February 22, 2014  Tobolabompo, Mainland Mexico

We have crossed over…the Sea of Cortez and are ready to explore a new region of Mexico after spending the last three months cruising around the Baja Peninsula from Ensenada, just south of the American border all the way around and up to Santa Rosalia, which is 400 miles from its southern tip. We really enjoyed everything about the Sea of Cortez and the Baja Peninsula and may decide to return next winter.  Winter…that’s a laugh!  Our winter in Mexico so far has been mid 20’s Celsius to high 20’s during the day, cooling down to a comfortable 18 Celsius at night.  Day after day is bright and sunny with only about three cloudy days since cruising in the Sea.

Jim wrote the last blog entry, giving you a different slant on things.  Though he wrote it well over a week ago we have had trouble finding reliable internet to get it uploaded.  Here’s a recap since his blog entry…

Our second visit to Mulege was short but interesting since Mulege sits about a mile upstream on the Rio Santa Rosalia near the Mulege estuary and the river was very shallow.  We left the sailboats anchored outside the river entrance and took our dinghies up the river instead.  At times we had to dig out the paddles to traverse very shallow rocky areas as we admired the egrets and cranes perched on mangrove branches.  We wove across the river, seeking out the deepest spots as we inched our way towards the community. 

Jim, Dina and Malcolm awaiting breakfast in Mulege

We found a landing spot half way up the river then walked the rest of the way into town where we found a nice outdoor eatery for an inexpensive breakfast and a well stocked little grocery store before heading back to the dinghies and on to our sailboats.  By this time it was near noon and the wind had freshened enough for us to sail south, back into Bahia Concepcion.  Both of us flew our spinnakers in a great breeze, at times surfing in 19 knots of wind, which funnelled down the channel before opening up into Bahia Concepcion.  We hit a top speed of 8.3 knots, which is far faster than we could achieve under motor!  Here’s a picture, courtesy of Malcolm, of Falcon VII under spinnaker.  She is a beautiful boat, isn’t she!

Falcon VII sailing into Bahia Concepcion under spinnaker

We anchored as the breeze died, revealing the intense heat of the late afternoon sun.  A pleasant quiet evening was spent watching dolphins swim leisurely around the bay and by early afternoon on Monday we weighed anchor and moved the boats to Playa Coyote.  Just after we anchored Dina hollered over that it was movie night at Bertha’s Restaurant in the next bay starting at 6:00 p.m.  We took our dinghies over to the beach where Bertha’s was easily recognizable by the dozens of gringos inside and out, all chatting away in English.  Cruisers only made up a small percentage of the audience with the others coming from cabanas and RV’s in the area.  Every Monday is movie night at Bertha’s where the movie guru had been viewing Oscar nominated movies for a few weeks.  The place was abuzz with customers sipping margueritas and cervesas while enjoying traditional Mexican cuisine.  The owner, Bertha, was an energetic youthful woman in her early 40’s surrounded by very competent staff keeping everyone happy.  She had a fantastic smile and quickly made us feel welcome at our plastic outdoor table.  Her partner, Karen, shared our table for a while before she decided that Bertha and her crew could use a couple more hands to clear plates and keep the drinks flowing. The movie “Philomena” starred Judy Dench and we all enjoyed it, even if our view was somewhat limited by windows, heads and structural columns.  It was dark when we took the dinghies back to our boats but the water was alive with phosphorescence plumes streaming behind us and lighting up fish jumping away from our bow wave.  We headed to bed serenaded by the sound of freight trucks gearing down on the #1 highway, which ran right along the coastline in front of Playa Coyote.

The next day was hot but we wanted to get a hike in none-the-less. One of our cruisers guide stated “If you are in the mood for a hike, a beautiful trail behind Bertha’s Restaurant takes you meandering through ancient Amerindian petroglyphs, to the top of a hill where you will be rewarded with an amazing view of Bahia Concepcion and its islands.” I wouldn’t exactly call it a meandering trail!  In fact, it was probably the most challenging trail Jim and I have encountered!!!

The view east overlooking Bahia Concepcion part way up the 'hill'

We packed a light lunch, two water bottles and a Gatorade, ready for a ‘leisurely’ hike to the top of the hill.  First we hiked a mile around a hill then crossed #1 highway and searched for a trail head amongst rocks and cacti.  Jim spotted a small rock cairn and away we went.  Above us we could make out a few white painted boulders identifying another zig zag path but could not figure out how to reach it so we continued up our more rugged trail from rock cairn to rock cairn.  The blazing mid-day sun parched our throats and dried perspiration before it had time to soak into our tee shirts.  We made our way up slowly and carefully, always looking for the next cairn. Towards the top Dina and Malcolm headed to the left around a sheer rock face and we headed to the right.   Both paths proved to be extremely challenging and dangerous…we knew we had to find a better way back because going down the same way was pretty much impossible!  Jim climbed ahead, trying to find stable foot holds for me to follow.  He kicked pebbles and loose rocks out of the way, which sometimes tumbled past me, crashing to rest further down the steep slope.  Two hours after we started our climb we made it to the top of the ridge and – yes – the views were amazing!

View south into Bahia Concepcion

Looking towards Playa Santispac

We laid down under the shade of a small bush, ate and rested. Jim savoured his pear while I sucked all the juice out of my delicious orange, wishing I had packed more water!

Any shade works!  Jim resting at the top.

Dina and Malcolm emerge and Malcolm makes it to the very top!

Happy to have made it safely!

Eventually we connected with Dina and Malcolm and hiked along the massive jagged boulders that created the top of the ridge.  We did  see a few small petroglyphs but they looked more like a youth’s attempt to make shallow indentations of small oval shaped designs than something special dating back centuries.  Guess we didn’t appreciate them very much as we didn’t even take pictures!

From the lofty ridge we could see far beyond the bays to the north and to the hills at the southern end of Bahia Concepcion.  The only sound above the breeze was blaring Mexican music wafting from an isolated house in the middle of a cacti forest.

The hike down was almost as hard as going up while we followed the winding path down, often clambering for boulders below us.  Finally we emerged at the base and staggered across the highway and straight into Bertha’s where we all quickly chugged limonadas in large goblets filled with ice cubes.  Not caring about etiquette, I grabbed an ice cube out of my limonada and rubbed the back of my neck and forehead, enjoying the coolness of the melting ice.  That night we had a great dinner together, reminiscing about the past ten days cruising together.

On Wednesday morning we said good bye to Dina and Malcolm, knowing we may not see them again as they were heading to La Paz then to the South Pacific while we were heading across the Sea of Cortez.  We waved good bye as we motored out of the bay, remembering others like David and Margaret, who are now considerably further south in Mexico and heading towards Central America.  The life of a cruiser often involves meeting other cruisers, sharing special times together, then saying good bye.

We made it back to Punta Pulpito just before dusk and headed to bed early, knowing that Thursday was our crossing day. 

Massive Punta Pulpito's arch near sunset

We left before dawn and watched the sunrise while we crossed the Sea of Cortez under near perfect sailing conditions.  To the east was a huge fog bank but it evaporated as the morning heated up. 

Sunrise with fog in the background, not land!

By mid-morning we realized we had a big problem!  For the first time EVER we had to slow Falcon down or we would arrive at Topolabampo before dawn.  We calculated what speed we had to maintain to arrive after first light and put up our spinnaker for hour after hour.   We never saw another boat all day or evening while the steady breeze made sailing a pleasure until the wind eventually dropped near midnight.  By that time we knew we would make it into Topolabampo a couple of hours after daybreak, even if we motored the whole way at 7.2 knots.

Topolabampo is a small agriculture-based town which also has a shipping port and small panga fishing fleet.  It is located 10 miles away from open water, surrounded by hills that, from a distance, reminded us of BC’s rugged coastline.  The shallow channel split north and south, with the southern channel leading to the shipping port and ferry terminal while the north channel led to private marinas and Marina Palmira, where we were headed.  We docked just after 9:00 a.m.

The mountains behind Topolabampa's channels could have been
Vancouver Island's mountains if we didn't know better!

One of our cruising guides mentioned a Friday public market and…it was Friday!  Within a few minutes of leaving the marina we realized that Topolabampo’s population was certainly on the poor side.

Homes without windows above town

There were no roads leading to these hilly houses above the school

The town square with the market in the background.

Even though many parts of Mexico that we have visited so far have been poor by our standards, the people always seem to be happy, smiling, laughing and singing.  There is never a vibe that they are complaining about their lot in life.  Shanty shacks made of old tarps and splintered pieces of wood edged one side of the potholed road while laundry hung across the sidewalk outside a dilapidated home across the street.  Sidewalks of broken concrete were linked with dusty paths next to garbage strewn yards.  Many tiny home cocina’s (street side ‘restaurants’) lined the roadway en route to town.  Some had tubs of fresh fish sitting in front of them waiting to be filleted.  Others claimed fresh scallops and prawns but the lack of hygiene kept us walking. 

Tribute to whales, one of a half dozen sculptures

Roosters, chickens, dogs and cats roamed the streets everywhere

After 20 minutes we were in the centre of town near the bus station and super market.  We purchased a large tub of fruit in cream, something we had only heard about.  At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to taste it but I did and it was delicious!  Finely chopped fruit was smothered with a thick cream and evaporated milk, with handfuls of granola and shredded coconut sprinkled on top.  We are converts and will be looking for this $2.50 treat from now on!

Another two blocks and we were at the entrance to a lively public market where we bought the freshest strawberries,  juicy limes and crisp vegetables.  We only spent about $15.00 for our purchases including a dozen farm fresh eggs we found around the corner. 

However, we left not only the limp lettuce where we found it but also the stacks of fresh meat and poultry.  We just couldn’t bring ourselves to purchase anything with flies buzzing lazily above the mounded tables of chicken legs, blood red thick steaks and tubular bags of something fatty we couldn’t exactly make out.

Ripe juicy strawberries...within minutes she was sold out!

Jim eyeing the food being served

Someone must have been buying the meat!

Friday's market was extremely popular with the locals

Except for the limp lettuce everything else was fresh, fresh, fresh

 We were the only gringos meandering around the dozens of vendors and loved the happy feeling in the air.  Many temporary outdoor eateries cooking up vats of meat and tacos were crowded with locals enjoying their lunch while Mexican music filled the air from speakers on top of cars.  Besides fruit, veggies and butchered meats you could buy DVD clones, kitchen sponges, boxes of batteries, leather sandals, second hand clothes, colourful kids socks, Levi jeans and even boxes of pots and pans offered by a man perched on a plastic chair.  The Friday morning street market was set up right beside the public square where families enjoyed the shade sitting on ornate iron benches.

This vendor sold shoes and brightly patterned socks

We hurried back to Falcon with our fresh produce, washed it and popped it in the fridge before walking back into town and around the malacon, searching for an indoor restaurant. 

The panga fishing fleet with freighters docked in the background

Deserted homes crumble away next to decent, lived in buildings

Whimsical sculpture made out of old tires - on the more|
lavish side of Topolabampo with modest but well cared for homes

On the left was a rich waterfront gated compound; right across
from derelict  homes and run down properties

Though we didn’t find one anywhere decent to eat we did find a couple of winos who wanted us to give them money, something we have seldom experienced in Mexico.  We gave the first one a few pesos but detoured around the next one as we wandered slowly back to the marina. 

The waking hours of our night passage had caught up with us and by midafternoon we were exhausted and spent the rest of the day lounging in the heat, having our own personal siesta.   However, the afternoon was anything but quiet.  The marina was full of 50’ – 70’ expensive power boats, each of them being maintained by a hard working Mexican.  Many of them enjoyed loud Mexican music blasting from the ship’s speakers and singing along with it.  Clearly the men all knew each other and bantered back and forth, sometimes in song, throughout the day.  By late afternoon I was also listening and watching a bunch of adolescent teens swimming next to the marina.  Their close friendship was so evident while they joked, laughed and even threw each other in the water, obviously happy to have reached the weekend.

We had a lazy Saturday walking around town before deciding to eat dinner out at Pelicano’s, the only indoor restaurant in town and right at our marina.  We tried to find another indoor restaurant but the only one we found smelled little too fishy the moment we entered it!  Pelicano’s was very quiet on Saturday night, with at least five staff serving and cooking for the four customers!  We both had Mexican dishes featuring garlic prawns and they were delicious!  Sunday morning was spent getting ready for leaving Topolabamo and heading for anchor out behind a sand dune spit where it would be easy for an early morning departure on Tuesday.

Mile after mile of sand dunes and cormorants out for a spin

The sand spit and sand dunes were beautiful, as were the thousands of birds that flew by both in the morning then back in the evening.   I took the dinghy to shore and had a skinny dip while enjoying the ocean birds all around me.  The adventure continues…

Tricia and Jim