Manzanillo -- A Most Romantic Spot

Thursday, February 5th – We leave Ipala for the last stretch to Manzanillo. Jazzed by his big catch of yesterday and undeterred by its poor taste, The Fisherman Captain wants more!

We see local fishing boats out on the water. One perky, little blue one catches The First Mate’s eye. It reminds her of a fishing boat’s version of the engine in the children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could”. I wish I can, I wish I can --- catch the biggest fish!

When it turns toward us, the outspread arms that hold the fishing net off the boat are filled with seabirds along for a free ride. Mother Nature did not make them dummies. They are resting up in hopes of gallant flying, diving and eating exploits when the fish are hauled in later.

Out goes the line with The Captain’s specially designed weight system attached. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, he jumps to the zinging reel five times. Each time the drag on the reel is profound. It feels like the hook is stuck to the ocean floor. It’s a tug-a-war with no clear winner until the hook breaks free. Five times, an empty hook is all the reward he gets for his effort. What is grabbing this hook? It comes up bent after one snagging. Another time the whole back of the lure is scraped clean of paint. Whatever is biting that hook is big and has even bigger teeth! The First Mate suggests that maybe whatever is out there is something we do not want on this boat. The Captain ignores her and keeps on fishing. He suggests that maybe one of the many sea turtles we see swimming around Avante is getting snagged on the hook. I do not think so, and tell him that even if it is a turtle, we do not want that on the boat either. I know nothing about turtle anatomy or dissection and even less about turtle soup. Plus, I do believe sea turtles are on the endangered list so definitely taboo aboard Avante. The reel zings off a sixth time. It appears that we have a manageable fish on the hook. The Captain is disappointed because he can tell it is not as big as yesterday’s. He reels it in, gaffs it and brings it aboard. It looks similar to yesterday’s Bigeye Tuna, just a bit smaller in size and eye. Though we are doubtful as to the taste of this fish, it is soon dispatched and put in the refrigerator waiting filleting the next day in Manzanillo. With that catch, The First Mate declares the cold storagefull and ends fishing for the rest of the day. Instead she gives The Captain her fish book and tells him to review the chapter on processing one’s catch suggesting pointedly that his fillet technique could us a little fine-tuning.

We spend a very quiet night at sea. On the early morning watch, The Captain takes pictures of a spectacular sunrise over the mountains as we approach Manzanillo.

Nearing Bahia de Manzanillo, The Captain awakens The First Mate to come up and view the landscape. We are entranced by what we see. The bay is encircled by white buildings rising up the mountainside strikingly bold against the dark foliage.
Las Hadas Hotel (where the movie “10” was filmed) is a fairy tale complex complete with a magical turret. We anchor in the bay rather than seeking a spot in the marina. The view is just too perfect from the distance afforded by being at anchor. What we see reminds us of the Mediterranean, especially the hillside villages of the Amalfi Coast.
Later that evening as the lights come on around us, the magic of the bay is increased ten-fold. It is truly a romantic setting, and we enjoy dinner sitting on deck with our flickering electric candles adding to the ambience.
Saturday, February 7th -We dingy into the marina walk up to the hotel and get a taxi to Sorianas, another mega-supermercado. It proves to be a very good supermercado. They have everything we need except, as expected, Gin and good white wine. We know, however, that we will be using this store for re-stocking when we are back in Manzanillo next fall. In fact, Bill is so pleased with the store that he obtains one of those discount cards which US supermarkets all give to their customers. We are now officially a member of Sorianas elite clientele base!
That evening, being our 39th Wedding Anniversary, The First Mate is relieved of galley duties and taken out to dinner. The idea was a good one, but the dinner itself proves to be marginal and surprisingly expensive. Since The First Mate likes planning and cooking up a good meal and The Captain enjoys eating her good meals, neither of us enjoys dining in a poor restaurant just for the sake of eating out. We return to Avante anchored in the beauty and magic of the harbor and know we should have dined aboard amidst our own twinkling candles viewing the fairy-kingdom lights in the harbor around us. The beauty of this harbor for us ranks right up there with another favorite spot we have found in our travels on Avante -- a summer time slip right below The Empress Hotel in Victoria Harbor, Canada.

Avante below The Empress