What a lovely time we had in LaCruz de Huanacaxtle. The LaCruz Marina was built in 2001 and has developed quite the expatriate community. LaCruz itself maintains its Mexican character with a town square, mostly cobblestone or dirt streets, lovely roadside restaurants, street vendors, and a few small grocery stores. Most days live music is playing somewhere. Two times we delayed our departure to French Polynesia, while we waited in vain for our long-stay visas. We finally decided to go without them.

Most days in LaCruz started with a walk along the malecon and the cruisers’ net over the radio. Favorite parts were requests for assistance and “treasures of the bilge”. Sometime after that we’d walk into town in seek of groceries, boat parts, laundry or just a meal out.

At the fish markets in the marina, vendors sold fish caught that day. Restaurateurs and individuals use as to supply their delicious meals. At the restaurant in the market, we enjoyed a fresh tuna tartar, and the next day I did a fairly decent job of replicating it for dinner.

We went for a hike with fellow cruisers on Monkey Mountain, which is northwest of LaCruz. The well worn path led through some beautiful forests and mountainous areas.

Thursday was free movie night. Hamburgers and a beer were less than $10 and people watched from their own chairs sitting in the cement amphitheater.

On Friday evenings Mike at PV Sailing hosted a Pacific Voyagers gathering and weather debriefing. We are so appreciative of the knowledge and tools Mike shared over the weeks we attended. He is truly a rockstar who supports the community.

Sunday was market day and vendors lined the malecon adjacent to the marina. Like most farmers’ markets, patrons could buy, homemade cheese and sauces, fruits and vegetables, along with any clothing or trinkets desired. Music was provided both in the amphitheater and at the culdesac at the end where food of many nationalities were available.

LaCruz was preparing for “Fiestas Patronales” where the town citizens honor their forefathers and their fishing and farming heritage. The townspeople decorated the main street with God’s Eyes that were created by hand. I went to one work party at a restaurant and over the course of an hour created two God’s Eyes. By the time I left, the table was heaped with God’s Eyes. Knowing that my two joined thousands of homemade decorations was special.

One of my favorite chores in Mexico was laundry. We’d drop off our dirty laundry at the lavanderia and pick it up the next day in freshly folded stacks. It cost about $2 extra to have it done, for a total cost of about $15 for three loads.

During our stay we tried to start the boat generator and discovered that it wouldn’t start. Later a mechanic looked at it and declared it dead. We bought a portable generator that works everything we need on the boat, except the dive compressor. We’re glad all this happened on shore near a major city that has a Honda dealership. We do appreciate my sister Margaret’s new name for the generator – “GDG” for short.

In order to get the generator, we rented a car for 24 hours and the provisioning for our 20-30 day trip tow French Polynesia began. It surprised me that it was so much work. The most difficult part was finding a place on the boat to store everything. Costco and LaComer, which is like an upscale Fred Meyer, seemed almost like shopping in the states, including bunches of US & Canadians. LaComer had an underground parking garage where shoppers pick up carts and proceed to the escalator. The escalator must have some sort of magnet because the cart doesn’t move once there. The most fun shopping was the tiny bulk food store in Bucerías. I was happy to obtain powdered almond and coconut milk to save space on the boat.

We got our exit papers from customs yesterday and we’ve been motoring towards Clarion Island since. It feels good to be moving again. Next post will be about our crossing plans. In the meantime, you can see our position on our website and at http://www.pacificpuddlejump.com, which is tracking many boats making the crossing right now.

And here are some more photos