Idyllic days

Kellie's Comments-- Our day trip to the island proved to be the idyllic cruising day that we dreamed of. If you picture cruising to be warm sandy beaches, aquamarine water, good friends, and hot sunshine, then Wednesday fit the bill. We piled two boats full of people (Loon, Wyndeavor, Icarian & Komara) and headed out around 9 in the morning. There isn't much room to anchor there, so we towed all the dinghies and car pooled. The climate here is quite arid and although it rains more than on Baja, the majority of vegetation is cactus and scrub. I never imagined cactus growing right up to the beach before. We anchored Imagine and Komara and all headed for a picturesque cove. The haze of morning burned off to leave a sweltering sun and bright blue sky. All the kids spent the majority of the day in the water on boogie boards and inner tubes. The adults snorkeled the outlying reef and socialized on the sand. In the whole day, only two other boats visited the beach. Most of the time we had it all to ourselves. Everyone rushed to occupy the small strip of shade that appeared around 3:00 behind some rocks. Skin was becoming a bit pink and faces flushed. Shells lay strewn in the crashing surf on the ocean side of the cove, just perfect for collecting. I'm constantly amazed at the new colors of shells that we find-green, yellow, brown, pink, purple. Iain tried to troll for tuna and mahi mahi, but nothing bit. After such a hard day of swimming and sweating, no one had the energy to cook anyways. We arrived back at Chamela pink, tired and happy. Since no fish was caught, the idea materialized that we should patronize the local beach restaurant and eat theirs. All 14 of us piled in dinghies again and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner ashore. We ordered for the kids early while the grown ups had drinks. Then when our shrimp a la garlic, red snapper "diablo" (spicy), and various other local fare arrived, the kids entertained themselves with a game of hide and seek on the dark beach. There was only one other table occupied that night as it's the off season for Mexican tourists. Hardly any other Americans or Canadians come here. Our server, a young woman with wonderful English, took great care of us. Her grandparents own the business but are now too old to work, so her parents, herself and her husband run it. Her 20 month old daughter played in the sand with the cat while she worked. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. The next morning, the kids and I donned bathing suits and swam to Wyndeavor for a morning visit. Part way through our time there, the wind kicked up from the South with a vengeance. Mike graciously gave us a ride back in his dinghy. After that we were boat bound for the rest of the day. The wind sustained bouts of 17 knots and peaked at gusts of 30. We might as well have been on a passage for how rough and rolly the conditions were. Pete and I read most of the afternoon and the kids listened to their walkmans and painted. We actually got seasick if we came downstairs. Now today, we've done a bit of grocery shopping, Pete has taken the kids to the beach and I'm having a quiet moment to myself. Iain did catch a fish this morning and we're having it for dinner tonight together. It's too hot to cook, so I've made a pasta salad, some no bake cookies and some fresh "limonada." When Pete gets back, I'll have him set up the BBQ and we'll be all set. If the south wind ever pipes down, we'll be on our way again. We hope to leave Saturday with everyone else. We'll stay in Tenacatita until the first week in March. Buenos dias.