We arrived at Marina Mazatlan on Tuesday evening after two long days of motoring from La Cruz. We left La Cruz before dawn on Monday morning and were quickly swept away by a feeling of exhilaration that we had actually left the docks at last – we were motoring but we were on the ‘road’ again!
Seven months in Banderas Bay. Seven really great months all in all. We loved our nine weeks back on Vancouver Island visiting friends and family but we also loved being in La Cruz for the rest of hurricane season. The old houses and cobblestone streets were so wonderful and historic. We will miss so many people that we met there. Some were cruisers, others marina staff and lots of ex-pats who now call La Cruz home. In particular we’ll miss seeing tiny Dona Mari with her little aluminum box trailer/wheelbarrow. We always gave her a bit of cash when we saw her slowly trudging around the marina, bent over each garbage can looking for aluminum cans to cash in to live. She always wore a modest dress with a full apron, old dusty flat sandals and a straw hat with a yellow flower. Her bobbed hair still had a smattering of black but it was mostly gray. Her eyes were runny like a bloodhounds but they were bright and alert. She always looked us in the eye when she thanked us for our donations. By the way, they think Dona Mari is pushing 100!
We’ll also miss saying ‘Buenos Dias’ to the many young Mexican captains who lovingly cleaned their owners’ boats six days a week so the boat was spotless if/when the owner made an appearance. Their level of dedication and maintenance put us to shame!
So we left the marina as the pinkish sun was barely rising over the mountains behind Puerto Vallarta. We waved goodbye to La Cruz just as four humpback whales appeared off our starboard bow, tails gracefully lifting as they dove. One farther away was spy hopping – that’s where they propel themselves right out of the water using the power of their trail before crashing down sideways sending up a huge explosion of white water. What a great show, what a fabulous way to start the day!
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| We took this one in Alaska but it gives you an idea. |
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| Humpback tail as the whale dives deep. |
We spotted a few fishing pangas, one which came speeding over to us. The three fisherman began gesturing wildly for us to follow them around their nets, which were strung out about a kilometre between two barely visible short sticks with black triangles of cloth limply flapping in the light breeze.
We waved goodbye as we turned back on course, very aware that where there was one fishing panga there were usually one or two more. Sure enough we started spotting more flags with small plastic pop bottles tied between them like a string of pearls. In fact, we barely saw the thin light green line between two floats before we realized it had gone right under our boat. Jim put us in neutral immediately before shutting off the engine. And there we sat for a couple of minutes with the current and breeze holding in place, rocking Falcon sideways in the swells. Not the most comfortable position so I used the boat hook to pull the line above the water and Jim could cut it, which immediately released it and we drifted free. We were ok about cutting the line because the fisherman didn’t loose any floats or line, he just had to tie a new piece between those two particular floats. Note to self: Don’t do a night passage anywhere near San Blas or Isla Isabela. Imagine running into those lines at night!
By mid afternoon we were really looking forward to anchoring for the evening. Isla Isabela has some height to it so we watched it for hours as we got closer and closer. Days are short now and we enjoyed a brilliant sunset at 7:00 just before we deployed our anchor and called it a night.
We were in bed early because we had another long day ahead of us. Sunrise was spectacular as we started our morning. Tuesday was pretty much a carbon copy of Monday but we only spotted one or two fishing pangas and a couple of trawlers heading south. A highlight for me was spotting a big turtle just off our port quarter close enough for me to get a good look. A little while later half a dozen porpoises came to visit, slicing through our bow wave. One flipped about six feet out of the water right beside us. Oh it was great to be out in nature again!
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| The sunset view from my galley port light window. |
Once again Falcon VII and Tregoning crossed paths, but barely. It was last March when we saw them but we kept in touch through email. The conversation would have gone on for hours but they were leaving in the morning. We hugged goodbye and waved while they left the docks on Tuesday morning as Randall and Alison headed south towards La Cruz and then eventually New Zealand. Who knows when we’ll see each other again. Part of the cruiser’s life is saying goodbye.
It feels good coming back to Mazatlan, having spent six weeks here last spring. Rob, Debra, Jim and I bused to old town on Wednesday and visited the massive public market so Jim could have another feast of fried fish upstairs in the little corner restaurant with a narrow balcony overlooking the road. He loved it just as much as he did in March! After lunch we wandered around the market and restored cathedral before enjoying a supersized glass of freshly chopped and blended pineapple juice while we watched the street vendors hawk loads of Christmas paraphernalia. Of course, the big malls were all decked out, English speaking carols coming from speakers, echoing around the vaulted ceilings and open spaces.
We’ll be here for a few days while we watch the weather patterns in the Sea of Cortez. We’ll need a couple of good days to cross the Sea of Cortez and head to La Paz in comfort. More when we reach La Paz in a couple of weeks.
By the way, the sailboat that went aground just outside the channel eventually floated free, with Jim and Rob assisting them from a dinghy. Such heroes!
Tricia and Jim Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com
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