Marleen was on her way to join up with SV Volare and Eitan and I were on our way back into Banderas Bay. Eitan decided we needed a couple more small modifications to the steering system and a few more parts fabricated before leaving the Puerto Vallarta area, so having spent a week in the La Cruz Marina and almost five weeks at Marina Vallarta, Eitan decided to put us up in the only other marina left in the bay: Paradise Village Marina. It also just so happened that we had a few friends already at Paradise Village and a couple more coming in, so it seemed like a great place to try out for the week of downtime.
Eitan and I did the usual washdown and cleaning of the boat before he headed into the marina office to check us in. Upon coming back, he excitedly informed me that we have full access to all the hotel amenities including the various pools, hot tubs, bars, tennis courts, hospitality suits with wifi, and much more since the marina is attached to the larger, all-inclusive, hotel complex. Paradise Village seemed like a 5-star resort compared to Marina Vallarta where we had to walk 20 minutes to the only showers and bathrooms (“newly renovated”) on site that didn’t even have hot water or drain at all. The hotel complex itself reminded me of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, full of fake décor and mimicking the Aztec ruins. Excited to check out some of the new amenities, Eitan and I dropped off our laundry and went straight to the hot tub. On our way back, we were surprised to find the resort also has a pair of tigers located at the center of the complex. I guess this was an upgrade from the crocodiles?
The next day, we pulled out the anchor and chain to wash and replace the 30-foot markers used to estimate how much chain we have out. After 5 months of anchoring up and down, the 30- and 60-foot markers had worn off, leaving us guessing at how much chain was out in the shallower anchorages. I pulled the chain out as Eitan laid parallel lines of chain on the dock. In the process, we met our dock neighbors who had also come from Los Angeles. Their son has a show on Netflix called The Healing Powers of Dude, and due to the impact of COVID on the entertainment industry, the family of 7 decided to pack everyone into a sailboat and sail south until the industry picked back up again.
With the steering project completed and just some minor boat projects here and there to finish up, our time in Paradise Village Marina was spent primarily hanging out with some old boat friends. On our second night in the marina, we met up with SV Atalaya, whom we initially met in Cabo on the Nada Ha-Ha. Paul and Erica were originally from New Mexico/Seattle and bought their catamaran, brand new, in May 2020 with plans of sailing around Mexico for an indefinite amount of time. They surprised us with their big news: they are selling the boat and buying a house! After owning the boat for only a year, they had still been pondering where home base would be since they no longer had commitments to Seattle. They had liked Mexico so much, they decided to check out a few places for sale in the Puerto Vallarta area and found a beautiful, huge house in Bucerias for a fraction of the price it would go for in the US. Although bummed we were losing some boat buddies, we are even more excited to be able to visit them on our way back down Mexico sometime in the future. After living on a boat for several months now and seeing the amount of effort that goes into the daily upkeep, ongoing maintenance and unexpected repairs, I could understand how living on a boat is more work than one would want to have in retirement.
On April 1 we were surprised to find that SV Sierra Wind had made the cover of the sailing magazine Latitude 38! After being asked to submit an article about what the boat and crew did after the Nada Ha-Ha, I wrote a couple of quick paragraphs and submitted it along with some photos. The editor wrote back that he wanted to submit one of the photos to be considered for the cover and we never heard anything back after that. It was a wonderful surprise and fun to receive messages from friends who saw the magazine at their local marine stores and yacht clubs!
We also got to meet up with another buddy boat, SV Kismet. This time, it was just the captain, Kevin, single-handing and still debating whether or not to cross to French Polynesia. Eitan had spent a lot of time messaging with him before making our decision to stay but it sounded like he was still on the fence and recruiting crew. We also got to meet up for pool time, drinks, and hot tubbing with SV Bohemia, whom we met in Tenacatita, on our way south, and SV Sauce-Sea, whom we just met in Tenacatita on our way north. After months of living this nomadic lifestyle, it was wonderful to have a bit of social life and normal plans that weren’t weather-dependent.
The week in Paradise Village Marina flew by quicker than normal and, soon enough, it was time for us to leave this magical playland and say “see you later” to our friends. Eitan was extra keen to set sail and take full advantage of a weather window, showing southerly winds, able to push us further up the coast. Our routine of 2-for-1 drinks, hot tubs, wifi, and long hot showers had come to an end and it was time to keep heading north.
