We left Manzanillo Bay at 3:30 AM on 12/6/10 hoping to get to Maruata to anchor before dark. The winds were light so we motored much of the way. As we passed Punta San Telmo, the wind picked up.
It was a gorgeous sunset and looking off the stern I saw a whale breach. I mentioned it to Tom and when he looked back a second, much larger whale performed the same maneuver. As we approached Maruta we looked in to the little bay. It was rocky, it didn’t look all that protected the sun was setting and the wind was favorable. Our intuition said to keep going so we sailed overnight.
We arrived in Isla Grande at about 12:30 pm the next day. We anchored on the north side of the island, which is just off the coast of the terribly touristy city of Ixtapa. Tour boats bring tourist en mass to go snorkeling and hang out at the expensive restaurants and palapas on the beach.
We dropped anchor on west side of the cove near the rocks. Tom jumped overboard to check for “burners” (jellyfish) and reported back that it was clear. I donned my mask and fins and joined him. Incredible. Visibility was excellent and we saw a nice variety of fish and coral so we snorkel the next morning as well.
We were tempted to stay a second night, but anxious to get to Z-town (Zihuatenejo). We’d heard so many great things about it. We were surprised at how few cruisers we were running into on our way down the Mexican Riviera. We’d expected to find many more in Manzanillo, and the other anchorages. We’d heard there was a large cruising community with a VHF Cruisers Net and a great local bar where they hang out in Z-town.
If we’d known what we’d find, we’d have stayed that extra night in Isla Grande.