“Go sailing now my friend,
it is later than you think”
Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta is 150 miles. A days passage.
Along the Way. . .
Twenty five miles NW of Manzanillo is a new marina, at Puerto de la Navidad.
A new, full service marina, with a fuel dock just being completed.
Discovered by Spanish explorers on Christmas Eve, Puerto de la Navidad is a tribute to the ageless allure of the sea.
Full speed ahead to luxury ashore! Enjoy the incomparable amenities of Grand Bay Hotel Puerto de la Navidad, a charming shopping arcade, the yacht club, and spa-all of them only a step away.
The state-of-the-art floating dock system designed and installed to meet the highest international standards results in unmatched safety, stability, and buoyancy performance.
The yacht club, spa, and a charming shopping arcade at the heart of the Puerto de la Navidad marina furnish a distinctive style to a thriving nautical community.
Puerto de la Navidad is a year-round source of delight for lovers of deep-sea fishing or placid sailing. It is the ideal location to take shore leave or practice favorite water sports. So bear to port, and get knotted in this leisure island.
The 200-slip marina accommodates boats from 30 to 150 feet. Electrical wiring, fresh potable water, and fire main systems connect conveniently at the gangway. And additional services, such as public telephones and laundry, are readily available onshore. The Marina offers diesel and Magna and Premium gasolines.
Yachts and sailboats are safe and secure in Puerto de la Navidad's marina, a natural harbor for berth or anchor the year round.
Isla Navidad is only 25 minutes from the Playa de Oro International Airport in Manzanillo, Colima, México.
Ipala
There is not much here to see, but it is a good hidie hole for waiting out blows around Corrientes. When entering this bay, stay outside (east of) the round fish pen that is sometimes anchored close off the rocky west shore of the bay. This pen had one dim light at night but it shows well on radar.
Yalapa
Marginal fair weather stop open to N. Marginal holding. Coarse sand beach. Steven grew up here and went to the local school in the village in ’68. Yalapa was probably first populated by a some Native Americans of the tribe that originated in the ancient circular town of Tenacatitlan, 100 miles north, as they migrated south to eventually form Mexico City and become the Aztec empire. The word means 'gathering place' or 'meeting place' and, although it lies on the same latitude as Hawaii, has been likened to Tahiti.
The road south of Puerto Vallarta does not go all the way around the bay but cuts inland at Boca de Tomatlan. To get to Yelapa you must take a boat from Boca de Tomatlan , Los Muertos beach or the beach just south of the Rosita Hotel. Yelapa can also be reached by mountain bike or hiking down from El Tuito, high in the mountains behind the village. There is a daily cruise boat that drops tourists off for about two hours.
Raicilla, pronounced "rye-see-ya", is the local moon shine. It is distilled in crude, primitive stills from a fermented mash made from the roots ( raicilla means "little root" ) of the maguey plant. It is a strong violent liquor of greatly varying quality, and usually more than 100 proof. Since it is produced without government license, and sold without government tax, it is illegal in the same sense that moonshine is illegal in the United States. Its production is one of the traditional local arts, and it is found only in this area.
Since it is higher in alcoholic content than most commercially available liquors even a small amount can produce a sudden, strong, and unpredictable drunkeness. There are many reports of violent gastric reactions, and temporary motor paralysis. It has a strong, and persistent reputation for producing an aphrodisiac effect in women, but causing temporary impotency in men. This can lead to a social situation of confused, and conflicting desires. It gives a rough hangover.
The myth that it produces a psychedelic effect is a product of a raicilla-inflamed imagination. The myth is based (insofar as it is based on anything at all ) on the mistaken belief that it contains mescaline from the local San Pedro cactus. Although the San Pedro cactus does contain some mescaline and has, at times, been used as part of the fermented mash, the chemical mescaline is not volatile ( it crystallizes rather than vaporizes ) and so cannot go through the distillation process, but remains a residue in the mash.
Raicilla can be tested for alcohol content by pouring a bit in a saucer and lighting a match to the rising vapor. If it burns it is of high proof, and probably has not been watered down.
Since raicilla is cheap, strong, and readily available, it is most widely and frequently used drinks among the local borrachos (drunks). The raicilla-borracho can still sit and talk ( lucidly, he thinks ) long after he has lost the ability to walk. He does not know this until after he stands up.
For those who drink alcohol at all, a taste of raicilla is an almost essential part of the full local experience. When you drink it for the first time, you should be in secure surroundings among people you know and trust and use cautious moderation.
Puerto Vallarta
Is known as Mexico's "Riviera", where people can have the best of both worlds -- whether you come here for a vacation, or for a longer period of time. It is at the center of - the "Bahia de Banderas", or "Bay of Flags". The bay has over 40 miles of coast and numerous beaches.
It is fast becoming one of the world's most popular travel destinations is because it offers a unique blend of traditional, "Old Mexico" charm mixed with the modern amenities of a cosmopolitan setting. There are cobblestone streets and old Spanish-colonial style white stucco houses with red clay tile roofs. The sound of church bells, roosters crowing, and the clatter of donkeys' hooves on the cobblestones continues to be an everyday occurrence, just as it was 150 years ago.
There are 345 days of sunshine each year, with average daytime temperatures reaching into the high 80's. At night, there is an onshore breeze from the Bay ,bringing cool air and cool night temperatures that make for pleasant sleeping conditions - without air conditioners.
Paradise Village Marina
Marina is top notch. Has a very good summer rate if you are planned to stay during the hurricane season.
Good bus service to downtown Puerto Vallarata.
Paseo de los Cocoteros 001
Nuevo Vallarta Nayarit 63732
Mexico
Phone: +52 (322)-226-6728
After Hours: Dick Markie
VHF: 16
Web: www.paradisevillagemarina.com
Email: marina@paradisevillagegroup.com
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