departure was much too late for "proper" birdwatching), and learned about the changes to the local area with the influx of tourism. He also took us to his friend's restaurant in the back of a house to teach us how to make pozole, a local stew of corn and pork. We traded recipes and he invited us over the next day to cook a mahi-mahi with them, but unfortunately, we were leaving the area the next morning. This was typical of every Mexican we met; they were warm, friendly, hospitable, and were generous with their information and kind with their Spanish lessons.

Now it was time to start thinking about what to do with our defunct motor. We decided that renting a car would make everything easier, and we could use this opportunity to shuttle jerry cans of diesel from Bucerias back to the boat. Sayulita Properties set everything up for us, and they arranged to have the car there early Monday morning so we would have plenty of time to care of everything we needed. Dennis of Gecko Rental Car in Bucerias showed up right on time, at 7 am on Monday morning. Dennis is a Canadian expat who moved down here 10 years ago. A great guy who was super helpful. If you're sailing into Mita or the surrounding area and need a car, he will bring the car to you.

Cathy and I loaded everything up and went to Mita to pick up Jeff and the beast. The motor wasn't in the shop more then ten minutes before Antonio (the shop manager) returned and announced that she was fine. This seem a little odd, because both Jeff and I wore out our arms trying to start her only a few days ago. After talking with him he said that he changed the spark plug and she started right up. He was not sure why or what fouled the plug, but was confident that it wouldn't happen again. At which time he offered to sell us a spare plug (this should have been a huge hint). Feeling a bit inept, we grabbed the beast and headed back for Tramonto.

We took a panga (small speedboat) 30 minutes into the bay to Isles Marietas for great snorkeling. I practiced my spear fishing (caught a small triggerfish) and Cathy snorkeled with a 7-foot moray eel right underneath her.

Cathy flew back to Seattle on Thursday, and of course the outboard beast started acting up again shortly thereafter!

I was once told that a trip is never an adventure until a plan changes. Well, let the adventure begin; the last 72 hours have been full of change! Unfortunately, due to a family emergency Jeff has left the trip for an undetermined amount of time and flew out the same day as Cathy. Since the decision was made I've been running on autopilot and just taking care of the immediate needs, but not really thinking about the reality of the situation. As it stands now I plan to continue south singlehanded, and my next major port will be Zihuatanejo.

Between here and there the charts show many anchorages, river mouths, and points to explore for new surf. I plan to take my time, possibly spending several weeks exploring. The biggest hazard south of here seems to be watching out for the camen and crocodiles that inhabit the many estuaries, lagoons, and rivers.

As for my motor, I rented yet another car today and transported the beast that should be transporting me back to the shop. Finally, Antonio placed a call to Johnson Motors where it was discovered that our motor suffers from a known factory defect and a simple part will resolve the issue. The part is being shipped from Guadalajara, and the engine should be up and running by Saturday afternoon.

I will be leaving early Sunday 12/1 for the trip south. The residents of Punta de Mita were hospitable and generous, and gave us gifts when we left. Tonight, however, my thoughts are with Jeff and his family. I wish them all good health and wish Jeff a speedy return to the dream.

Take a look at the slideshow of Sayulita!