Mazatlan is a nice place to hang out but like many places in Mexico, it is hard to leave, not because you want to but because these places sometimes won’t let you go. They seem to connive with the elements and other opportunities to lock you in place. Last year it was La Paz and this year it seems Mazatlan wants to hang on to us. Our hearts were set on going further south but fate played a hand and in early February; in fact the very day we had planned to leave, a head cold stopped us dead in our tracks. Of course these must be shared so one turned into two which just extended our stay.

With time running short we ended up deciding to cross the Sea of Cortez to La Paz. Up until we made that decision, the weather for a crossing had been wonderful, but once we made that decision, it immediately turned ugly and blew hard on and off for a couple of weeks. More time in Mazatlan. After watching and listening to the forecasts for what seems like weeks, we finally have a weather window for a crossing.

Local wisdom and experience says wait a couple of days for the seas to get settled. Of course this is the southern part of the sea which gets a nice long fetch from up there where the Colorado comes in until it bumps into the Pacific swells that like to round the point of Cabo San Lucas and push up into the sea. This by itself can cause a nice confusion of waves; add to that the waves caused by the windstorms and you have a wonderful washing machine effect with steep seas and nasty short durations.

Who are we to dispute the local wisdom, so wait two days and point the bow at the northern end of Isla Cerralvo and in two days we should be looking to pass through the San Lorenzo channel into the Bay of La Paz. This assumes the wind is favorable otherwise we could be arriving in Los Frailes or Los Muertos and then going north to La Paz; who knows and who really cares?

All this just reminds us that cruising requires patience. Time, schedules and plans mean nothing you just have to go with the opportunities when they arise. Now let’s see if La Paz will let us escape to Isla Espiritu Santo, Isla San Francisco and the other great places to the north during April.

(The picture is from a concert given by the Salvation Army Orphanage here in Marina Mazatlan.)