Zihuatanejo to Chacala

February 27-April 3, 2024

We spent almost three weeks in the wonderful town of Zihuatanejo. While the first part of our stay was dominated by the Sailfest activities, the second was filled with Guitarfest. This annual international event hosts guitarists from around the world covering all genres of music from classical to folk to blues. There were events every night for a week and we enjoyed several.

Shelly took a chance to head back to Minnesota for a quick visit with family. We also met up with her cousins Mona and Doug who have been coming down to Zihuatanejo for years. We spent a fun beach day with them and a nice dinner out in town.

Just outside of town there are the Xihuacan ruins. This Mesoamerican archeological site was discovered in the 1930’s by local farmers and just recently excavated. It dates back to 800 BC and is the site of one of the largest Mesoamerican ball courts. It’s amazing to think that there are many sites yet to be discovered and excavated throughout Mexico and Central America.

Our transportation to the site was interesting. Perhaps not up to US standards but it got the job done.

The rest of our time was spent exploring the town’s great restaurants and bars and even getting in some surfing. Finally it was time to start heading north once again. We did another overnight sail back to the Carizal Anchorage near Manzanillo where we celebrated my (Rodd’s) birthday with great friends on our friends’ catamaran, Rest Awhile. Then to Barra de Navidad where we spent a few days anchored in the lagoon and enjoying the town. After that we stopped again in Tenacatita for a few days of enjoying the beach and mellow surf break right near the anchorage.

Our next stop heading north was the town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, near Puerto Vallarta. After a few days in the anchorage, we secured a slip in Marina La Cruz so I (Rodd) could head back to the US to renew my visa. Since tourist visas are good for 180 days, we need to leave and re-enter the country to get a new one. Flying to Tijuana and entering San Diego by the Cross Border Express is super easy. The marina also allowed us to catch up on some boat maintenance before heading north. Afterwards we were on our way to Chacala, a small beach town and one of our favorite stops on the pacific coast of Mexico. As it was the huge holiday of Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week), it was very busy with families packing the beach and campground to celebrate the holiday. We explored the bay and hiked to the caldera near town several times. And of course ate mountains of tacos!

Now our next stop is Mazatalan where we hope to view the eclipse from inside the Zone of Totality (a new term I’ve learned denoting the area where the moon completely blocks out the sun). Hopefully the weather will cooperate.