It feels like we have been in La Cruz forever!!!   Once we crossed over to La Cruz in February, we had a couple of weeks to get ourselves and the boat sorted.   We did a big grocery shop – it had been quite a bit since we had been in a place that had really good grocery stores and we took advantage.   We had just finished stowing all that away when one of our fellow boat friends suggested a trip to Costco – though it was early to be getting our full provisioning started, it seemed like a good opportunity to just do a run around the store to start to finalize my provisioning list – five hundred dollars later, we left the store with just the start of the list done – non-perishable items like vacuum sealer bags, garbage bags, paper towel, cheese, bacon, etc – not exactly just a look around shop but it did get some of the big items out of the way!  

Once we had that done, we headed down to Barra for a quick visit with Owen’s Mom, Brother and Sister-in-Law, all of whom had been enjoying themselves in Melaque for the month of February.   We had an exciting trip down – the winds just south of Cabo Corrientes built to about 25 knots, gusting higher and we were clearly in some pretty good positive current – that has to be the only explanation for the boat hitting 10.2 knots – she just isn’t capable of going that fast!!!!    It was a pretty wild few hours as we helped the Hydrovane to stay on course and marveled at the continuous 8+ speeds!!!     

So fast!!! lol

We realized that we were going to arrive at Barra in the very early hours of the morning and decided instead to head into Tenacatita to drop the hook for the night –  it was quite dark when we arrived but with the assistance of radar and AIS we were able to approach the anchored fleet and land ourselves just on the outer edge.   We were not there to stay however and had the hook up early the next morning for the short trip around the corner and into the Barra lagoon.   After a few attempts to find a spot that felt deep enough (I swear the lagoon is shallower this year!!) we were able to get the hook set and finally catch our breath.   We ended up holding off on going into Melaque until the next day and instead had a quiet afternoon on the boat.   The next day started with the delightful arrival of the French Baker boat.  Once we had devoured our treats, we, along with our friend Rob, headed into Melaque.   We arrived just in time for the local market and as it happened, we needed to travel right through it to get to the condo that Owen’s family was staying at.   After grabbing some lovely fresh fruit and eggs, we all had a nice visit at the condo before the three of us, along with Owen’s brother and SIL, wandered into the town for lunch.    

The next few days followed a similar pattern with family visits, some dinners out and lots of time sitting in the shade of the almond trees at the condo.    Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to head north earlier than we had perhaps intended – meaning we had to cut our family visit short and miss out on an actual visit to Tenacatita.   There was a weather window that would allow us to get back up around Cabo Corrientes (motoring for 27 hours unfortunately – but not taking 30 knots on the nose!) and we didn’t want to miss it. 

Once we were back in La Cruz, we jumped into attending all of the seminars and meetings geared to people heading across the South Pacific.   A doctor attended to give us an idea of what should be in our medical kit, and again later to do a short CPR seminar.   Fellow cruisers on Totem joined with Mike at PV Sails to put on Safety at Sea seminars, even inflating an old life raft (which proved to be infested with ants!!).   Totem hosted a seminar on what to expect once we get to the South Pacific, discussing possible routes once we have finally made that first big jump.   The Vallarta Yacht Club hosted a Pacific Puddle Jump seminar with info on Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.  Mike at PV Sails had people zoom in from those locations as well, at our Friday meetings, giving everyone the ability to ask questions of the reps.   There have been weather seminars and provisioning seminars (which I unfortunately missed but got good notes from a friend!)   We have also been knocking jobs off our list – probably more slowly that we would like but every job done is satisfying!

We did need to take a day out of working to head to the airport – we had ordered items to be delivered to the condo and of course they arrived after we had been there so we made the trip to the airport where we were able to receive our packages from Owen’s family before they headed back to Canada.  It was good to get in one more visit and get good last hugs before we head out on the next leg of our adventure.

We have had a few nights off – a night out with about 17 other cruisers for ribs, a couple of dinners out after the Friday meetings and dinner on a friend’s boat.   We ended up doing a short sight-seeing trip to Bucerias when a trip to pick up a package at the DHL outlet ended with the location closed for Semana Santa – figured as we were there we might as well do a little look around!   Owen snuck in a few days of racing – unfortunately the boat he was on was damaged and they had to cut their regatta short!

Last night was the “Last Chance to Dance” party – an event put on by PV Sails and Mexico Marine as a send off to everyone heading out – whether across to French Polynesia, north to Hawaii and/or back to Canada or west coast of the US.  It was a fantastic night of good tacos, great music, a big bonfire and wonderful visits with other cruisers. 

And so here we are, still in La Cruz!   We still have a few jobs to do on the boat and do need to get our big provisioning done but we are eyeing early next week to begin the check out process and keeping an eye out for that next weather window – it appears it will likely be mid-month and at that time we will make the jump to French Polynesia!