Friends & Family: Here, There, and In Our Hearts

One of the hardest parts about being an Expat is missing friends and family. So we are grateful for Zoom and the opportunity to see so many of you so often. Although we’ve been in Mexico nearly 10 years already—where have the years gone?!—We have yet to create the same kind of close-knit community we had back home. 

Don’t get us wrong, we love Mexico, we have met some amazing people here, and we do have friends and acquaintances here… but there is a transient nature to both the sailing community and the Puerto Vallarta community that can make it hard to form deeper relationships. 

Wonderful to catch up with long-time sailing friends Suzette & Paul on s/v Altair, on their way to Panama.

Finding Community

The vast majority of sailors pass through Bandaras Bay and don’t stay. And the ones who do stay typically stay in Marina La Cruz, about an hour bus ride north of Puerto Vallarta. You may recall that we spent four or five months living in La Cruz when we first arrived in Banderas Bay. It’s where all the cruisers go to hang out. We had heard about La Cruz for years before we ever got here…unfortunately, it was just not our jam. It’s a wonderful place to visit, and we do have good friends there, but for us, it’s too sleepy and dusty to live there. As Kirk says, “We did not come to Mexico to hang out with Expats and listen to bad cover bands, playing Dust in the Wind.” LOL. 

We chose Marina Vallarta for its proximity to town and all the vibrant cultural things to do in PV. However, there are very few cruisers in Marina Vallarta, it is primarily a working marina with sunset tour boats, fishing/snorkel/whale watching boats, and many mega yachts. This means the majority of people on and around our docs are Mexican workers, which we love. It allows us to practice our Spanish daily with the gate guards and the boat washers.

For us, going to beach yoga (this day in January at 0800 was a bit chilly!) or getting downtown for a parade or festival is only a 20-minute, 25¢ (USD) bus ride away. Ironically, many of our PV friends who live downtown think we live in the boonies at the Marina. They only come to this side of town to go to the airport or Home Depot. We are literally a 15-minute walk to the airport.

We have an eclectic mix of friends in Vallarta, some locals (“Pata Saladas” or “Salt Feet” as the locals are called here) and some from around the globe (“Extranjeros” or Foreigners). Many of our Vallarta friends are snowbirds, returning to the US, Canada, or elsewhere in Mexico, for the hot summer months—and honestly, we may do the same at some point. Even our beach yoga community gets much smaller in the off-season. Vallarta gets quite warm and humid in the summer, so moving inland and/or to a higher elevation might make for a more comfortable summer. Although we love being by the ocean and being able to take care of Due West in the event of a hurricane, if we did decide to go inland some year, it would likely not be too far away. 

It means a lot to us when friends and family make an effort to visit us when they visit Vallarta. Whether you come specifically to see us, are here with your own friends/family, and make time for a visit with us, or you are passing through on a cruise ship for the day, we love and appreciate all of you, and love to show you around town! 

Friends visit PV

When Heidi was in Arizona visiting her parents a few months ago, she met a nice woman named Joan on the shuttle bus from the PHX airport. Turns out Joan and her partner Dean (below left) were going to be stopping in Vallarta on a cruise ship a few short weeks later… and we had a fun time meeting up with them for lunch when they were here. Our friends Janis & Michael from the Bay Area (below center) came to PV while Heidi was away, so Kirk saw them for beach yoga and breakfast. And Seattle Yacht Broker friend Mark came to visit Vallarta with his family (below right) for a few days, and we enjoyed a lovely lunch with them. 

Then Heidi‘s best friend from high school, Nancy, came to PV for a few days with some of her friends. It was wonderful to see Nancy and catch up…she came to beach yoga with us one morning, and had never seen Due West before, so it was also fun to have her aboard.

We also met up with Abigail and her mom Lisa (friends of our friend Jonna, below left), for dinner at our favorite Mexican antijitos hole-in-the-wall restaurant El Campanario. And we had a quick visit with our friends Pamela & Tracy and their grown daughters, Brittany and Alyssa (below right). Pamela and Heidi have been friends since college, and Tracy works for Alaska Airlines, so they were nice enough to mule a bunch of things down for us that we can’t easily get in Mexico. (And now with new tariffs, it is getting even harder to get some things here.) Heidi was heading off to co-host her women’s wellness retreat the next day, so we did not get as much time with them as we would have liked.

On Cinco de Mayo (which is NOT a holiday in Mexico!), we met up with our sister-in-law Ann’s brother Joe and his wife Fay, Fay’s sister Della, and her husband Greg. We have known Joe and Fay for many years, and it was fun to see them again and meet their family.  

Greg, Joe, Kirk, Heidi, Fay, Della at Brandos in Marina Vallarta (famous for their mango margaritas!)

Crossing Wakes with Sailors

Sailing friend Josie (below left) came through PV on her way to Barra de Navidad to meet up with her husband, Christian, and son Taj on their boat. Her bus to Barra wasn’t till the next day, so Josie stayed aboard Due West with us, and it was super fun to catch up with her. We met Josie & Christian and their three kids during our first year cruising Mexico, in La Paz—before they did the Pacific puddle jump to New Zealand. (Josie is a pediatric nurse, and she was able to work there for a while.) They are now back in Mexico, with a different boat, and we have crossed wakes with them several times in the last few years.

Sailing friend, Kim (above right), whom we first met with her family on s/v Eleven 11 in Barra de Navidad, during the pandemic years, is a flight attendant and had a Vallarta layover trip. So we enjoyed a nice catch-up with Kim over lunch. 

It was also really special to catch up with our old sailing friends, Suzette & Paul, on s/v Altair while they were in Banderas Bay— preparing to head off on their second circumnavigation. Many years ago, back in Seattle, we used to race against them when we all crewed on OPBs (other people’s boats). We followed them vicariously via email on their first circumnavigation 20+ years ago, while we were still hard at work— oh wait, we still are! While they were here in Banderas Bay, we got together with them a few times… and now they have already made it to Panama and have just transited the  Panama Canal.

Family and Friends Gone Too Soon

As we get older, more friends and family inevitably pass on… but some younger ones (like Tosh!) have left us way too soon. And in the past six months, we’ve lost WAY too many friends and family. RIP, the world was a better place for all of you being in it…

RIP Zane C. Smith

With a heart full of love and appreciation, Kirk’s “brother from another mother”, Zane C. Smith, passed on into the great beyond on January 31. Zane and Kirk met as freshmen at the University of Washington School of Architecture in 1965 and always remained good friends. An architect, musician, artist, pilot, airplane- and auto-enthusiast, Zane had a ‘zany’ sense of humor and outlook that was all his own, and Kirk so much appreciated him for it. 

Whenever Kirk hears about the passing of someone who had such a vast amount of information and talent, he thinks of all that information lost…This is particularly true in Zane’s case. 

“One in a million he was, and is. Zane, my wonderful friend, thank you for being you and my lifelong friend.”
— Capt. Kirk

This photo was taken in August 2016 at Paine Field in Everett. We had returned to Seattle for Braden & Molly’s wedding, and Kirk carved out a day to spend with Zane. Fun day of airplanes, airplanes, and more airplanes, love and laughs. Out of all of Kirk’s friends, Zane is the only one who shared his interests in cars, airplanes, art, architecture, construction, music, history, and life’s perspectives. Those were core values and interests they both had in common, and they each learned from each other every time they talked. In the last few years, they would spend hours on the phone talking. Truly a wonderful friend and brother.

RIP Kris Meaney

What a sad shock to lose Kris Meaney, the son of our dear friends, Judy & Paul. We got to know Kris over the years we’ve been in Mexico, as he would come visit his parents in PV. Kris was an amazing stone balancer, chef, photographer, and all-around great spirit. RIP, you are very missed, Kris. You left us way too soon. Thanks for all the joy you brought to this world.

RIP Cousin Kirk

We also lost Heidi‘s cousin Kirk Bergman, who had fought cancer for several years. Kirk had such a huge heart and a great sense of humor (which he may have picked up from his Uncle Verne!?! Kirk always put a smile on everyone’s face…and is very missed by friends and family.

RIP Dr. Willa R. Huser

On May 12, we lost the Grand Dame of the Huser family, when Heidi’s step-mom of 53 years, Willa, died from Alzheimer’s. We are sorry that she’s no longer here, but her quality of life had declined so much in the past few months that we’re also relieved that she’s no longer in any pain or suffering. Willa was a feminist before her time, and lived a very full life, including visiting Havana, Cuba in the early 1950s, as a debutant dressed to the nines, walking the Havana malecon with her father, a Cadillac dealer who was delivering those beautiful historic cars—some of which may still be in operation today! She studied abroad at the University of Madrid in the mid-1950s (rare for a woman at that time), and she taught school in NYC, where she lived across the street from Central Park. A few years later, she received her Doctorate in Family Psychology from the University of Utah, one of the first women to do so in the early 1970s. 

She met Heidi’s Dad, Verne, in 1971 on a whitewater rafting trip where he was the guide, and soon after, Heidi and Paul gained another brother, Willa’s son David. Heidi remembers Willa buying her first pair of boots (white patent leather go-go boots in the early 70s)—which she loved wearing! Willa also took all the kids camping when their Dad was out of town on business. Again, not something most women did in the early 70s. Her sense of adventure and belief that women could do anything they wanted to left a big impression on Heidi. Willa’s animals—horses, dogs, and cats—meant the world to her. And she likely loved her animals more than she loved most people.

When they lived in the Seattle area, Willa rode her horse on the Pine Lake Plateau (way before it was developed like it is today), and when they lived in Albuquerque, she rode in the Bosque of the Rio Grande, and up into the surrounding Mountains, well into her 70s. She never forgot the Spanish she learned in Madrid, and would use it frequently in New Mexico, and later with her caregivers. She was also an accomplished violinist/fiddler, pianist, and singer, and enjoyed music right up to the end. Even when she couldn’t remember who or where she was, she could still sing her favorite old tunes when David and his Ukalalee band would play at her memory care facility. And she always loved her chocolate milkshakes!! 

An Extended Family Visit

We’re grateful for our recent visit to Salt Lake City to be with David & Sharon, and Paul after Willa’s passing. Sadly, we also had to put down her old cat Panini, who took a turn for the worse just two weeks after Willa died. The weather was chilly when we first arrived (and we participated in a 5K fundraiser for the 41st Annual Salt Lake City Law Day with sprinkles), but thankfully, the sun returned for our family hike to Dad’s bench at Red Butte Gardens. Heidi’s friend Nancy also joined us for that. Later, we had a fun family gathering with our SLC cousins, Soren & Laurie, and Per & Inaki, but missed seeing their parents, Nan & Erik, who are on a sabbatical in Berlin. We also had fun helping David assemble deck furniture!

Delicious Vietnamese food at Indochine: Kirk, Soren, Heidi, Inaki, Per, and David

From SLC, we headed south to Arizona to visit Heidi’s parents, Jean & Pete, in their new assisted living home. It was wonderful to see them thriving in their new space (as you can see in their Cinco de Mayo photo)! Pete even took a break from his daily MSNBC News to watch the 007 movie Goldfinger with Kirk, while Heidi and Jean enjoyed the “Running of the Roses” festivities and worked on a challenging jigsaw puzzle of kittens! And we helped Jean organize the storage unit for easier access to the things they need most often. Jean & Pete are both more active in their new space, which is great!

We are so grateful to our dear Seattle/Puerto Vallarta sailing friends, Judy & Paul (above left), who drove down from the Phoenix area to visit us for lunch one day. We miss the fun times we used to have when they lived in Vallarta. And other long-time Seattle sailing friends, Sandra & Scott (above right), also met us in Tucson for lunch and transportation. Thanks for the ride and visit, such fun to see you guys and catch up! They had lived in Belize, and we figured we hadn’t seen each other in 13 years—but with good friends, it seemed like yesterday! Judy & Paul and Scott & Sandra were all in the Puget Sound Sailing Club with us. Those were the days!

Visiting Galen & Ann

Kirk had a short but sweet visit with his brother Galen, sister-in-law Ann, nephew Mike, and great-nephews Mav and Ky (below, with a lacrosse friend of theirs on the right) in Florida in late April. 

Galen’s ALS is progressing more rapidly now (although he’s lost a lot of ability, fortunately, he does not have any pain), and he’s now in a motorized wheelchair full-time. Luckily, Ann has a wheelchair accessible van, so Galen can still get out and about fairly often. They shared some fun meals and brews with Ann & Galen’s long-time friends. Kirk also got to see Mav and Ky practicing lacrosse, with their dad Mike as coach.

Galen and Kirk went to a car show one day with another friend who’s “checked out” to drive the van. Kirk’s favorite part of the visit was hanging out with Galen in the driveway, under the shade of a big tree, talking about life and times and sharing brotherly love. Galen frequently passes the time in that spot, and people walking their dogs or driving by stop to say hello. 

Kirk had a great time helping Ann (along with Galen‘s input) to rearrange their lanai furniture (the dining table used to be where the coffee table and chairs are now), making it much easier (and safer!) for Galen to get his motorized wheelchair to the outdoor dining table without potentially falling into the pool. It was a lovely afternoon collaborating with family. 

Big thanks to Ann for all the travel arrangements. Heidi was bummed not to have gone along, she and Ann love hanging out…. But we had just moved into our summer house-sitting gig and cat-sitting Toopy (the upstairs cat), and Tikka (the downstairs cat)—and couldn’t find a cat sitter on short notice.

Camp Due West

Update: For those of you who remember our Camp Due West in the early 2000s, when our nieces and nephew would come to Seattle to sail and kayak with us for a few weeks… here’s what they’re up to now.

Camp Due West circa 2006: Tate, Noelle, SJ, Anni

Annika (below left) just graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Fordham University in NYC. She earned a few awards for her oral advocacy and for winning her moot court. Anni will stay in NYC, where she’ll be practicing family law at the firm where she interned last summer. Congratulations Anni! Noelle (below center-left) graduated from the University of Montana a few years ago with a double major in dance choreography and journalism. She is also an Indie singer/songwriter and has just released her second album, A Year As A Cloud. She and her band the pond are touring the US this autumn, so maybe you can catch a gig near you.

Sarah-Jane (SJ, above center-right) has a business marketing degree from the University of Wyoming and recently moved to Denver. She loves her job in Interior Design and Furniture Sales, and hanging out with friends, exploring the Denver area. And Tate (above right), has been using his degree in Marine Biology (from OSU) to study sea urchins on the Oregon coast. He’s also a boater (wahoo—Camp Due West paid off!), surfer, and is teaching Boater Safety courses in Olympia, WA this summer.l Tate is contemplating grad school soon. You “kids” ROCK! We’re super proud of all of you and what amazing, talented young adults you’ve become. And we’re looking forward to the adult version of Camp Due West soon! LOL…

Trying to Reason with the Hurricane Season

Hurricane Season has begun with a bang, and Tropical Storm Alvin is passing by Puerto Vallarta this weekend with some rain (and thankfully not much wind). Hurricane Season in the Eastern Pacific (Mexico) technically runs from May 15 to November 30. But it is highly unusual to get a Tropical Storm this close, this early. And there is already another depression (orange blob on map) with a 40-60% chance of formation in the next 7 days. Every day during hurricane season, the first thing we do when we wake up (and the last thing we do before bed) is check this website: EEBMike.com

In past years, Vallarta would rarely see a Tropical Storm or Hurricane until August or September. But thanks to climate change (YES, it’s really a THING!), storms are happening earlier and later in the season, and are also getting more intense. You may recall Hurricane Otis, which wiped out Acapulco in 2023. It started as a Tropical Storm and grew to a Category 5 Hurricane in just 12 hours, virtually unheard of.

Eastern Pacific Tropical Storms and Hurricanes form off the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Ta-juan-ta-peck) at the isthmus, or narrow portion of southern Mexico, where the wind blows from the Gulf of MEXICO to the Eastern Pacific. Typically, early in the season (May-July), they head due west towards Hawaii. (Or as weather forcasters say “harmlessy out to sea”.) Sometimes they stack up like a bunch of freight trains marching across the Pacific. (THIS is why there are weather windows for sailing, and times of the year when you just don’t go certain places. For example, crossing from Mexico to the South Pacific, or from Mexico to Panama during hurricane season, is a BAD idea.)

Then, later in the season, August-November, storms typically start to head north towards Baja California. They will parallel the west coast of Mexico all the way up to the Sea of Cortez. And this is when PV might see some hurricane action. However, because Puerto Vallarta is protected inside of Banderas Bay (PV is 35 miles from the open ocean), and by the Sierra Madres mountains to the south along Cabo Corrientes, and because tropical depressions/hurricanes spin counterclockwise (westward), it’s very unusual for PV to get a direct hit from a hurricane. It would have to make an eastward turn, which isn’t impossible, but takes other weather factors like a low-pressure breakdown to the east, which could suck a tropical depression eastward.

All that to say, we’re once again in Hurricane prep-mode, getting Due West safe and secure for the next 6 months. And we plan to be cruising again next winter season.

Tikka & Toopy

Meanwhile, we love our summer housesitting gig at Toopys’ house (thanks, Brian & Mona!), and we’re hoping the bigger living space will encourage Tikka to get more exercise. She likes playing with little pom-pom balls (thank you, Aunt Leith!), and in the house we can throw them much further for her to chase, so that should help. However, unlike aboard, Due West—where the furniture is all built-in—at the house, her toys go missing under the couch, chairs, and hutches, so we get nearly as much exercise retrieving them as she does chasing them. Tikka is not a retriever like Tosh was!

Tikka, lounging on the bed, while Toopy is lounging under the hammock on the upstairs roof deck.

It remains to be seen if she and Toopy will become friendly with each other this summer, or if they will remain the upstairs/downstairs cats. Meanwhile, we’re still considering a kitten for Tikka to play with. 

Let us know if you plan to visit PV anytime soon. We’d love to see you and show you around. Riding the local buses is always fun, colorful, and sometimes you even get a great busker!