Before the crazy set in...

      I've been silent too long, obviously. This will require a couple of posts to catch up--one to share the cool sights the Kyrie crew has seen in the last month; and one to share our thoughts and frustrations about the current state of the world, and how that state is affecting us.
      The last time I posted, Kyrie was out of the water, getting her repaired out drive back on at last. Since that time, she returned to the water, we left the marina to anchor out at long last, and then finally departed Banderas Bay. While it was difficult to leave such a lovely place, the crew's desire to return to our nomadic life had returned. We had been in one place for far too long!
      We made our plans. Kyrie had, by necessity of that darn busted out drive, blasted across to the mainland, never stopping anywhere along the way to check out the sights. This time would be different. We were going to stop and play along our way back to the Sea of Cortez. You know something? We actually have. The stop at Punta Mita was a wonderful bit of unwinding. A long afternoon and evening at anchor, a chance to paddleboard for me and play in the water for the kids, a cocktail in the cockpit in the evening... It was lovely. On to Chacala the next day, which, in spite of being a rather rolly anchorage, we enjoyed. Joe managed, after several tries, to get our stern anchor set satisfactorily and we gently bobbed as the waves rolled in. Our friends on Tulum V showed up to our great surprise and delight, although we didn't get to visit with them until much later. After a discussion over the radios, both crews decided one night in Chacala was enough, and a move to Matanchen Bay was determined upon.
       Matanchen Bay, in spite of being extremely buggy, is gorgeous! The first afternoon there, the Kyrie crew dinghied ashore and enjoyed dinner in one of the palapa restaurants. The bugs were awful, but thankfully, one of the staff brought a huge metal bucket full of smouldering coconut husks. The bugs soon departed, much to our relief. The jejenes--what I've always known as noseeums--are the worst. They can get in the smallest bug screens and cracks and of course, you don't know they are on you until they bite! Apparently, their favorite part of me is my feet...

        The highlight of the stop in Matanchen Bay, bar none, was the jungle tour to La Tovara. The crews of three boats--Kyrie, Tulum V, and SaareLill, which meant six adults and seven kids--packed into a panga and let our guide drive us off into the jungle. What a day! At first, the mangroves created a tunnel over the river. We spotted multiple crocodiles--small ones, thank goodness!--and huge termite nests off in the trees. Once the mangroves retreated and the river widened, the birds came out. One tree held about twenty snowy egrets! Our guide spotted numerous birds hidden in the trees and slowed down so we could see them, patiently pointing them out, despite his limited English and our limited Spanish!  One of the stops on the tour was the crocodile refuge, which is a place I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it was rather sad to see the jaguars and lynx in small cages. On the other, I felt rather glad there was a large fence between me and some of those enormous crocodiles! A coatimundi escaped from its pen while we were there and played with our friend Chad's shoes and two of the big crocodiles were observed engaged in rather, um, amorous activities. A short stop, but I'm glad we had that opportunity. The better stop, however, was next. Up a side stream is La Tovara itself. There is a restaurant and a freshwater spring, complete with a metal fence, hopefully barricading any intruders to the pool. We had all come prepared with swimsuits, so everyone had a chance to take a dip in the springs. It was heavenly! The kids all flung themselves off the trapeze multiple times, lunch was delicious, and when it was time to leave, everyone agreed it had been a great, memorable day.

The crews of Kyrie, SaareLill, and
Tulum V--ready to explore the jungle!

This was the first wild crocodile we saw
on our trip. It wouldn't be the last!

Turtles were everywhere, sunning
themselves on logs along the side
of the river. One even had a scar from
a crocodile bite!

Yes, there really was just that distance
between me and this enormous
crocodile! 

Here's the cluster of snowy egrets.
Most of them flew off right after I
got this photo.

Anyone know what kind of
bird this is?

             Another high point in our stop was our visit to the old fort and cathedral in San Blas. Kyrie and SaareLill both decided to brave the reports of bugs and come in to San Blas proper to try to get a spot in the marina. San Blas's marina is very small--only about 20 slips or so--but both boats managed to secure a slip. (Now we're rather glad we did, but more of that in the next post.) The town is charming, with an incredible history. Joe read Wikipedia's page on San Blas to us and we were astonished to learn of San Blas's connection to some places we've been to already, such as Friendly Cove and Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island! The cemetery was nearby, so we stopped there as well. I've never felt that cemeteries were creepy, and this one was no exception. After seeing the movie Coco so many times, the kids didn't seem bothered by the graves either, and wandered around, respectfully reading the markers and exclaiming over the amount of flowers.

Just like on George Island near
Elfin Cove, we had to get a "family on
the cannon" shot!

Levi seemed to enjoy reading the
markers on the graves.

By my best translation, this
reads, "She did not die. She
lives in our hearts and in our
daily prayers." A beautiful
remembrance!

        We wanted to spend some more exploring San Blas, but the world got crazy rather quickly. We're still here, but not going anywhere right now. Reports on how we're handling this time of self-quarantine in our next post.