Sand fleas and large critters in paradise

I'o in the Chacala anchorage, calm and easy, not giving any indication of the hellish night ahead. The surf seemed to be pretty close and loud, and we waited a bit to see if the the anchor bit. It was only a four hour trip along the coast from Matenchen - long white sand beaches backed with green jungly hills. Exotic structures lined the hills perched lightly with several stories typically spreading downhill.



The dinghy landing and where the fisherment bring in their catch. The water was cold, but lovely, and we hiked across the point of land to the beach to check out what was on offer at the palapas. The "main street" behind the palapas held little shops that pretty much had the same shells and pareus - little hotels. We wondered why this beatiful little cove was not surrounded by huge hotels.
We found out, soon enough.

It is mainly sand under teh palapas and the critters in the sand feasted on us as we had a disappointing meal, but lots of limonada. A couple joined our table who were just driving up for the day and gave us the "skinny" on what was available in the various marinas. He said the main harbor was great, close to everything, but after Cabo, we didn't want to take a chance on any more lost sleep and tour boat noise.

All night, the boat swung and we rocked and rolled, despite being told by the cruising guide that it would not be anything more than a "gentle massage." The hell. We didn't get much sleep and left, along with all the other sleepless boats, for PV. We saw whales, schools of rays the size of dinner plates and at the entrance to Banderas Bay, were frightened by two huge whales rising quickly alongside the boat. One came back up to see who was screaming, but the other one decided to dive for Tahiti, as the screaming must have hurt.


We are aimed at Nuevo Vallarta, trying to find the harbor entrance here. It is always a bit tense trying to trust the GPS and after the whale excitement, all I wanted to do was get into a slip and drink something strong.

We were brought right to the entrance and scooted in to Paradise Marina. The marina lines a sea wall behind a resort, shopping center and condos. Our first night in the shopping center, after Matachen and Chacala had us considering moving as this is just middle america again.
There are still requirements to check in with the Port Captains in various ports - the paperwork was prepared by the harbor staff and we took a water taxi across to check in. The port captain's cat greeted us, named Captain, not Capitania...and immediately

decided that Robert was to be his new owner. Pets stay inside here, as the Estuary is full of crocodiles. Aaron and I kayaked around a few of the islands and were told by a very stern gentleman not to go past the bridge as the 18' footer lurks in wait for kayakers. Ok.
We plan on moving to the more open marina across the channel in the morning. There is a walkway to the beach and the dogs will finally get their wish.