After spending the New Year at Marina Puerto Escondido we cruised south and stopped briefly in La Paz for provisions and fuel. Then it was on to the mainland!
We crossed over to the mainland from Bahia los Muertos to Mazatlan. Our Hydrovane did a great job driving the boat on the reach across in a consistent 15 - 20 knots despite a fairly rolly short period swell.
Mazatlan was a lot of fun. Such a change to be in the big city after a few months in rural Mexico! This picture is from the old part of town so no high-rises. We found it the most interesting part of the city for walking around and exploring.
Heading south from Mazatlan we stopped at Isla Isabel, a national park full of blue footed boobies and frigate birds.
South of Mazatlan the climate changes quickly to more tropical conditions. Here’s the anchorage at Bahia Chacala, taken from our hike to an old volcanic crater just south of the beach.
This part of the coast has been full of mama humback whales with their babies. Here are a couple cruising through the anchorage at Chacala.
Here’s a sight we hadn’t seen more than two or three times since leaving San Diego - clouds! Still no significant rain to speak of, but with clouds like these it’s raining somewhere.
At Bahia Tenacatita we took a dinghy ride through some mangroves, it was quite a great birdwatching adventure.
We made it as far south as Barra de Navidad, where last week was “Cruise-In Week” which is a fundraiser for the local schools and library. There were evening sails, a regatta, and finally a fiesta to close out the week on Sunday night. Between all the events I think they raised more than $30,000 USD, quite a haul for the local kids.
Now we’re back in Banderas Bay anchored off Punta de Mita. We have family coming in for the next couple weeks and we’ll cruise around this area with them before we head back north to the Sea of Cortez for the summer. It'll be great to see family, but we certainly haven't been alone over the past months. The cruising community down here is very welcoming and it's easy to make freinds who we meet at different anchorages and marinas along the way. Lots of folks from Canada as well as the western US, along with a European or two every once in a while.
We’ve decided to keep Quincy in Marina Puerto Escondido for the summer, based on the latitude north of the hurricane zone, the vibes of the place, airport access, highway access, and marina space. Hopefully doing some boat work there won’t be too much of a challenge, as there aren’t a whole lot of parts and service options nearby. There is a travel lift and yard, and a pretty big cruiser community along with some pretty fancy power boats and the maintenance crews that go with them. I’ll drive down in late summer with tools and parts for the work list that’s been building during our trip.
More to follow as we move back north!
We crossed over to the mainland from Bahia los Muertos to Mazatlan. Our Hydrovane did a great job driving the boat on the reach across in a consistent 15 - 20 knots despite a fairly rolly short period swell.
Mazatlan was a lot of fun. Such a change to be in the big city after a few months in rural Mexico! This picture is from the old part of town so no high-rises. We found it the most interesting part of the city for walking around and exploring.
Heading south from Mazatlan we stopped at Isla Isabel, a national park full of blue footed boobies and frigate birds.
South of Mazatlan the climate changes quickly to more tropical conditions. Here’s the anchorage at Bahia Chacala, taken from our hike to an old volcanic crater just south of the beach.
This part of the coast has been full of mama humback whales with their babies. Here are a couple cruising through the anchorage at Chacala.
Here’s a sight we hadn’t seen more than two or three times since leaving San Diego - clouds! Still no significant rain to speak of, but with clouds like these it’s raining somewhere.
At Bahia Tenacatita we took a dinghy ride through some mangroves, it was quite a great birdwatching adventure.
We made it as far south as Barra de Navidad, where last week was “Cruise-In Week” which is a fundraiser for the local schools and library. There were evening sails, a regatta, and finally a fiesta to close out the week on Sunday night. Between all the events I think they raised more than $30,000 USD, quite a haul for the local kids.
Now we’re back in Banderas Bay anchored off Punta de Mita. We have family coming in for the next couple weeks and we’ll cruise around this area with them before we head back north to the Sea of Cortez for the summer. It'll be great to see family, but we certainly haven't been alone over the past months. The cruising community down here is very welcoming and it's easy to make freinds who we meet at different anchorages and marinas along the way. Lots of folks from Canada as well as the western US, along with a European or two every once in a while.
We’ve decided to keep Quincy in Marina Puerto Escondido for the summer, based on the latitude north of the hurricane zone, the vibes of the place, airport access, highway access, and marina space. Hopefully doing some boat work there won’t be too much of a challenge, as there aren’t a whole lot of parts and service options nearby. There is a travel lift and yard, and a pretty big cruiser community along with some pretty fancy power boats and the maintenance crews that go with them. I’ll drive down in late summer with tools and parts for the work list that’s been building during our trip.
More to follow as we move back north!
