We arrived at Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, or La Cruz for short, on December 22, 2020, and Eitan was scheduled to fly back to California the next day. Given the cost of the trip thus far, Eitan decided to fly back to San Diego for Christmas and New Year to pick up some holiday shifts as a paramedic and make some extra money. For his own peace of mind, he decided to leave us in a slip in the marina for the week while he was gone. This was also easier for us since it meant we wouldn’t have to worry about taking the dinghy on and off the boat, emptying the holding tank, and using jerrycans to transport fresh water. On the day of Eitan’s departure, we spent the morning going over the long to-do list of things needing to get done before he returned. The list included more in-depth chores like deep cleaning mats and scrubbing stains off the deck as well as more complicated items like removing the old autopilot system and some fiberglass work.
Our time in La Cruz was spent trying to knock out all the boat projects while scheduling some adventure days in between. On Christmas, we decided to walk up the western coastline and explore as many beaches as we could access. The coast was scattered with private beach clubs and some hidden beaches only accessible by boat or hidden trails. We would stay at each beach long enough for a swim and quick break then move on to the next one. We eventually made it to a large beach resort where we were able to catch a taxi back to La Cruz. That evening we attended the Cruisers Christmas to meet and mingle with some of the other boats that were staying put in the marina for the holidays.
On Sundays the marina hosts a market full of local artisans and bakers but, based on the prices, it seems largely targeted to the visiting ex-pat community. While walking around the market, we ran into Glenn from SV Beach Access, whom we had met in Bahia Magdalena on the way down Baja a month prior. He asked if we had plans for the day and said he’d like to take us out sailing on his Lagoon 380 catamaran for a little whale watching. Glenn had also invited onboard a handful of Canadians who had moved to La Cruz and soon became our local friends. We didn’t see any whales but it was a fun afternoon of drinking and sailing that turned into salsa dancing at a local bar, The Green Tomato.
With the holidays almost over, I was naïve to think the many mishaps of 2020 were behind us. Unfortunately, as I was walking along the dock next to the boat, my phone (that has survived over 6 years and through 20+ countries) slipped through my hand and into the water. I ran to change into my bathing suit and grab a mask, snorkel, and fins to dive down and was able to find my phone, a miracle considering the horrible water visibility. Since marinas are not meant for swimming, they don’t have swim ladders on the docks and I ended up with bloody legs from a series of cuts and scrapes from the barnacles under the dock. Sadly, my efforts were in vain as my phone was waterlogged and completely unrecoverable. I emailed my dad from my iPad and we coordinated plans for Eitan to pick up a new phone for me while he was still in the US.
The wrath of 2020 was not over yet! On New Year’s Eve, Abbey was complaining about not feeling well and had been throwing up. Attributing it to some sketchy street tacos the night before, Connor and I left Abbey on the boat and headed to the beach to meet our new friends for a NYE bonfire. A few dozen people showed up and it turned into quite a large gathering, the perfect way to end our time in La Cruz. About an hour in, Connor headed back to the boat as he also started to feel nauseous and I soon followed behind him. We all rang in the new year by evacuating our digestive systems from both ends, every 30 minutes for the next 6 hours. Luckily, the symptoms subsided as the sun rose but we were all exhausted and severely dehydrated by the time Eitan returned later that day. In between naps we had managed to clean the boat so he wasn’t subject to the horrors that had happened the night before.
With Eitan back onboard, we moved out to the anchorage and went straight to work. Having just got back from working six back-to-back 24-hour shifts in an ambulance, Eitan had little sympathy for our recovery from the apparent food poisoning and we pushed on with the new boat projects at hand. Being in a rolly anchorage again surely didn’t help with the nausea and Abbey was still struggling to hold down fluids. Seeing the struggle, Eitan called it an early day and we took the dinghy into town for dinner and showers. As we were about to go to bed, Eitan said he also wasn’t feeling well and soon experienced the combination of throwing up and diarrhea that we had all just endured. With food poisoning now out of the equation, I started to worry about the water being contaminated or some other scenario that would also cause Eitan to be sick. Upon further investigation, we heard from other cruisers that there was a strange 24-hour stomach flu going around La Cruz which was jokingly called “Corona Light”. Well played 2020, well played…
I’m pretty sure I’ll never do a circumnavigation sailing trip. But I am going to enjoy traveling with you virtually on yours. I anxiously awaiting you Pacific crossing.
– WAK