Perula Village and Isla Colorado
01/16/2003 - 01/20/2003
Bahia Chamela
Small connecting bays on the south side of Isla Colorado -- Bahia Chamela.
Bahia Chamela lies about 100 miles southeast of Puerto Vallarta. It is a large ear-shaped bay facing southeast. The bay has several islands scattered at the south end and two larger islands in the middle of the bay. There are safe anchorages at the north end of the bay off the fishing village of Perula, behind the two larger islands in the middle of the bay, and behind the smaller islands at the southern end of the bay near the village of Chamela.
The bay is about two miles wide and five miles long offering good protection from all but southerly winds. Since the prevailing winds at this time of year are north/northwest, we had a very pleasant four-day stay in Bahia Chamela's north anchorage. For our fifth and last day, we ventured over to an island in the middle of the bay - Isla Colorado.
North Anchorage, Bahia Chamela. Small village of Perula along shorefront.
The beach at Perula Village.
Perula Village
After a quiet dinner on Mermaid, and restful night at anchor, it was time to explore. We ventured ashore with our friends from Mermaid (Mike, Robin, & 14yr-old son Austin) to explore the small village. Perula is a sleepy, dusty, Mexican coastal village. The fishing pangas tie up on the shore along the main beach. There is a row of at least three large palapas - two of them housing several dozen tables and chairs. We never saw more than three tables filled in any of these palapa restaurants. The main street contains a few small shops and stores - primarily for the locals and the gringos that live in one of the three oceanfront RV parks.
A small store chock full of water toys for kids of all ages.
The town had a very "genuine Mexico" feel to it. There were very few tourists and therefore, very few tourist vendors hawking their wares. The panaderia (bread store) was a home built outdoor brick-oven with small shack attached.
The carneceria (meat market) had lots of beef and fresh chorizo sausage, along with a few chickens in one 1960's era refrigerator case. The chickens were "feet attached" versions, but Robin's grimace was enough that the nice storeowner understood, and chopped the feet off for us.
Robin also became mildly traumatized to see the large bull being carted off to somewhere in the back of a pick-up truck- she assumed to the carneceria. Duncan was not so sure, it looked like a decent plow oxen to him. Maybe a little too old, tough, and skinny for carne asada?
A small store in Perula with everything a cruiser needs.
Shopping in Perula Village
We shopped the local stores, buying fresh vegetables, tortillas, bread, chips, and beer. We could not find any bottle wine (with a cork) in this small village, so we sampled our Mexican and Chilean stash. (We are officially out of California white wine. We have been experimenting with Chilean and Mexican white wines with very mixed results.)
Fresh makings for salsa and guacamole.
Along the main street, twenty and thirty year old "junkyard" cars noisily chugged down the dirt main street. Dogs ruled the town. Gringos tooled around on new ATV's while the locals used bicycles, old noisy motor-bikes, an old pick-up truck, or a dusty, dented, rusty "K-Car" --circa 1978 - to get around town.
Mike, Austin, Robin, and another Robin -- in front of Chi Chi's restaurant.
Since we heard the palapa restaurants on the main beach were not that great, we walked 1/2 mile down the beach to "Chi Chi's", the recommended restaurant on the beach.
The food was great and we enjoyed a late lunch that served as our dinner. Mike and [Mermaid] Robin filmed Austin around town and out on the beach. Mermaid is making a film for Discovery (or Discovery Kids) on Austin's cruising adventures.
When we got back to the boats, Duncan, Mike, and Austin headed over to the rocks near shore for a late afternoon snorkel trip.
Chamela Snorkeling
Rocks, coral, and urchins, with lots of juvenile tropical fish.
So far, Chamela has been the best snorkeling of the trip. There were numerous fishes and a wide variety of fishes. The rock formations and occasional clumps of coral were colorful and interesting.
The coral may have been a live colony or possibly just a dead skeleton, covered with live green and/or brown algae. Either way, it was nice to see something that looked like coral!
Visibility this day hovered around 25 feet. It was after several free dives on this snorkel trip that Duncan's ear started bothering him. The water would not easily drain from his ear. This led to an ear infection that would bother him for several weeks.
On one area of the snorkeling route, Duncan encountered the sunken cast-off remnants of the long-line panga fisherman's catch. It included several "catfish" like fish and at least a dozen moray eels that had been killed by decapitation. Hundreds of other fish snacked on the remains of these cast-offs. In addition, we found the carapace of a dead sea turtle.
A couple of local fishermen on another nearby pocket beach enjoyed an afternoon feast. After they had left, Austin went to investigate the beach camp and smoldering fire. He found two huge stingrays that had been "de-winged" and probably consumed as steaks. Ray guts and entrails littered the beach.
Duncan was a bit disturbed by this carnage -- whether or not it upsets nature's balance -- he just prefers to see his sea-life while it is still living.
Lazy Days
Sunrise over motor yacht Sally D -- anchored in Bahia Chamela.
Over the next few days, we each finished a book or two and jumped in to cool off every time we got toasty. The air temperature hovered in the high 80's each day and the water was a refreshing 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Water visibility was between 20 and 30 feet and we could see our anchor and chain on the bottom. Fish surrounded our boat. At night, these same fish illuminated the water under our boat in a sparkling glow. As they swam and fed, they stimulated the bioluminescent plankton in the water. Starry, cooler nights with a light breeze dropped temperatures into the high 70's. We were far enough from shore that we did not see any bugs. This is what we have been looking for!
The shrimp boat anchored in Bahia Chamela.
The Shrimp Man Cometh
On the morning of the third day, we took our dinghy over to the large shrimp boat that had anchored in the harbor. Mermaid told us the skipper would sell us fresh camarón (shrimp) right off the boat for 100 pesos (about $10US) per kilo (2.2 lbs). We went over and bought 1.5 kilo's.
We delivered some to Russ on Fainche in repayment for the Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) he had given us when we arrived.
We also dropped by one large serving to Larry on Shadowfax - a friend from the Baja Ha-Ha.
When we got the shrimp home to the boat and started cleaning (heads off, tails peeled, de-veined), we realized just how shrimpy shrimp could be. Most of the batch resulted in a peeled, de-veined tail about an inch or so long and a half-inch wide. The effort to cleanse exceeded the value of the booty! We cleaned only the largest ones and had great shrimp quesadillas the next day. The small ones ended up as fish-food!
Dinghy Picnic
Robin kicks back to enjoy a picnic lunch.
That day, we took our own dinghy out to Perula point rocks, anchored among them, and had a wonderful picnic lunch.
After lunch, we snorkeled and took many pictures with the underwater camera. While snorkeling, we noticed the Mexican Navy arrived in the anchorage. We would have a visit from them later in the day.
That evening, we enjoyed our fresh Dorado with Mermaid. We marinated and grilled the fish on Whisper's stern-rail barbeque, then savored some great fish tacos.
Post-picnic, Robin cruises around checking out the underwater sights.
More rocks, corals and juvenile tropical fish.
The Mexican Navy
The Mexican Navy arrives in Bahia Chamela.
We saw the Mexican Navy arrive, and because of an article we just read in last months Sailing magazine, we know there was a good chance for a navy boarding. After the navy tender had visited four other boats (of about 18 in the anchorage), they pulled up alongside Whisper.
We said our hellos to the heavily-armed crew of four, but only the older leader came aboard. He asked to see our boat document (then he verified the doc number glassed in the hull), passports, tourist cards, and crew list from our last port of departure.
Three of the heavily armed Navy gentlemen stayed aboard their tender.
Armed with all of this info (as well as his holstered gun), he proceeded to fill out a hand typed form with his ball-point pen. Remember the thin parchment typewriter paper with carbon paper sheets slipped in-between them? Each page was typed up by hand in an "essay question" style. That was his "form".
It took him about 25 minutes to complete the form (while Robin engaged him in friendly and occasional small-talk). He asked us our next destinations, and he wrote this down on the form. Our next official check-in would be Barra de Navidad (because that is the next port-of-call with a Port Captain) so we found it unusual that he wanted to know each little stop we would be making along the way - Careyes, Tenacatita, etc.
Waving goodbye to the Mexican Navy. The young gentleman has a sub-machinegun on his lap.
The Boat Tour
When he was finished, he politely asked if he could complete his task with an inspection of the boat. Duncan gladly (remember, they are heavily armed) escorted him through the boat.
He asked to look in cabinets, under floor boards, and in the engine room. He was very nice and very complimentary of the boat and its condition. We explained that it was only three years old -- he understood and said it was "muy bonito" (very beautiful).
For our first experience with the Mexican Navy, it was a very pleasant. They were cordial, polished, and professional.
Marisco Manuelita, one of the Perula beachfront palapa restaurants turned out to be excellent!.
The next day, after some quick shopping we risked one of the non-recommended palapas.
Maurisco Manuelita was the smaller restaurant of the three and there was a Mexican family eating there - so decided to go for it. The experience was great and the food was delicious.
Many "cruiser reviews" (including our own) assume consistency. We have learned that it sometimes pays to step out and try anyway. This way, we make our own mistakes and occasional pleasant discoveries. If we only listened to other recommendations from our cruising community, we might miss some good stuff!
Isla Colorado
On the morning of the fifth day, we decided to head out to one of the islands in the middle of the bay. We had a lazy start with a leisurely breakfast and a pot of coffee, and about 10AM, decided to weigh anchor and mosey over toward the islands. There are very few spots in these small anchorages, so we wanted to wait until the previous batch of boats had a chance to leave. There was a possibility there would not be room for us.
As we puttered along at 4 knots toward the islands, a large sloop with a blue racing stripe (oops, I mean sheer stripe), blew past us at 6 knots and diagonally cut us off as we were leaving the anchorage. He was heading straight for the islands. Our islands! Although Duncan felt an initial wave of road-rage, it subsided quickly as he remembered that this was not highway 101 at rush hour. As it turns out, there was plenty of room - there was only the two of us there when we arrived!
The great pocket beach on the south side of Isla Colorado.
Isla Passavara has a small (2-3 boat) anchorage that usually requires bow and stern anchors to squeeze everyone safely in. Since the wind was coming out of the west, we were concerned that this anchorage might be too exposed to wind and swell. We headed over to the lee of Isla Colorado - a smaller island, but potentially nicer because of the beaches (we read about) around the south side of the island.
Our new favorite Mexican Beach
A large rock islet/peninsula is connected to Isla Colorado creating a beautiful white sand spit.
On the far side of Isla Colorado, we found a gorgeous pocket beach.
Although some southern Californian's may say, "Oh big deal, it looks just like Coches Prietos on Santa Cruz Island", we will remind them that the water is 83F degrees, and the air is over 78F degrees, even in the dead of this winter night.
This is one of the prettiest places we have discovered thus far.
Robin drying off next to Shout.
We snorkeled, swam, hiked and lazed about the beach for a few hours then headed back around the island to Whisper.
As we approached, our "speed-demon next-door neighbor" hailed us -- expressing their concern that we had been gone so long.
We explained that we had gone ashore to do some exploring. Although it felt weird reporting our whereabouts to complete strangers, we need to remember that cruisers do look out for each other!
Our neighbors in Isla Colorado. Whisper anchored quietly in the center.
We than swam (snorkeled) from Whisper over to the lee side of the island near where we were anchored.
There were two beaches there - one rocky and picturesque with a lone coconut palm, and the other smooth and sandy with a dilapidated palapa. Between the two beaches, rocks and a small reef for snorkeling.
Unfortunately, the setting sun and stirred surge made for poor snorkeling visibility.
The terrain on Isla Colorado was less than friendly for hiking.
Upon our return to the boat, the wife of our "speed-demon next-door neighbor" hollered across the anchorage to Duncan. It seems her husband had gone missing. He swam to shore, but she could no longer see him.
The sunset, reflecting off the water and into her eyes made it very difficult to see anyone in the water. She was very upset and asked us to launch a search mission to find him (their dinghy was still on deck). Luckily, he soon reappeared -- swimming back to the boat. All was well - no search party required.
We relaxed to our dinner of foot-less barbequed chicken and foil-baked potatoes from the grill. The next day, we headed out of Bahia Chamela on our short 20-mile hop down the coast to Careyes.
Systems Update
Duncan's newest windlass kludge was still holding strong. He had pulled the faulty 90 Amp circuit breaker and inserted a 100Amp fuse directly in line with a couple of nuts & bolts -- bypassing the circuit breaker altogether. The good news came over the radio net one evening: Tavana was ahead in Tenacatita with Duncan's order for replacement circuit breakers and fuses. Many thanks are due to Snowbird for getting the parts from Downwind Marine in San Diego to PV and then onto Tavana.
Our genset (small diesel engine powered electric generator) has started acting up again. If it is not over-heating, it is not regulating its voltage - or both problems occur. On the previous cleaning of the genset's input seawater strainer, Duncan found a mysterious black dust. On another recent cleaning - he found a mysterious green goo. Upon further examination, he found onions and tomatoes too - along with the black dust.
Okay, got it! The input thru-hull for the genset is too close to the galley sink drain thru-hull! The black dust? Coffee grounds. The green goo and veggies? Guacamole bowl remnants from dishes the night before.
Solution? Don't do the dishes while running the genset. Lesson? Install the genset intake thru-hull at least a few feet away from any other thru-hulls. We are probably a bit closer to having the over-heating problem resolved!