Have you ever heard of Zihuatenejo? If you saw the movie Shawshank Redemption, you may remember it as the idyllic beach that Andy Dufresne painstakingly chiselled his way out of prison and crawled through sewage for. Yep. That’s the one.

El Gato spent 5 weeks in Zihuatenejo this winter for Sailfest, a gathering for cruisers, expats and locals volunteering their time and boats to raise $$ “por los ninos”, or for the children. The event itself is officially 7 days, but there are many events and paid cruises that begin a couple of weeks prior to, and following, the official Sailfest.

This was El Gato’s first  time to participate, and as much fun as we had with other cruiser friends and new friends we met, it is a LOT of work! (For me, just keeping the boat clean and controlling my messy explosions is hard enough. I am a self-admitted slob, and as long as its my stuff, it’s all good.)

About 40 boats were anchored out off Playa Principal, in front of  the Sailfest headquarters (which is really just a table  and chairs set up under The Meeting Tree.) Every day there are several volunteers signing people up to go on  sailing cruises, usually sunset cruises, sometimes with local musicians playing and singing. We ended up raising over $115,000 usd for new schools, classrooms, equipment and meals for the school kids. Not too shabby!

We had plenty of fun time in Zihua, with old and new friends. Stephanie on Wainui arranged a Girls Sip and Swim at La Escollera, with an infinity pool.

One of the highlights for us was the boat parade, when all the participating sailboats lined up and made their way to Ixtapa, in front of the beach and including a salute to the Port Captain. El Gato had a fun fun crew, and, along with about 6 other boats, we continued on to Isla Ixtapa for swimming, kayaking and cocktails on the beach.

 

Another highlight was a sunset music cruise. Three catamarans (El Gato, Catitude and Muskota) tied up together and Jose Luis, an awesome guitarist, played for about 40 adoring fans.

Jeff and I also reunited with some friends we made during the summer in Patzcuaro.

At the end of the official Sailfest, All the boaters were invited to Richard and Gloria’s fantastic beachfront resort for a full day of food, music, swimming and dancing.

We are now headed back to the beautiful Sea of Cortez for several months. Stay tuned for updates!

Hasta Luego!