Puerto Vallarta again!

I wrote this yesterday:

Today I saw a frog being eaten by a snake. The snake was bright green and about 3 ft long, and I think it might have had fangs, but I can't be sure. The frog was crying for help, and I was wondering what was wrong, or if it was a bird, so I looked.
To look, I recall now, will change the outcome of the event, according to quantum mechanics. The Scnrodinger's cat problem! I looked, and the snake saw me and let go of the frog and slithered away. What have I done? The frog hopped down towards the sea, across scorching hot rocks, and it might have died, or might have lived, I do not know.

I came here to go surfing, which I've been doing, though the waves are very very small. The sets come through and are waist high, sometimes a little higher. The rocks underneath make me wish for a larger swell, breaking in deeper water.

The water is quite clear, even next to the break. The visibility is close to 30 ft, I think, and out to sea I expect it to be more than 50 ft. The waters all have this beautiful blue to them. And it is warm! I can stay in all day long if I want to. It is perhaps a few degrees too warm, since I am sweating when I surf, a little. I would like for a nice wind to cool me off.

I think its easier to surf in warm water. I don't just think it, I know. Everything is easier, the waves are not as scary, and you can stay in longer. Catching a wave is such a simple matter.
I am the only one out surfing, because it is so small. What a wonderful time, to be alone on an amazing point break that I can sail to and paddle to and never have to touch land! At the same time, it would be nice to have someone else around to talk to.

The journey here was nice. I finally got away from San Blas after paying more than I wanted to and put to sea right about noon on monday the 19^th. I motored in order to make it to Jaltemba. I put out my fishing lines to see what was about and first caught a nice large Green Jack, which I threw back since they don't taste that good, and then a beautiful Sierra. I think there are two types, but my fish book only has one. I ate the Sierra, and brought in my lines, so I wouldn't have to kill any more fish just by catching them. I got to Jaltemba right at sunset, and there were clouds all over in the mountaintops, billowing up from the valleys. Deep Convection is the word. You can see the clouds exploding upward. There were some birds way way up there just flying for the fun of it, or caught in an updraft and sucked into the heavens, I don't know which.

Just after sunset the lightning that had begun flashing around the mountains started wandering down the hills and began attacking the lowlands. Lightning here sounds like an attack. The flash is blinding, or almost, because I saw a few and there were spots on my eyes for 10 minutes. But the thunder is an apocalypse. Everytime it explodes through my bones, I can hear the end of the world.

The storms came to the valleys and then, cackling to themselves in flashes and booms, they made for my boat. I was anchored near a small island, with about one mile of open water between me and the mainland coast, so the wind gathered strength and blew in big bad wolf style, trying to blow my little house of fiberglass down.

I am not a pig, but I was worried nonetheless. I had anchored, stupidly, right next to the island, and now I was being blow into it. I hoped my anchor would hold, and it did, but I had let out enough chain that I came within 20 ft of some rocks. Then the wind shifted, and all was well.

I woke up before dawn the next day to go to Punta Mita, and set off with a favorable wind, but then turned on the motor as the winds were inconsistent. I caught a nice sized skipjack tuna, but threw it back also, since they don't taste so good.

I can get internet here, so I checked the weather this morning, and there is a tropical storm to the south. It is expected to come north, then maybe turn and head towards land, hopefully to the north of me. I don't know what I'll do if its coming exactly, but I will probably head for Puerto Vallarta and try to tie up at a dock. It is supposed to become a hurricane soon, and have 100 mph winds by the time it is near.

I'll just have to watch and see what the storm does.

And now, since then, I've had a few more days surfing, and spent some more time diving. I need to work on my breathing abilities again. I've lost my long lungs.

I came in to La Cruz, a suburb of PV, in order to get better access to internet to watch Hilary. She is now a Major, a cat 3 storm, with winds about 115 mph. Not someone that I want to meet right now. So I am looking at what to do, and where to go. The marina here is my best bet, I think, though, if it came in as a category 3 storm I would suffer damages, I am sure. But she is forecast to go out to sea.

If you're interested, or worried, you can look at the national hurricane center website, here.