Boat Name: Adios III
Home Port: Texada Island, BC (Canada)
Date of Acceptance: January 2, 2010
Place of Acceptance: Los Frailes, south tip of Baja California Sur (Mexico)
Steffanie and Charlie, with their daughter Emily and son Christopher, graciously took Pea Green on its next journey, including Mazatlan, Isla Isabella, San Blas, Chacala, La Cruz, and Puerto Vallarta. As Charlie had to fly home, Steffanie and the kids had the following adventure on terra firma with Pea Green:
It was great fun arriving by Panga as we see them all the time but never get to ride in one. We stopped at a couple of beaches on the way to let people off in the surf! Once we arrived at Yelapa, we quickly found our way to the Spanish school and our home-stay family.
What a wonderful experience! Juanita taught us for 3 hours every morning and then escorted us on a variety of activities in the afternoon: hiking to the waterfalls, crayfishing in the river, and exploring the village itself. The local people were so welcoming and patient with our poor Spanish.
Our host family not only fed us wonderful Mexican meals but also helped us practice our Spanish daily. We all laughed a lot during the week!
To finish off the trip, we headed into the mountains of San Sebastian, a beautiful colonial town 3 hours from Puerto Vallarta. Juanita was guide, teacher, and translator as we visited the famous hacienda and hiked to the tip of the Buffa. There we stood, looking down at Puerto Vallarta miles away!
(A Buffa is a big hill with cliffs that you hike to the top of and can look in a 365° circle. You can see the highlands and you look down on Puerto Vallarta so it is quite stunning. Interestingly, two states are arguing over it so they can't do anything in terms of development - mines or forestry, both of which are active in the area - so the area is protected for now. Some people would like to make it a park and preserve it for future generations which would be a really great solution.)
As we wound our way back down the highway, we said goodbye to the mountains and let our thoughts turn once again towards our little boat and the sea. Our plans are to sail in the Sea of Cortez this summer, practice our Spanish, and then head off someplace new next winter!
Adios III anchored off Los Frailes, Baja California Sur (Mexico)
To follow adventures of the Groves family on board Adios III, see their blog at www.adiosgroves.blogspot.com.
Hosts of the next leg of Pea Green's journey is SV Serenity heading to the South Pacific.
