It’s another lovely day in paradise. We are currently anchored in Bahia de Zihuatanejo where we have been for about 2 weeks. It is a beautiful large bay with enough room for about 100 boats in addition to the fleet of Zihuatanejo pangas and fishing boats, a couple of parasailing boats, occasional jet skis, two party boats and the brief cruise ship arrival every Thursday. It may sound busy, but it is quite peaceful. OHANA gently rocks in the calm waters kept always to wind by both a bow and stern anchor. We have fish jumping in the water all around us and birds diving in hopes of their next meal. We swim, dinghy, and kayak to the beach every day and boogie board, surf, and enjoy phenomenal friends and sunsets. The kids have discovered free boarding, which is basically towing a surfboard behind our dinghy. We are currently looking for a used surfboard. We recently bought two new folding full size bikes from another boat that was looking to unload them. There are always “treasures of the bilge” advertised and technically we are only allowed to barter for “coconuts”. We love our new bikes and have spent time riding them through town to the local open market where you can find anything from Oaxaca cheese and mangos to violins and tortilla presses
We are anchored in sparkling clean water off La Ropa Beach which is a short (5 minute) dinghy ride from the main beach landing in our favorite destination thus far, Zihuatanejo. At the dinghy beach landing we are always met by Nathaniel in his bright yellow shirt to help us bring the dinghy on shore and to help us shove off after our visit to town. He even keeps a big bucket of clean water available for us to wash the sand off of our feet after our landings. He works from about 9:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night for tips and always has kind words to say and a smile. His hard work and attitude help me keep my life in perspective.
We are anchored in sparkling clean water off La Ropa Beach which is a short (5 minute) dinghy ride from the main beach landing in our favorite destination thus far, Zihuatanejo. At the dinghy beach landing we are always met by Nathaniel in his bright yellow shirt to help us bring the dinghy on shore and to help us shove off after our visit to town. He even keeps a big bucket of clean water available for us to wash the sand off of our feet after our landings. He works from about 9:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night for tips and always has kind words to say and a smile. His hard work and attitude help me keep my life in perspective.
The kids and Dennis are currently off snorkeling with a group of families at Los Gatos beach, another beach in the bay, where we have seen everything from yellow striped eels (yes, that’s my technical term) to spotted rays. I am enjoying some alone time on OHANA, but although the boat is empty, it is not currently quiet. Living in an anchorage poses its own set of very important issues. I am listening to both the rumbling engine and the drone of the generator to keep the batteries charged. We are now at 373 amp hours and I have to get to 400 amp hours, maybe another 45 minutes or so. The engine heats up the boat a bit and with the temperature already 94 degrees it gets quite warm. Thank goodness for fans! Water and fuel must be strictly conserved as there is no fuel or water in the bay. We have all become accustomed to short showers on the swim platform at dusk and saving our dish water for the whole day. We have been using our water maker and the result is quite tasty, although it takes time and battery power. We are blessed with another wonderful local man, named Ishmael, who we can call on the VHF radio. For a small fee, and perhaps some sweets fo
r his young helpers on board, he will bring bottled water, diesel, and gasoline. Believe it or not he will even take our dirty laundry and bring it back the next day clean and folded. I know of several boats who’ve radioed him to deliver beer when they are in a pinch. I feel so spoiled. I haven’t done our laundry in weeks. Here I was expecting to be filling the cockpit with water and sloshing our dirty clothes around in soapy water to get clean and then adorning our boat with our skivvies, when in fact, I can just send it off to return in 24 hours perfectly clean and folded.Now, although that sounds decadent, grocery shopping more than makes up for my laundry luxury. A day of provisioning may take as long as 5-6 hours from start to finish. First step is to determine what we need and what we have room for. Space is usually 
an issue. We next take the dinghy to shore and catch a bus to the “Commercial”, the biggest, best market in the area. We then usually fill a shopping basket to the brim and wait in long lines to check out. Next we need to find a taxi and load all of our purchases into the trunk. We then get to the dinghy beach, but the taxi cannot pull in close, so we unload all the groceries in a parking lot. Usually about 4 or 5 young boys come to ask if we need assistance in exchange for a tip. They help us carry our bags to the dinghy where we load up and push off with the weighted down dinghy from the beach. When we get back to the boat everything needs to be lifted up onto the boat. Care is always taken to check boxes and bags for cockroaches which we have avoided thus far. We then move all the packages below and begin the process of washing all produce well before stowing it away and putting all the other purchases in their correct compartments. After all this it’s usually time for a beer and a refreshing swim. So when you look at the covers of those cruising magazines and drool over the gorgeous bodies on the gorgeous boats in the gorgeous waters…remember, they are not telling you the whole story. Some of it is hard work too.
an issue. We next take the dinghy to shore and catch a bus to the “Commercial”, the biggest, best market in the area. We then usually fill a shopping basket to the brim and wait in long lines to check out. Next we need to find a taxi and load all of our purchases into the trunk. We then get to the dinghy beach, but the taxi cannot pull in close, so we unload all the groceries in a parking lot. Usually about 4 or 5 young boys come to ask if we need assistance in exchange for a tip. They help us carry our bags to the dinghy where we load up and push off with the weighted down dinghy from the beach. When we get back to the boat everything needs to be lifted up onto the boat. Care is always taken to check boxes and bags for cockroaches which we have avoided thus far. We then move all the packages below and begin the process of washing all produce well before stowing it away and putting all the other purchases in their correct compartments. After all this it’s usually time for a beer and a refreshing swim. So when you look at the covers of those cruising magazines and drool over the gorgeous bodies on the gorgeous boats in the gorgeous waters…remember, they are not telling you the whole story. Some of it is hard work too.The next morning we awoke to weather reports predicting strong winds and rough seas in a day or two. Since we wanted to make it to Manzanillo for our very special stay at the Karmina Palace Resort by the 26th, we decided to leave early while we still had a good weather window. When we sail back up the Gold Coast we will stop here again to explore the great snorkeling at the “aquarium” and we will take our dinghy up the lagoon for what is described as a fascinating jungle trip.
The sail to Manzanillo was quite nice, although our auto pilot was still not working. We left Tenacatita around 10:00 am and arrived in Manzanillo at around 3:00 pm. It is a lot easier to sail without an auto pilot during the day then at night. We saw whales and sea turtles during our sail and also had a pod of dolphins swimming with us under our bow for miles. They were wonderful as they jumped, swam upside down and even slapped their tails at us going about 7 knots an hour. 
As we rounded the point into Bahia de Manzanillo both Dennis and I were reminded of Greece. Bahia de Manzanillo has a beautiful small anchorage that is surrounded by small white buildings scattered throughout the hillsides above it. To one side is Las Hadas Resort which is famous for its Moorish architecture and for being the film set for the movie “10” and on the other side are a few
small hotels and the beautiful Karmina Palace Resort. The first boat we saw in the anchorage as we pulled in to take down our sails was our good friends, OCEAN EYES. Niko was delighted since Franck, one of his best buddies, was on board with his Mom and Dad, Betsy and Greg. Upon seeing us they jumped into their dinghy and accompanied us into the small Las Hadas Marina where we had our first practice at Med style anchoring since the 1990s when we sailed in Greece. We successfully maneuvered into our spot with the help of the Harbor Master, Raul, a very nice and helpful man, and our new neighbors and friends. We Med-tied next to a boat called, CAPAZ, from Oregon. Todd, Julie, and their sons Jake and Zach, have been with us basically ever since. After getting settled, Betsy from OCEAN EYES, kindly invited everyone to their boat for a delicious dinner. It was so nice not to have to cook after a passage and we had a chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
As we rounded the point into Bahia de Manzanillo both Dennis and I were reminded of Greece. Bahia de Manzanillo has a beautiful small anchorage that is surrounded by small white buildings scattered throughout the hillsides above it. To one side is Las Hadas Resort which is famous for its Moorish architecture and for being the film set for the movie “10” and on the other side are a few
small hotels and the beautiful Karmina Palace Resort. The first boat we saw in the anchorage as we pulled in to take down our sails was our good friends, OCEAN EYES. Niko was delighted since Franck, one of his best buddies, was on board with his Mom and Dad, Betsy and Greg. Upon seeing us they jumped into their dinghy and accompanied us into the small Las Hadas Marina where we had our first practice at Med style anchoring since the 1990s when we sailed in Greece. We successfully maneuvered into our spot with the help of the Harbor Master, Raul, a very nice and helpful man, and our new neighbors and friends. We Med-tied next to a boat called, CAPAZ, from Oregon. Todd, Julie, and their sons Jake and Zach, have been with us basically ever since. After getting settled, Betsy from OCEAN EYES, kindly invited everyone to their boat for a delicious dinner. It was so nice not to have to cook after a passage and we had a chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
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