We hustled out of Banderas bay just before sunrise after a night in Punta de Mita, we wanted to get as much time in Chacala as the schedule would allow. A bonus was that Sky Pond was already there and we would have another chance to hang out. I had been talking up the Sarandeado (BBQ fish) which was our first stop after setting the anchor and taking the dinghy into town. We had a massive “linner” which made it nearly a requirement to walk around town to burn off a few calories. The food coma set in, we managed to play a game of Mexican Train but it was far from a late night.
The following morning Tanya and I went off on a hike to the top of the nearby caldera. Carl gave us good directions and unlike his experience (nearly getting bitten by herd dogs for the goats) we steered clear while still getting some great views. On the way back down we stopped for a lemonada at an Eco resort – we had the place to ourselves. Not in a rush we relaxed on the yoga retreat beach chairs before dragging ourselves to the dinghy.
In the evening we met up with some other cruisers at the Onda microbrewery for beer and a tasty Indian dinner. It was there that we met S/V Orca and S/V Boomerang. It was fun, wonderful evening filled with too much beer (is there such a thing?), great food (nightly dinner specials), and meeting new friends. It was a bummer to say goodnight and stumble our way back to the dinghy beach.
Jo on S/V Boomerang was the person who was bitten by the crocodile while swimming on the jungle tour in Matanchen. She shared the story with all of us – they had arrived first thing in the morning (only ones there) and were swimming with masks and snorkels around parameter of the fenced off swimming hole. She was ahead of Barry when she felt something before realizing it was a crocodile biting her shoulder and face. The crocodile let go of her and she was able to hold its mouth shut before pushing away. With Barry’s help she was able to swim to the snack bar for help. At the time she was bitten she was by the mangroves in an isolated area. It is assumed the crocodile came around by land and was hiding in the tree roots. I’m not sure you can ever say “you were lucky” when bitten by a crocodile but thankfully her injuries were non-life threatening. The panga driver rushed her to a waiting car that drove her to the clinic in San Blas. The driver was the owner of the jungle tour (not the same company as who runs the swimming hole and snack bar). He paid for the clinic, bought them dinner, and offered a free tour next time (they passed). Rumors are this happens occasionally, so cruisers beware. For me, I’ll stick to the middle of the day when there are crowds around and I won’t ever swim by the mangroves (the rope swing is a long distance from the mangroves and you would easily see a crocodile long before it was a danger).
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