Getting Ready To JUMP!

Hola from the crew of Osprey!

The past month has been a whirlwind of activities; some fun and others more "work" related. At the end of February we headed north from Bahia Tenacatita and rounded Cabo Corrientes, back into Bahia de Banderas.  At first we spent a few days at the marina in La Cruz and met up with some characters form the past: Bob from s/v Chara, Pitt from s/v Calmer Seas, and CJ and Kathy from s/v Shannon.  Our time in La Cruz was brief but we enjoyed coming back just the same; La Cruz has a real laid back vibe that is actually conducive to just relaxing!

From La Cruz we headed back to Paradise Village Marina and the name really says it all...Paradise!  The resort is top notch with several pools, including the infamous crocodile slides, tigers, parrots, beach volleyball, the Vallarta Yacht Club, and much, much more. Buses are easily accessed (across from the Starbucks...sometimes a little bit of home doesn't hurt) that take you into Puerto Vallarta and all that it has to offer.  One night, CJ, Kathy, Richard and I went into PV to have drinks at a bar owned by a friend of CJ's (from WAY back in the day in Vancouver, BC!) called Apache's Martini Bar.  Mary Ann, the owner, was a joy to meet but it was also incredible to witness firsthand the reunion between CJ and Mary Ann.  After drinks at Apache's, we headed out to dinner and had very good Thai food (who'dda thunk it?!) and then headed back to Apache's for a nightcap. It was a fun night on the town and CJ kept us in stitches the whole night...'nuff said about that!

La classe française in Nuevo Vallarta.

When we got to Paradise Village Marina, I decided to organize a French Language Study Group for the cruisers who were heading to French Polynesia.  Since my daily to do list included studying French at least one hour a day, the class afforded me the opportunity to not only practice my French, but also to pay it forward and hopefully rack up some good karma points.  The class was really exciting for me and I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of French with the group.  Luckily, I had by my side a sailor named Francois...I think the name says it all.  Being a native French speaker, Francois was a welcomed reference for me while I led the group through exercises emphasizing introductions, basic conversations, shopping, going to restaurants, and the all important...how to decipher/translate French weather reports.  The group varied from day to day but all in all there were about 6-7 "étudiants" and we met every morning for an hour.  Sadly, we had to end the classes as we were all starting to feel a little overwhelmed with our looming departures.  

Luckily for all involved, hair grows out.

Aside from the fun we've been having, we have also been preparing for the "big jump" across the Pacific Ocean.  I've been busy with sanding and applying Cetol to all of the exterior wood, cleaning and waxing the hull, polishing all of the metal topside, inventorying food and supplies, making shopping lists, provisioning, and then trying to find space for everything we bought, giving Richard haircuts, attending potlucks and cruisers' seminars...the list goes on and on.  It is amazing how much work goes into preparing for a trip this big.  Richard has been busy making sure that all of our paperwork is in order for when we officially leave Mexico, making sure that we have an "agent" in French Polynesia to assist with the checking in process, checking safety equipment, spending gobs of money on spare parts and general supplies for the boat...whew!  I'm getting tired just thinking about all of the work that has been done already!

But the day is getting closer even as you read this post!  We will be checking out with the Port Captain here in Puerto Vallarta on Monday, April 1st (no joke!), then meeting with Immigration in the afternoon.  After that we will be officially cleared out of Mexico with our zarpe in hand (official clearing out documents) and ready to leave for the South Pacific.

Here's a short video of the send off pot luck that we attended the other night at Paradise Village Marina.

Additional pictures...random.

Drinks in La Cruz...Joe & Heidi from s/v Huck, me & Richard, Richard & Fran from s/v  Red.
Heidi really doesn't have three eyes, two noses and two mouths.
Photo courtesy of s/v Huck.

Richard practicing his French with Nancy from s/v Gitane.

Heidi from s/v Huck, with bbq sauce on her hands.

Part of the provisioning.

Trying to find space for all this stuff.

We need bigger plates for going to pot lucks.

Joyce of s/v Chara, Joe of s/v Huck, and Richard at the pot luck.