Loretofest in Puerto Escondito

I wasn't sure I wanted to go to Loretofest, it was a fundraiser for Loreto schools, but I thought it would be a mass of people and not much fun. Not nearly as many people as I thought, and it was great fun. Bands, food, a few seminars and just generally meeting up with friends you have made throughout the season.

One night they had a band consisting of local kids that sang and played great oldie songs in English, and some in Spanish, it was fun and they were good.

Agua Verde Adventures

We took a hike at Aqua Verde over the hill and then back along the beach.  Really beautiful rock formations.

 

I'm on the left a little miffed because I'm not so sure we can get back this way . . .

 

Agua Verde is a picturesque spot that Marcus has been looking forward to the entire trip. It was beautiful as always, however the water was colder than I remember it and we didn't feel up to snorkeling, ah well. We were lucky enough to cross paths with Pam and Eric on Pie de Mar again, and we went for a long hike. Marcus and Eric drug us along the shore on the return trip and I was sure we were going to get caught at high tide and not be able to get back to the boat. Should just trust Marcus, he and Eric were right, we made it back to the beach with no problems.

The village seems improved over last time. Still dirt streets, but it seemed the individual houses and lots were better marked and the dirt was raked. We also saw evidence of habitat for humanity in the numerous cinder block homes. Only one of the 3 tiendas had evidence of refrigeration, ice kept the few drinks available cold at the others.

There are still cows wandering around, a couple of piglets and a heard of dairy goats came through, apparently tended only by a dog. We purchased some goat cheese and it was EXCELLENT. Sure wish I could get that at home!

Last night at Agua Verde there were some signifigant swells coming through the anchorage, so we considered moving to a corner of the anchorage that would have additional protection. We have a manual windlass instead of electric so it is a bit of work to get the anchor up and re-anchor. Deciding the swell would subside shortly, we elected to stay put. What a mistake!! Rolling and pitching all night long, we were so tired the next morning! Did I mention the first thing on the list to bring back to the boat next season is an electric windless?

 

Everisto

San Gabriel to Everisto

Winds out of the Southwest were no fun a this anchorage! High winds, 22-28 knots, which led to high wind waves made for an uncomfortable night. Early the next morning the boat was continuing to pitch or hobbyhorse, with the bow rising up and crashing down into the waves, this while still at anchor. As Marcus came up into the cockpit, he realized we had drug anchor and were MUCH closer to shore than we had been, much closer than was safe. At the same time as he was turning on the depth sounder a neighboring boat sped over in his dinghy to see if we were ok. Marcus told him we were preparing to leave and everything went into warp speed as the pitching of the boat led to a slight bounce off of the bottom, then a bigger bounce, yikes!! Time to go, started the engine, and I motored slowly forward, trying to keep us off the bottom, while Marcus quickly pulled up the anchor. I can tell you that was a rude awakening!!

We were a little disquieted as this was the first time we had drug anchor; we are pretty careful about anchoring. The anchor is designed to dig in deeper as the boat is pushed back by the wind. Marcus found some scarring on the anchor chain and surmised that with the wind shifting and the boat bouncing the anchor drug a little then a rock caused the anchor to skip over the sand and lose it's hold.

Since we were already up and on our way, we headed North towards Isla San Francisco (NOT in California) taking advantage of the wind that was going our way. We had a nice sail and as the wind weakened we put up our spinnaker for the first time. The spinnaker is a big pretty balloon like sail made out of very light material to be used in light winds. Ours is for a smaller boat than ours, but still worked pretty well, coasting along at 3 knots in 5-7 knots of wind.

When we came close to Isla San Franciso it was still early in the day, so we headed on to San Everisto where we knew we would be protected form pretty much all points of wind. We needed a good night's sleep!

Salt mining?

Here are the upscale homes!

Following the tracks led to the donkeys

Our boat anchored at Everisto, lovely protected bay

 Everisto school

Things that go bump in the morning . . .

After a quick shopping trip to stock up on veggies, we took the long slow ride back out of La Paz. Again attempting to experience a few different anchorages, we chose to anchor at San Gabriel. A windstorm called a coromuel kicked up during the night which made for a sleep deprived night. Next morning we awoke groggy and were very surprised to find we had drug anchor early that morning. Marcus was checking the depthsounder and said we were ok as we were in 15 feet of water. Within moments I felt a little “bump” and as I was asking if that was us hitting the bottom, we both felt a stronger bump. Oh yes we were no longer in 15 feet of water and with the hobbyhorse effect the waves had on the boat, we were bouncing on the bottom.

I'm pretty sure we set a record in firing up the boat and pulling up the anchor. With that narrow escape, we headed North on a nice breeze.

Meeting up with Delta friends

Bonanza to La Paz

Long slow enterance to LaPaz made easy with a cruisers guidebook that has waypoints every step of the way, so the dogleg path is well marked, but backup is the waypoints so you don't accidently miss one!

Stopped at the fuel dock, and made radio contact with friends on Gone Nuts, whom we met in San Diego seems like an age ago. We were looking for Mark and Lea on Catalpa who left a month after we did from our home port of Isleton. Even though they knew we were headed their way, it was still a great surprise for them and we celebrated with dinner and Margaritas. It is really hard to explain how cool it was to see them again, I guess it has something to do with the actual leaving on a trip. Planning is one thing, but the actual departure is a powerful event.

Bonanza Beach

Bonanza Beach was lovely, turquoise water, sandy beach. We were visited by a number of bees. Not sure what they wanted, but it was disconcerting to realize a bee was crawling around on your toe and just wait for it to get bored and fly off, yuck!!

Took a nice hike to look at the other side of the island, not much of a trail, but got us off the boat and walking!

We did have a crash bang evening from a strong southerly, not much sleep. Kind of wished we had gone a little further to Balandra or Caleta Lobos where we would have been more protected, but we are planing to try some new anchorages.

Crossing the Sea and a special delivery

Pretty uneventful trip across the sea. We started out by leaving the marina the night before and anchoring out at Deer Island, big mistake, uncomfortable rolly anchorage, but the worst was the band music that lasted until about 4 in the morning. UG, not a good start for an overnight passage.

Up bright and early and headed out, our friends on Moontide, Bill and Judy, were making the crossing at the same time as us. Bill bragged that Judy had just made some cranberry apple cobbler and shortly thereafter Moontide, a 47ft catamaran pulled alongside us and Judy tossed a care package over to us. YUMMY! Pretty quickly Moontide pulled ahead of us and as we headed more Northerly, we lost contact with them. Will probably see them in Escondido up the line.

Moontide gaining on us

Judy coming up close and person for a delivery of cobbler!

Side trip to Copala

Huge church at San Blas It was interesting to see the different materials used, I'm guessing the church has been rebuilt several times

Down the path

Into the gully, and up the other side

And you are back on the main street

Roberto showing off a room in his Posada.

Copola and Concordia

Trying to incorporate more inland travel, we took a city bus to the bigger bus terminal where we caught a bus to Concordia. It was reported that this was a great city with artisans and an area that was particularly known for its pottery. There are tours you can take and guides you can hire, but intrepid adventurers we are, we struck out on our own.

 

We arrived in Concordia and headed to the city center, the town square. There is a lovely church there, and a very nice very traditional Mexican town, but did not see any artisans or pottery shops. On the bus coming in we saw some roadside pottery shops, so we decided on the way back we would check those out. Not really seeing what we were looking for we arranged a colectivo (taxi truck) to take us to Concordia. These trucks are a mini pickup truck with bench seats and a canopy over the top. Hop in and hang on. Riding a colectivo truck in the city is a different experience than the rural colectivos as you don't usually get up much speed in town. Hurtling up and down windy country roads feels much like a roller coaster only without seat restraints!

 

  Every so often we pull over and pick up another fare, interesting and you meet some fascinating people. As we were preparing to leave, a man ran up, slid a box of groceries on the bus and ran back to the tienda. The truck takes off, and we assume the box is a delivery. As we pick up speed, Roberto, as we come to know him, comes out and is jogging towards the truck, not seeming too concerned. Sure enough within a block and a half, we stop for another rider and Roberto catches up and hops inside.

Roberto is fluent is English and we start chatting Marcus is working on his Spanish and Roberto is happy to give him correction and instruction. We find out Roberto's home town is Colomia and while he left for a while to be a tour guide in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, the downturn in the economy and a divorce sent him back to the family home in Copola. An enterprising young man, he has turned his home into a Posada (Inn) and a restaurant.

Copola is a charming small town set on a hillside and it made me think of old Italian cities with it's narrow cobblestone roads and walls of the houses up against the streets. A former mining town, and it has a nice town square and the omnipresent church.

The “back roads” consist of paths that follow gullys and dry washes, with glimpses of back yards and courtyards. We finished off our walking tour of the village with lunch at Roberto's, nice posada, but seemed like gringo prices at $100 pesos for a plate of chicken fajitas. But how often do you sit in the kitchen watching someone make your lunch and giving you cooking tips and information on Mexico the whole time?

On the trip back to Mazatlan, we stopped at the pottery places we had seen on the way up, but they were more like garden pottery. All in all an interesting time and we enjoyed seeing some of the countryside.

We had planned a short stop in Mazatan, as we had spent 5 weeks there 2 years ago. We had just arrived and the weather window looked as if it would open up in 2 days. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to stay at least a week. There is so much to see and do in Mazatlan, and it felt a little like home for us. I asked Marcus to think about waiting for another week to make the crossing, I knew he was anxious to head to La Paz, but an hour after I mentioned the possibility of staying, we received a great deal on having our dodger zippers replaced. We decided to stay and we are really happy we did.

After a delicious dinner at Topolo's with Bill and Judy of the catamaran Moontide, we attended a Flamenco performance at a cost of 100 pesos, about $8. It was amazing! It was all in Spanish, but the raw emotions of the dance resulted in a wonderful time. The venue was small, maybe 75 people and although we sat in the back, it was amazing.

 

We also went to a free performance of Romeo and Juliet, again Spanish only. It was outdoors and just a wonderful experience, again shared with Judy and Bill. Marcus remarked he thought he was really getting the hang of Spanish, til he tried to follow a modernized Shakespeare play.

Happy to have my Mazatlan fix, we left for La Paz area at 6:30 on April 21.

A wild ride in the back of a pickup truck taxi heading back to the marina!

Blue Footed Boobies

Mom dad and baby boobie!

 

 

An overnighter from San Blas put us at Isla Isabel about 7am, there is a small anchorage and we went in, watching for the submerged rock we had been told about. We anchored, then just off the starboard bow we saw a suspicious wave pattern on the water. Looking up the exact coordinates of the rock hazard we realized we were unbelievably close, if we had determined to anchor directly over the rock, we could not have gotten closer. Pulled up the hook and moved a short distance away. YIKES

After a quick breakfast we headed ashore. Isable is a protected island where Blue Footed Boobies, Terns, and Frigate birds nest. The island is covered with bird nests, barely above your head, the nests are small and the chicks are big, so funny looking!
 

The Blue Footed Boobies are up on the ridge and it takes a bit of a hike to get to them, worth the hike, as you can get pretty close to the birds and their chicks. Their nests are on the ground, and I understand there are no natural predators for the birds on the island.

The nests were so small, and looked just like a stack of twigs plopped on a branch

Chick at the crest of the hill

After a couple of hours we headed back to the boat, for lunch and a nap. It was about 2 in the afternoon and we just were not comfortable with the small anchorage and figured we could make it to Mazatlan by the next morning if we left right away, so up anchor and out we went.

Just for fun, I called a couple of boats I knew were behind us and what do you know, Jupiter's Smile was about 10 miles from us! We buddy boated to Mazatlan, arriving around 10:30 am.

A male sounding off, that red "balloon" is his throat

Our boat at anchor on Isla Isabel

 

San Blas

This gentleman had a store and was selling Yaka jam, and when we hesitated not knowing what Yaka was, he took us out back to his house and showed us the fruit on the tree!  It was great jam.

Beach town just outside of San Blas with banana bread as their claim to fame!

Shops like the one below line the streets!

Fast food Mexico style. 



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Streets of San Blas  

 Below the church that houses the Bells of San Blas, said to inspire Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem. 

 

Market day, love all the color and fresh veggies, and fish from the sea.

Went on a mangrove tour and saw aligators!!

Took a trip

Can you spot the bird drying it's wings?

Ice Cream trucks drive right on the beach

The crew of Traveler and friends!



Chacala

Chacala is a nice quiet town and we wandered about, had breakfast and investigated a Bed and Breakfast that is looking for some house sitters. It was lovely, and the position is something to think about!

http://www.casapacificachacala.com/