Partying With The Posse

 By Tuesday December 5th most of the Panama Posse boats made there way into the marina at Barra de Navidad and we watched with excitement as it filled up. Finally we were not alone. During the day Jeff and I took the water taxi into Barra for our final molcajete lunch at El Manglito. Last time only I got one and Jeff wanted to try one of his own. Like the previous time it did not disappoint and we left sweaty from head to toe but well worth it. 

Late that day the boat Delta Swizzler who was docked directly behind us hosted a happy hour for any and all Panama Posse boats that were around. They both have been through the canal several times so it was nice getting to know them and hearing their experience. Plus we got to meet a lot of the Posse people prior to the kick off party. It was a really nice evening. 

Jeff's Seafood Molcajete

Happy Hour on Delta Swizzler 

The next day knowing the festivities were about to begin and also knowing we were out of food we rented a car and drove into Manzanillo the big port town that is an hour drive away. They have a La Comer which is my favorite market in Mexico plus we wanted to see a little bit of town. We started in the downtown port area which has a small melacon with some open air shops and sculptures of the zodiac. We watched the freighters and tugs while we took the brief walk. Jeff scouted out a place for lunch that was highly rated called Pacifica Del Mar. The staff weren't very nice and at one point seemed to be mocking us. The food wasn't anything special either. Oh well. As Jeff's dad would say, "it's just another meal." Fortunately La Comer made up for it  and we got everything we needed and made our way back to the marina. 

Entering Colima State 

Port of Manzanillo 

Sculpture Downtown Manzanillo 

Whale Bones 

Freighter Coming In 

Feliz Navidad 

Lunch at Pacifica Del Mar 

Jeff's Gemini Sculpture 

My Pieces 

Evening Back at the Marina 

Thursday was the day we had been waiting for since we left Puerta Vallarta, the day of the Panama Posse Kick Off weekend and meeting the infamous Captain Dietmar, our fearless leader. We woke up excited and ready to go. About an hour before the start of the meeting we got a very welcome surprise outside the boat. The sound of the French Baker Boat ringing it's bell and pulling up right in front of our boat. The French Baker is a bakery in town that every morning during high season sends a boat full of baked goods to the marina and sell them right out of their boat. Jeff went running as did all our neighbors. So fun. After eating bread and pastries we made our way to the hotel and to the banquet room for our first Panama Posse meeting. We took turns introducing ourselves and our boats and Dietmar gave us an overview of the weekends events, introduced the dockmaster and got right into information about our next stops along the route. It was a wonderful and informative day. During the meeting at some point Captain Dietmar mentioned going to a rooftop bar for sunset which of course we all wanted to go as well. So about 12 of us took a water taxi into Barra for drinks at the rooftop bar and then onto dinner. It was a fun way to start the events of the weekend. 

Captain Dietmar 

Posse People in Meeting 

Roof Top Bar with Dietmar 

Water Taxi Back to Marina 

The French Baker 

The next day was much like the first- meetings started at 10 and 1 and that evening was our kick off party. It was open bar and appetisers in front of the harbor masters office put on by the marina. By this time we were meeting several people so it was fun to talk more with them and get to know them better. As the festivities started to wind down a large group of us piled back in the water taxi and went to Colmia (a water town opposite Barra) and to Fornio's for dinner. There were about 20 of us at dinner. But my favorite part came after dinner. For some reason we were the first to pay our check and call the water taxi. As I came out of the bathroom Jeff said, "we're paid, water taxi is here lets go." Well Captain Dietmar must have been thinking the same thing and said he too would come. So the three of us hopped in the water taxi and en route Jeff invited him over for some rum. He said ok and we spent the rest of the night talking one and one with Dietmar and enjoying some rum on the Tidings of Joy. 

With Captain Dietmar at Kick Off Party 

Kick Off Party 

With Brant and Ono at Kick Off Party 

Water Taxi to Dinner 

Dinner at Fornio's 

Saturday our meetings didn't start until 1 so it was nice to sleep in and go slow. After the meetings we all dispersed back to our boats to get ready for the boater pot luck. Dietmar had a pig delivered at 7a.m. that had been roasting on a spit all day along with three cases of rum for us to drink. Boaters were asked to either bring a side dish or dessert and their own protein for dinner. My original idea was to bring buckeyes (a traditional christmas cookie I grew up eating) but couldn't find all the ingredients so I made Spanish rice instead. There was so much food and we had the best time sitting and chatting with our new boater friends. I even won the galley goddess award for best dish for my Spanish rice. I was presented a 12 year old bottle of rum in front of the entire group which of course embarrassed the shit out of me. Fortunately Captain Dietmar didn't force me to speak. When it got dark we set off all of our expired flares which was really good practice in addition to be a pretty light show. As the party was winding down and the rum running low Dietmar asked where the after party was and of course Jeff and I volunteered the Tidings of Joy. A handful of us came back to the boat and drank more rum and played Dietmar's latin mix and talked and talked. I don't what time everyone left but Jeff and I continued to have our own party until 3a.m where we danced and sang and celebrated our wonderful life. 

Boater Pot Luck 

My Award 

Light Flares With Kurtis 

Pot Luck with Dietmar & Pause 

Kelly & Beth at Pot Luck 

After Party on Tidings of Joy 

Dietmar Giving me my Award 

Jeff with Que Vendra 

Galley Goddess  Award 

I gotta admit the next morning I wasn't feeling to hotsy totsy (as Jeff's mom would say). Luckily the final meeting wasn't until one. Dietmar wrapped things up and we said our goodbyes to our new friends. Then later that day we went into Barra one final time with our friends Dan and Marla and had a late lunch/early dinner and caught a little of the Seahawks game. It was nice to be able spend a little more time with them because we were pulling out in the morning. 

Barra Bound

Our 12 days on the hook had come to an end and before we knew it we were marina bound again. Much like our time in Puerto Vallarta the marina at Barra de Navidad too served it's purpose. We would use it as our base to fly out of to return to San Diego for Jeff's dad's 89th birthday, Jeff's son's 31st birthday and Thanksgiving. It was November 14th 2023 and our cruise over from Tenacatita was a short uneventful stint. The dolphins were on the bow again saying goodbye as we departed and by 10:00a.m. three men were helping us get tied up in our slip in Barra. Even though I wasn't thrilled to be in a marina again so soon I was going to enjoy being plugged in and blasting a.c. 24/7. The temps and the humidity remain in the 80s making things at anchor very hot. After checking in with the marina office we took the water taxi across the bay to Barra de Navidad (the marina is in Isla Navidad) and walked to the port captains office to check in. It was a hot and miserable walk and we both were soaked from head to toe. Our check in was short and sweet and on our way back to the water taxi Jeff spotted a restaurant on the water called El Manglito where the view overlooked the bay and the timing was right. Jeff ordered fish and after some discussion with the waitress I got the veggie molcajeta- a steaming hot pot of veggies in this amazing green sauce. Not exactly cooling and as the steam rose into my face I felt like I was getting a facial and started sweating all over again. But it was excellent and well worth the extra sweat. The water taxi returned us to the boat and we explored the marina a little checking out the pool and bars and restaurants and picking up our official Panama Posse 2023 flag. 

Cruising into Barra

Stern View of Marina and Resort 

Water Taxi Ride

Streets of Barra de Navidad

Lunch at El Manglito

View from restaurant 

Famous Barra Sign 

Resort

Walk Around Resort

Pool 

Marina

Looking Over to Barra 

Official Panama Posse Flag

The next two days we enjoyed sleeping in and getting everything handled around the boat. The constant a.c. felt amazing and the next morning we would leave for San Diego. 

We spent a week (November 17-24) in San Diego and had a good time celebrating the birthdays and catching up with everyone. 

Thanksgiving

We were both more then happy to get back to the boat, the water and calm and quiet of the marina.  I immediately put up our Christmas tree. We took a nice long walk around the neighbourhood of the property and found our friends on Long Windid here and said hello to them. The next day was football Sunday which means p.j's and very little movement. It was a nice way to enjoy being back on the boat. 

Walking Around Resort Property 

Christmas Tree on Board

Remember the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles? This day felt a lot like that. We wanted to check out the neighbouring town called Malaque and get some much needed produce. So we called the water taxi which took us over to Barra. From there we walked to the bus stop which took us through a couple of neighboring towns before leaving us in Malaque. We strolled around a bit checking out the town before having lunch at Ana's. A woman on the street recommended we go and the food was good. I had chilaquiles and Jeff had fish. We strolled a little more before making our way to Super Hawaii market where we loaded up with lots of fresh produce. From there it was a land taxi to the water taxi to the boat. 

 

Bus Ride to Malaque

Lunch at Ana's in Malaque 

Beach at Malaque

Streets of Malaque

Downtown Malaque

Great White Egret on our Dock

The next day we made a plan to have dinner with our friends Dan & Marla on Long Windid in Barra. They knew a place and we were looking forward to catching up. Then their friends from Voyager came to the marina that day due to a problem with their windless so they too joined us. It was great hanging out with friends new and old and talking shop. Dinner was good too. 

One of the highlights in Barra other then the town itself is cruising down the canals on your dingy so we woke up and that's what we did. Luckily nobody is in the slip next to us so we have lots of room to lower the dingy. I had a much different idea of the canals then what they actually were. First I thought there would be some depth but it was under 6 feet the entire time which made me very nervous. My eyes were glued to the Garmin the entire ride and at one point we found the bottom. It's all sand so no harm done. We went up and down the isles lined with homes then explored the anchorage. It was nice to be on a boat ride again. 

Dingy Ride to Canals 

Sunk Boat

Heading into the Canals

Pangas Galore 

Dingy Ride

Interestingly enough the marina here in Barra has no pump-out facilities nor is their water potable so the next day we threw lines and made our way to a nearby anchorage called Cuestecomate in order to make water and pump the head. It's a short 5.7 mile ride and as we got further and further from the marina the water was clearer and clearer. We made water the entire ride there for two hours while anchored and a lot of the way back before pumping out. I guess we were quite low. The anchorage itself was pretty- green lush mountain lined but somewhat rolly. One other boat was anchored here and since the water maker was running that meant we could have a.c. too. Bonus. We had lunch and enjoyed being away from the dock before making our way back.As we pulled back into our slip another boater was shouting, "Tidings of Joy, Tidings of Joy!" When I spoke to him he told me about a weekly happy hour here at the marina and invited us to come up to the grassy area and join everyone. Once settled we poured yeti's full of wine and made our way up. All the permanent live-a-boards and lots of the workers were all there and having fun. It was nice they included us. After Jeff decided he wanted to go out for dinner so we called the water taxi and this time headed opposite Barra to a little town called Colimilla where we had dinner at Fortino's - a family run restaurant right on the water. Everyone was very nice and welcoming and the food was good. After we finished and mid water taxi ride back to the boat we decided to check out the hotel bar which always looked so pretty. Tonight they had a singer and he was really charming and had a good voice. It was a really fun night. 

Cuestecomate Anchorage 

Happy Hour at Marina 

Dinner at Fortino's

Water Taxi

Fortino's From the Water

Hotel Bar

Enjoying the Singer 

The next night we had a plan with Long Windid to have dinner in Barra at a place called Tom's Treehouse we all wanted to try. It's a restaurant nestled in the trees with a magical feel like you're actually in a treehouse. Dinner and friends were both great. 

Entrance to Tom's Treehouse

With Long Windid - Dan & Marla

Marina & Resort From Barra

You may be wondering why we are sitting in Barra so long and especially after being stuck in Puerta Vallarta for so long. It's because in a few days there is a big Panama Posse Kickoff Rally which we want to be apart of. It's Thursday thru Monday and it's seminars and parties and potlucks and just meeting a lot of other fellow Posse people which will be a lot of fun. We are both looking forward to that a lot.