Saturday, January 29, 2011

A trip with my Father

So I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, and I am sorry about that, but my father flew in two weeks ago and we immediately went out to the remote parts of the globe in pursuit of fish. Those slippery little buggers are elusive at best, and we were in hot pursuit.
So we went out to Punta Mita (where I went surfing!) and then out to Isla Isabella, where the birds are, and then to San Blas and Chacala, and then slowly back to Punta Mita and now back at Puerto Vallerta.
We caught a few fishes as we went along, but it was the birds that caught our attention the most out on Isabella, of course. They own the island.
Another look at the Frigatebirds was nice for me, as well as the Blue footed Boobies. When we made it to San Blas, I caught three more mystery fishes from there, the pompano/mackerel kind of things. I think they are a kind of Pompano more so than ever, now. And they live in sandy/muddy bottoms about 35 ft deep, very flat, near fresh water. From there we made the short hop to Chacala and spent a few days walking around there, playing in the waves and on the beach. The water was not very clear, however, and the fish were not cooperative (or suicidal).
Then we went to this place I can never remember the name of, and camped out next to this little island just out of town, and the water was Super clear, the best I have seen in a long time. I was overjoyed. There was a single large white cow on the island, housed in the ruins of a restaurant, so maybe it was the meek inheriting... I think a big storm came through a while ago and ruined a lot of these places, so they have yet to recover. After that we went back to Punta Mita and I surfed again, this time with bigger waves and a lower tide, so I was dodging around among the rocks. I didn't fear the rocks as much when I started surfing as I do now. I think it is a leftover from the wreck in Alaska that I had 18 months ago, so I am really hesitant to get near the rocks. But here, eventually (as the tide went down) there was no choice, and on my last wave of the day (and the biggest) I caught this nice head high right that put me driving along right between a couple of these big car sized boulders. The wave gets funny at that point, so I didn't stay with it after, but it was my best ride from this trip.
Then we crossed Bandaras Bay, and went to Yalapa, a small town that is only reachable by boat. It is full of expensive peoples, however, so not the most attractive of all places. But, it does have some nice waterfalls, and river valleys, so I may return on my way out. It is a really rough anchorage, and the beach is super steep. For example, about 200 ft out is about 200 ft deep.
We spent two days there, and explored the waterfalls, but then yesterday we came back to La Cruz, which is the place to anchor near Puerto Vallerta.
We had one final mission, which was to find some tropical hardwoods. In Yalapa we found a carver who was working with a very hard wood, called Rosewood. We tried to get a block to bring home for my dad to carve, but it was proving to be very expensive. So we broke off negotiations after a short stint, and left the area. However, we thought we might be able to track down some kinds of wood in PV, we had a mission. In broken spanish, we asked around and spent the whole day looking around to find this wood place, until we had a final success! Now we have a 70 lb piece of wood that we have to carry around, and somehow get to the airport to be shipped back. I also got some Mahogany that I can now make a second handle for my dodger.
So that's the trip so far. Dad's here for another day and a half, so we'll try to find something to do today, then go to the airport tomorrow. I'm very pleased with my progress of spanish, I was able to hold a bit of a conversation with this guy on the bus, and asking directions was pretty easy.
When we were in Yalapa, up the river, I saw some Black Stilts, which I think are very beautiful. I first saw them in the Monterey Bay area, in Moss Landing, and thought wonderful things of them, despite the man with only one shoe and a cloud of alcohol roaming around him yelling out foul language to me and my comrades in the Odious Whaler. Ahh, the memories a bird can bring.



5 comments:

mlloyd said...

Glad to hear your time adventuring with our Father was productive. You're sure the one shoeed yeller was in Monterey Bay? Our last trip down to Crescent City I thought we went by the spot.

ps, if you were on facebook this would be easier!

Anonymous said...

Whoe needs Facebook.
Your loyal fans can find your blog just as it is.
Keep 'em coming.


The one shoed yeller.

Anonymous said...

Agreed.

Facebook sucks

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the one shod yeller roams cacophonously through Moss Landing protecting the marina from odious onlookers and nasty nomads that may be prone to napping...

Rachel said...

Sounds like you guys are having fun!! I believe the 'black stilt' is a Black-necked Stilt... just thought you'd like MY input!! Looks like Monica is a Facebook fan now-a-days... I love your blog, and I like facebook too... not to worry, your loyal followers will find you!

Love ya,

-Rachel