San Blas, Nayarit - and D.A. Burns!

 After two incredibly peaceful nights at anchor at Isla Isabella, gently rocked to sleep all thru morning, we pull up anchor and head for San Blas, Nayarit. A boobie feather floats by and I think of its little face under a bonnet standing on blue feet.

A point of San Blas at dusk

San Blas was colonized by the Spanish in 1529 and was at one time the most important port of the North Pacific. Almost five hundred years of history! The entrance into the port was a little concerning, the Port Captain repeated that we had no more than three to four meters of depth and two meters by the marina. SpringDay is eight foot tall under water so staying at the marina was not an option, we anchored by the mangroves. Before I had a chance to close doors and windows, I spot an incredibly large (6" in width) moth looking insect trapped between the window and the delicate sheer silhouette blind of the salon. A closer look reveals that this hostile insect was spewing red blotches of fluid which fanned by its panicked wings, sent the stinky waste all over the back of the blind. Now I panic! I lift the blind knowing that the red will be squished through, and now its wings have no space restriction and the hysterical creature flings gobs of red all over the wood. Armed with two yards of paper towels I quickly enrobe the insect for whom I have lost all respect, but nevertheless I release her to her mangrove.
I reached for the very small bottle of D.A.Burns upholstery cleaner that I was given when I took all of SpringDay's canvas to D.A. Burns in Seattle. I start flooding the dainty fabric thinking it was pointless, I was just spreading the color.  Then by miracle, when I return with a water saturated cloth to rinse off, MILAGRO! The stains were gone. Hey D.A.Burns I will
talk about you for the rest of my life. Thanks D.A. Burns. Don't forget to get your bottle of D.A. Burns today!

Walking to town after this traumatic event we come up to this condemned church built in 1818. A friendly woman offers to show us the inside, she points to several places on the walls where there used to be a painting before it was stolen. She motions to follow her to the new church next door and leads us to the ancient statue of the crucified Christ left behind by the Spaniards. 

Relishing street prepared food, Bill is willing to share

                 

Popular restaurant La Isla, food was very good, shells interesting to look at while you wait

 Next day friends Kay and Suzan take front seat in the panga excursion up the estuary to see crocodiles.  I stayed on the boat to rest, to have some alone time and to give my skin a break from insect bites.

Our brave Susan on Ana Mae... handling a snake

     A few miles from Puerto Vallarta Ana Mae is giddy with a circus of performing dolphins under her bow. I forget to look down at our bow to see if we also have visitors, I am too fascinated still by wings. A small group of blue footed boobies I didn’t think I would see again circle over the bow and portuguese bridge and from side to side. My head is tilted back as far as it will go and the camera zoom is pointed straight up for the chance to look at them disrobed. They fly over me and then off to the side, they catch sight of small fish, at that point their tail feathers open like a spanish fan to force a near vertical dive at great speed. Shaped like a stealth fighter they pierce the water leaving a long water tunnel behind. Two hundred pictures, hoping a handful will reveal their full grace.

Eye contact

Perfect plumage

Descent

The dive

Water tunnel

Boo-boo on Boobie

Puerto Vallarta - Skippers now have one thing on their mind, the Seahawks game! A rushed moorage, a hasty walk in search of a sports bar to watch the game. Successful find, disappointing game! 

Skippers' lounge on SpringDay

Thinking of you...