Two Jams and Three Nights in Las Hadas
January 31, 2008

Our Track to Las Hadas Click on Chart for larger version or click HERE to see the track in Google Earth

After our fun 12 days in Barra, we pulled up anchor and left at about 6:30 am on Thursday, January 31st, continuing our southbound trek. It was still dark as we pulled up the anchor and made our way out the channel bound for Bahia Manzanillo. We intended to stop at one of the three bays there for a brief stop to break-up the somewhat long 200 nm leg down to Zihuatanejo. It was a pretty, still, calm morning, and we had no problem finding the channel and getting out into the bay. As we motored along and the sun rose, there was a Mexican Navy patrol boat lazily making his rounds.

Since we had finally eaten the rest of our "caught" fish, we decided to put a line in the water for the morning to see what we might pick up. We were hoping to bring in some white meat, maybe a Sierra or a Dorado (mahi-mahi), and we had our hopes up when we got a hit. Of course, as always happens, I was busy doing something else when the fish got on, and so had to rush back from the foredeck, where I was busy re-tying a loose flag halyard, and so by the time I got to the reel, about 200 yards had played out, It took quite a while, maybe 15 minutes, to reel in the fish. We were disappointed when it turned out to be yet another Skipjack. Tired of the dark meat from the jacks, we unhooked and released him, somewhat worse for wear and tear, and decided to bag fishing for a while, content to rely for the time being on the Dorado fillets we had purchased in Barra.

Smokestacks just south of Manzanillo

After we rounded Punta Graham, the SE point guarding Bahia Navidad, a sailing breeze came up and we made pretty good time for a while, maybe 5 knots, under sails alone. But after an hour or two of pure sailing, the wind petered out and we resorted to motoring once again. It was a somewhat hazy morning, and within two hours we passed Piedra Blanca, a prominent white cliffed island which we could make out clearly about 2 miles off of our port side. Another couple of hours of motoring brought us around Punta Carrizal and into the triple bays of Higuras, Bahia Santiago, and Bahia Manzanillo. We had decided to stay at Las Hadas, which is a nook in Bahia Manzanillo, because it was reported to be a nice anchorage, with an interesting hotel resort attached.

As we rounded the point, we finally realized that the haze we had been seeing all morning was eminating from three huge smokestacks south of the town of Manzanillo, where there is a huge coal-fired electrical plant. The plume from the smokestacks was so large that it looked like a cloud, was easily a mile high and 10 miles long, and was clearly a major blight on this otherwise very pretty stretch of coast.

But our spirits were lifted as we pulled into Las Hadas and saw the pretty little bay and the spectacular architecture of the resort hotel. And even better, as we drove around looking for a good spot to anchor among the four or five boats already there, we noticed that one of the boats was ANGELFISH, with our now good friends Frosty and Patti, on board. Before we had even completed anchoring, Frosty came by in the dinghy and invited us over to ANGELFISH for a jam and cocktails that evening.

Panorama of Las Hadas

After we had gotten settled in and did the dinghy drill, we took DITTY thru the breakwater to the docks at the Hotel Marina, tied her off, and went in and checked in with the Port Captain, Ruben, who quickly stamped our papers and briefed us on the hotel policies. For $15 per day we would have full use of the hotel facilities, including the dinghy dock, swimming pool, and 10% off at the restaurants. So we went ahead and paid for 2 days of access, and got our exit checkout at the same time.

ADVENTURE at anchor and the Resort at Las Hadas

The resort was indeed beautiful. The architecture of the houses around it reminded us much of La Jolla ... very expensive looking. And the Las Hadas Resort, which means "the Fairies" in Spanish, based on a Moorish fairytale, was this blend of Morrocan, Mexican, and Fantasy architecture clearly intended to make the visitor forget his/her troubles and enjoy the stay there.

Cruisers are required to bring their own towels to the pool, and they must be white or off-white in color, so we went back to RHAPSODY where we fortunately had a couple of white towels, then came back in and parked ourselves by the pool, where Frosty and Jennnifer, from EMILY B, had already staked out a couple of lounge chairs. We ordered Margaritas from a passing waiter and took dips in the pool in between drying out in the warm sun. After we finished our first drinks, I ordered second Margaritas for me and Trish, and told the waiter to make it "a little stronger" than the last one, which I thought had been pretty lame.

They weren't very big margaritas. The glass (actually a plastic tumbler) was about 5" tall by 2" wide. The second batch of 'ritas came and, although small, were at least somewhat stronger. After finishing them and asking for the "la cuenta, por favor", however, I was shocked to find out that they were $7.00 (seven dollars) each, and worse, that the second ones I had ordered were "doubles" and cost an outlandish $14 each! Yikes, MF! So, for Trish and I to have two drinks each cost us $42, not counting the 5$ tip which I somewhat reluctantly left. For $42 we could have bought two BOTTLES of pretty good Tequila anywhere in Mexico! So, word to the wise, the bars and restaurants in Las Hadas are very expensive. As such, Trish and I went back to the boat for dinner, where she made some nice Tacos and fixins for us.

1. Piedra Blanca on way to Las Hadas   2. Rounding Punta Santiago   3. Everyone enjoyed the pool   4.  5.  6. RHAPSODY at Anchor, Las Hadas   7. Jamming with Dean and Frosty   8. Las Hadas Breakwater   9. ANGELFISH at anchor, Las Hadas

Then, after dinner, around 7:00 pm, true to form, we took DITTY over to ANGELFISH, where Dean and Jennifer from EMILY B joined Trish and I and Frosty and Patti for drinks and a jam. Dean brought his saxophone and Frosty and I played guitars as we worked thru a number of tunes, trading leads and songs between the three of us while the girls chatted merrily away. It was a pretty fun evening.

Trish's Daytrip to Manzanillo

Pangas and Bouganvillas in Bahia Manzanillo

I spent most of the next day, Friday, making the web page for Barra while Trish went into the resort, did a little exploring, and made use of the exercise room, getting a nice workout, and taking a dip in the pool. As Trish and I were having beers on the boat on Friday night, a guy came by in a dinghy from one of the other boats in the anchorage, ADVENTURE. His name was Dave and he told us that he had heard of RHAPSODY and had been told that he "had to get together with them for a jam". He also was friends with our original dockmates from San Diego, the MERRY ROWES, so we had him aboard for beers and made a date for a jam the following day (on Saturday).

In the meantime, Trish and I had decided to leave Las Hadas on Sunday morning very early (like 5:00 am), so as to time the next leg to Z-Town so that we would arrive during daylight. So, on Saturday I decided to rest up for the jam with Dave and the early rise the following day, foregoing an opportunity to go exploring with Trish. During the day on Saturday, Trish rowed DITTY in and caught a bus from Las Hadas over to the big city and port of Manzanillo. While she was out, Frosty and Patti came by in their dinghy and I was able to express our sentiments and we gave each other fond fare-the-wells.

When Trish got back to the boat that afternoon, she reported that although Manzanillo was interesting, it was a somewhat dirty, definitely crowded, and busy place. Below are her photos from the exploration. On her return trip, she happened to get off the bus with Dave, the guy I was going to jam with, so shortly after she returned to RHAPSODY, we did the dinghy drill, putting DITTY back on deck and the outboard motor securely on its rail, and Dave came over to jam.

I got the amps out, and we traded tunes on Guitar and Bass. Dave was a little bit tipsy when he arrived and probably not in his best form as we struggled a bit to get thru the tunes. But, in spite of the fact that it was perhaps not the best jam I had in Mexico, it was still fun, and we messed around for several hours before wrapping it up at 8:00 or so. Then Trish and I put the amps and guitars away, had a brief bite to eat, and got ready for our early departure the next morning.

Images from Trish's Day Trip to Manzanillo