“El Chepe” train ride to Copper Canyon and Posada Barrancas

This morning after breakfast, we left the Hotel at 7:45 am for the ride out to the station to catch the “El Chepe” train for Copper Canyon. The train starts in Los Mochis about 6:00 am and staying in El Fuerte allows you to get up, have a breakfast and catch the train at about 8:15 am. The station is some way out of town, so you do need transportation to get to it.

We had purchased first class tickets and the Sunday train consisted of two first class coaches with a first class dining car and a number of second class coaches. The train ambles along at between 30-40 MPH for about an hour and a half. After crossing the Fuerte River, it begins a steady climb into the Sierras. The bridge over the Fuerte is the longest of the 37 bridges at 1,637 feet. It also has 86 tunnels, the longest being 5,980 feet.

First proposed in 1861 it took 90 years to complete and the entire 406 mile route between Los Mochis and Chihuahua was finally opened in 1961. Today it is part of the Mexican National Rail system, Ferromex. The route passes through five climatic zones and for most of its way hugs the side of steep and narrow canyons. It is a spectacular ride with a somewhat steep gradient for a railway. There are a number of notable spots. Temoris at 3,365 feet is an example, where you can see three levels of the track as it climbs through tunnels and cuts up the side of the gorge, quite a feat of engineering.

Traveling from El Fuerte, the right side of the coach provides the best views however the morning sun does provide some challenges for photographs. The end of each carriage is open so pictures can be taken without obstruction. At Bahuichivo you encounter the local Tarahumara Indians for the first time selling their woven baskets.

Our part of the train ride ended at 2:30 pm, an hour late but who cares on such a great train ride. At Posada Barrancas we were transferred to our hotel for a late lunch. On certain days, only the first class train runs, this is a more reliable time-keeper. The second class coaches on our train were quite crowded as it is the only way for the local residents to travel into and out of the Canyon area.

This train ride is undoubtedly one of the great ones in the world and if you are in the area, a not to be missed item, certainly one for the “Bucket List”.

We arrived on the “El Chepe” train at 2:30 pm at the Posada Barranca station in Copper Canyon. The Mirador hotel transportation was waiting for us and other guests and we were all immediately transported to the Hotel where lunch was waiting for us. The Hotel is built on top of a cliff and every room has a private balcony overlooking the Canyon. There are few places to eat and so the Hotel operates on the European plan with Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast included.

Our room was comfortable and the views stunning as they were from the restaurant in the hotel. All the meals were nicely prepared and served. This is a lodge/rustic type facility with no TV but with the gorgeous views, who needed one.

The Copper Canyon consists of at least six canyons, the smallest being 3,225 feet deep and the deepest being Urique at 6,136 feet deep. The canyon complex at 25,000 square miles covers four times the area of the Grand Canyon in the US which is 4,674 feet deep. The whole area is referred to as the Copper Canyon from the copper mining (Barranca Del Cobre) near the village of Tebaban.

The area is inhabited by Tarahumara Indians who are famed for their long distance running. They weave intricate baskets made from reeds and pine needles as well as make pine bark carvings and build handmade violins. Certainly we saw many wonderful creations during our visit.

We arrived in El Fuerte from Topolobampo by bus from Los Mochis about 50 miles away. This charming town was founded on the Fuerte River in 1564 by the Spanish Conquistador Don Francisco de Ibarra. It was a major trading center for many centuries and was important administrative center.
As a frontier town, of the Western Sierra Madre Mountains, it played a major role in the development of the states of Sonora and Sinaloa. As a result, it has many fine colonial buildings and old Haciendas that have been converted to Hotels. Our Hotel, the Hotel Posada del Hidalgo is a fine example of this.

Our day had started in Topolobampo where we had planned to take the bus to Los Mochis but finished up in a Taxi which had offered us a great deal. In Los Mochis we needed to replenish our Pesos and went to the Santander Bank where we found a very long line at the cash machines as banks are closed on Saturdays. A short walk from the bank and we arrived at the Bus terminal for our one and a half hour, 70 Peso ride in an air conditioned bus to El Fuerte. This was to be the start of our trip to Copper Canyon on the “El Chepe” train.

After locating our hotel, we took a walk around this delightful colonial town to take photographs of the many old buildings and the cobblestone streets. The people were very friendly and helpful in the town and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere here. On our way to the Hotel, we had stopped at another Hotel, the Torres del Fuerte, to ask for directions and the old gentleman in the Hotel kindly walked us over to our Hotel, such is the helpful nature of the people in this town. We did go back to this Hotel to take photographs of the picturesque interior with its fine architecture, gardens and original artworks. On the floor was something which we immediately recognized as an original Turkish Bergama Carpet, something we did not expect to find so far from its original home in Anatolia, Turkey.

Our Hotel was built in 1890 by Senor Rafael Almada who was once the Mayor of the town. It is in the town center and next to the old fort, now the museum, which was built in 1610. There is a statue in the gardens of the legendary Zorro who is supposed to have been born here, the son of the Don Alejandro de la Vega family. This is something the town is quite proud of.

We enjoyed our one night here however El Fuerte is worthy of at least another night which would provide more time to visit the Museum and tour more of this historic town with its very relaxed atmosphere and interesting architecture.

This is the real Mexico and yesterday we saw both ends of the spectrum. No English is spoken, so unless you can get by in Spanish, you have difficulty. It is interesting to see that in many places, it is quite common to use the Google language translator if a computer is available.

Tuesday was a very busy day. After taking the $1.33 half hour ride on the bus to Los Mochis, we went to the Santa Anita Hotel and made reservations for our trip into Copper Canyon for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Pat McLeish, our crew for Topolobampo to Mazatlan arrives on Friday morning. Pat is going to cat and boat sit for us while we are gone. He flew to El Paso today and takes the bus to Chihuahua where he will board the Copper Canyon “El Chepe” train tomorrow to take the ride to Los Mochis. We are anxious to hear his stories of the trip.

We arrived back in downtown Topolobampo in the mid afternoon and while Anita did some shopping, I had a haircut at the local Barber Shop (Peluqueria). I got a really nice trim including my beard for $3.12.

Upon arriving back at the Marina, a big party was in full swing at the Pelicano Restaurant and we were immediately invited by the hosts to join them for a very fine dinner of shrimp soup and MaheMahe. We met many interesting people including the owner of the Marina we are staying in and the owner of the two hotels we will be using on our trip into the Canyon. We also heard a great Mexican Trio singing traditional songs as well as listen to Jose Manuel Chu. Jose is a gifted local Opera Tenor who has been touring Europe and South America as a guest artist singing with various opera companies.

The hosts were very gracious in inviting us to join them and in their personal introductions to many important members of the local community here. We had a wonderful evening.

It is noon here as I write this, and we still do not know who won the American election, such is the importance of things when you travel! Topolobampo is also notable in that I finally tracked down my French cousins on my mother’s side of the family (Vuillier). I have been trying to locate them for more than 20 years and I finally received an email from Claude, my second cousin. I will be headed to France next year to meet with them; it had been quite a difficult genealogical search.

Our weather continues to be sunny and humid but with a nice afternoon breeze. We are still catching up with some boat work so our days are quite busy.

Topolobampo Information. Information for other cruisers

We entered the main shipping channel into Topolobampo at dusk and did a moonless night-time entry. It took a little over 2 hours from entering the channel to reaching Marina Palmira on an ebb tide. This is not my favorite exercise as I usually stand-off for an unfamiliar port.

The Navtec GPS chart we were using in our plotter was out of date for the channel and buoys. It showed a long curve for the entry into the main shipping channel. This no longer exists; it is a straight-in channel from the outer buoys. The Claude Rains cruising guide does show the channel direction correctly. After entering the main portion of the channel, the Navtec GPS depth contours were OK and useful. Some navigation buoy lights were out.

The following GPS coordinates for the secondary channel (NE) to Marina Palmira are provided courtesy of S/V Magic Carpet and were checked by us as good but as always, use them only as a guide not as a gurantee. However, the secondary channel is marked with 24 hour buoys. We entered at low water and registered a minimum of 6-8′ depth at the shallowest portion of this secondary channel.

(Caution, when leaving, they were dredging in this channel with long booms that may not be clearly visible. A lot of port improvements are in progress so care needs to be taken near the docks if work is in progress.)

The secondary channel brings you close to the docks and piers. On approaching Marina Palmeira keep to the dock and pier area on your starboard side for the deepest water. The last GPS coordinate is a slip in the Marina, it is the second Marina. A small concrete jetty sticks out a short distance to starboard just before the marina and is poorly lit at night.

25-34′.337N 109-04′.342W
25-34′ 715N 109-04′.183W
25-35′ 078N 109-04′.034W
25-35′ 544N 109-03′.810W
25-35′ 990N 109-03′.501W (Marina Slip)

Marina Palmira is all new, it has a bathroom, no showers, a small store and a fine restaurant. There is good security. No English is spoken. The small store doubles as the office. People here are friendly and helpful, it is somewhat of a backwater so be prepared for the real Mexico.

The town of Topolobampo is a short walk with a good grocery store. The laundry is part of the car wash as is the Internet Cafe which is down the first street on the left before you get to the bus station.

The town has a great Barber, a small pharmacy, a hardware store, and an Ice Cream Parlor. There are a couple of local eateries. The bus into Los Mochis is 17 Pesos and the bus stop is just across from the Marina. Coming back you get off at the bus terminal in town. Internet is available at the Marina but you have to sit near the store or the restaurant to get decent coverage; there is none out to the slips.

Diesel can be ferried by cans using a dock cart from the Pemex station a short distance from the Marina. Wash boats daily as the local power plant can leave orange specs on the fiberglass. The only thing we found to remove these spots if missed was “Soft Scrub” with Bleach Cleaner. We were only one of two sailboats at the Marina and the only ones living aboard, all the others are sport fishing boats.

Monday 5 Nov 2012 – Topolobampo, Mexico
After an uneventful sail from San Carlos, we arrived at the marina in Topolobampo, Mexico at about 8:15 pm Saturday. I say uneventful because the weather was benign all of the 210 miles. We got some good sailing in for the first 3 hours at 6-7 knots and then the wind shifted to ESE, exactly where we were headed. At this time of the year it should be ENE which would have given us a nice sail almost all of the way. Instead it was back to motor-sailing with a few intermittent chances to put up sail.

Pasha, our cat, who is with us on this trip, was miserable for the first 8-10 hours as he coped with the motion and seasickness. However, by the next day he was on deck and enjoying the changes in his life. We left San Carlos at 6:20 am on Friday, and by Saturday, just as the sun was setting at about 6:00 pm; we approached the main commercial ship channel into Topolobampo.

It is certainly not my preference to enter an unknown harbor at night but the alternative was another night at sea standing off the entrance until daybreak.
We threaded our way into Topolobampo, even though we discovered that our chart-plotter chip was inaccurate as the buoys and channel had all moved. Fortunately, the bottom contours on the chart-plotter chip were still good, so with some care and a few GPS waypoints we had been given, we managed to make it to the Marina which is located off the main channel on a secondary channel. All of the secondary channels were buoyed which was a help.

The Palmira marina is new and lightly used although a large new 60′ power yacht did tie up in the slip next to us just after we arrived. They are still working on sections of the marina and have major plans for a resort hotel and other facilities. It is owned and operated by the same Marina Palmira group in La Paz.

On Sunday, we had lunch at the new restaurant that is a part of the marina. Anita had some fresh Abalone and I had breaded shrimp, both were nicely presented and perfectly cooked. There was plenty of food and a very tasty fish soup. The service was wonderful. The restaurant staff could not do enough for us and all of them came to introduce themselves, say hello and welcome us to Topolobampo.

For once, little English is spoken here so we are getting to practice our Spanish.

Hilbre is being prepared for the second season of sailing in Mexico. With a clean hull, new primer and two coats of paint she will be launched back into the Sea of Cortez on Thursday.
We are enjoying the condo we are staying in and Juan, the toothless fish guy has already been by with Tuna and Shrimp. He was happy with his sale and had a gummy grin from ear to ear when he left. We now have two Kilos of Shrimp in the Freezer with a Kilo of Tuna. The weather is sunny and warm and we should be ready to sail south soon.

Wednesday, 21 April 2012

We arrived home and Hilbre is in San Carlos in dry storage and we will be back there in October, ready for new adventures.

Wednesday, 12 April 2012

We put Hilbre into storage at Marina Seca, San Carlos this morning. She is all locked up and waiting for our return in October. Watching them use the hydraulic trailer to lift boats out of the water is quite interesting and they are very experienced at doing it. They have a daily stream of boats going from the Marina to the storage yard about a third of a mile away.
We spent the last two days preparing her for storage and probably did more than others but better safe than sorry. There were lots of things to think about and do before sending her to dry storage. It is quite and exercise.

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

We picked the best night for the crossing to San Carlos. Today the wind is howling at 35+knots and a heavy 40+ footer just came into the marina and tried to get into an upwind (opposite) slip of my arm of the Marina. They missed the slip which was almost opposite me and blew down broadside onto the three power boats to the left of my stern. For a while, I was concerned she would hit my stern. The power boat pulpits/anchors (they were all facing out of the slip) got entangled in the lifelines and stanchions of the sailboat and it took seven or eight people, John included, to help push the sailboat off. They finally got a line onto the bow from the other side of the channel and pulled her upwind into a slip. The powerboats did not suffer too much damage but the sailboats stanchions and lifelines were all bent and torn up.

The marina here is in a pretty location and has restaurants and stores dotted around the immediate area. This morning we visited the storage yard where Hilbre will live for the next six months. She will be hauled out of the water on a hydraulic lift trailer which is positioned under the boat on a ramp while she floats. She then moved about a half mile down the main road to the storage area. It should be quite a sight as she drives along the highway with mast and full rigging in place.

The storage area uses Hurricane poles which are buried deeply into the ground and these are used for the boat supports (see picture album). In high winds, the poles stop boats being blown over and causing a domino effect on all the other boats. She will be out of the water on April 18th., after which we will take the Executive bus from Guaymas to Phoenix and fly home from there.

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

We arrived in San Carlos about 8:00 am this morning and are at a slip in the Marina San Carlos. Next task is to firm up the date for placing Hilbre into storage for the summer and scheduling the arrangements for returning home. We have covered over 1,500 nautical miles since October. The last leg across the Sea of Cortez from Santa Rosalia was like sailing on a Mill Pond; the sea was just like a mirror with just a gentle breeze to push us along.

Saturday, 7 April 2012

We have been here a few days and quite like this small Mexican working town. It is not a tourist spot and everyone is friendly and helpful. It was founded after copper was discovered in the area in the late 1860’s. Originally, it was a small Mexican operation however the French became interested and finally took over all the small claims in 1885 creating Compagnie du Boleo. The port was created with blocks of slag from the mining process. Because of this, the town has a somewhat French atmosphere and is very different from the other towns on the Baja peninsula. The Boleo Company closed in 1954 and it became a Mexican operation. Finally, in 1986 the plant was closed however with to the increase in the price of copper, there is a move to reopen the mine.
The Iglesia Santa Barbara church is made of steel and was originally in Brussels. The Boleo Company bought it, disassembled it and moved it to Santa Rosalia then re-assembled it in 1897 and where it is still in use today. The church was designed by Gustav Eiffel.
This morning, we had a nice breakfast at the Hotel Frances which is a restored two story wood hotel dating from 1886. This is situated on top of one of the two hills above Santa Rosalia which sits in the valley between them. The local museum is close to the hotel as are many of the steam engines and rolling stock used at the mine. There are the usual slag heaps outside of town and left-over mining equipment which makes the area just that more interesting.
It is easy to walk into town and there are just two narrow main streets, along which most of the stores are located. The port is also the ferry stop for the small car ferry which does a regular trip every other day to mainland Mexico. The ferry docks on the pier next to us and it is interesting to watch them come and go. There is a nice French bakery in town so we get nice fresh baguettes and there are enough grocery stores for us to get the few supplies we need. We do have a quantity of canned goods that we still need to use before we leave the boat in San Carlos. Along with some other sail-boats, we are participating in a Potluck on the dock tomorrow. Many of the sailboats visiting here are headed to San Carlos for summer storage. We believe the weather will be favorable on either Monday or Tuesday for the overnight sail to San Carlos.

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

We left Puerto Viejo at 7:00 am and backtracked south to round the reef that extends from San Marcos to Roca Lobos passing over a small extension southeast of the Rock that put us in 14 feet of water for a short time. After this we turned west into the Craig Channel between Isla San Marcos and the Baja Peninsula. Once out of the channel, we could see the dust hanging over the mining area of San Marcos.
Just after 10:00 am, we pulled into the small harbor at Santa Rosalia near the Car Ferry dock to Guaymas and were directed to a slip at the Fonatur Marina. It is the first time we have power and water hook-ups to the boat in over a month. It is nice to be securely tied up to a dock for a change and in a location where it is easy to walk into town. The Marina is all new and has an identical layout to the one in Puerto Escondido, so we feel

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

As the heavy winds did not materialize and the highest gust on Monday was about 24 knots, we decided to leave and head further north to Puerto Viejo on Isla San Marcos. We left at 8:50 am and headed north back up Conception Bay. Just as we left the bay, we were greeted with large pods of Dolphins that appeared to be fishing in groups. With calm seas and little wind we continued north past the Santa Inez islands where we began to pick up a nice breeze of 12 knots. As we turned to the northwest after the Santa Inez Islands we were treated to some of the best sailing we have had since leaving Cabo. We romped along at just over 7 knots for almost two hours until we were blanketed by the lee of Isla San Marcos.
We turned north just before the Roca Lobos on the southern side of San Marcos and arrived in the Puerto Viejo anchorage at about 2:30 pm putting the anchor down in 12 feet of water just off the cliffs. We had good protection from the waves and wind and therefore had a quiet night.
Isla San Marcos is mined heavily for Gypsum and there is a processing plant on the Island. The guidebook warns you of potential dust in strong northern winds however we had none of these problems. There were a few guys camped out on a small beach and in the evening they went out in a Panga to fish.

Monday, 2 April 2012

We had expected the ‘Northerner’ to kick in overnight but nothing happened, so we had a good night’s rest. This morning, the wind reached into the low twenties but nothing like the 30 plus knots that was forecast. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is a mild one and that it will blow itself out by late Tuesday as we would like to move on toward Santa Rosalia on Wednesday.
Even with the wind, the sun is out and quite warm so it is really quite a nice day and the wind is keeping the powerboats, flies and PWC’s ashore.

Sunday, 1 April 2012

Another nice quiet night and a good night’s sleep after the Margaritas found us planning our next activity however there is yet another northerner forecast for Monday and Tuesday so we stayed on the boat and rigged our Banner Blue Anchor/Riding Sail during the morning for the first time. We had purchased this for the cruise on the assumption it would reduce our swing while anchored and had not had an opportunity to rig it and try it out.
In strong winds we discovered we swing anywhere from 60-100 degrees as the boat catches the gusts. This can be hard on the anchor and while we do not sail up to the anchor and then fall off, essentially sailing a figure of eight as some boats do, we had no opportunity of testing Hilbre prior to the trip. After rigging the sail the afternoon winds started blowing in the high teens and low twenties. During this time we did notice the riding sail kept our bow more into the wind and reduced the swing radius to 30 or 40 degrees; a nice improvement. However, as we have in-mast furling, there are no aft halyards so we have to swing either the spare Jib or Spinnaker halyard aft to hold the top of the riding sail. This pulls the halyard over the upper wire shroud (rigging) and could cause the line to chafe through. So, until we have figured out a better way to rig the top of the sail, we have put it away in its bag. At least we know it does work and is now ready to deploy.
It seems we are blessed with strong winds in this anchorage every afternoon and some of the boats have moved position or moved to another cove to try and get some relief. However the wind seems to die off at sunset and as we are holding nicely, we are staying put. The beach is getting more crowded and we are being tested by power boats and PWC’s that are zooming around the anchorage and between the boats causing lots of wake.

Saturday, 31 March 2012

It was a quiet night and this morning, we took the dingy over to our friends Allan and Ann-Marie who had been anchored at Santispac for a number of days. While catching up on the news and discussing the weather a lady who has a small camper and lives on the beach in the winter arrived. Cathy is 76 and had just swum the 200 yards from the beach to the boat. Cathy lives in Ontario, Canada and for the last three years each November has made the trip with her car and trailer to Santispac cove by herself. Before that, she had traveled to mainland Mexico and as far south as Belize, all on her own. She was quite full of good stories.
During the afternoon a strong breeze of 18-22 Knots began just after 1:00 pm and lasted through 5:30 pm when things calmed down again. This was just in time for us to head to shore and the beach cantina called ‘Lupes.’ The guidebook referred to it as ‘Anna’s’ but now Lupe owns it. We shared a table and Mexican feast with very strong Margaritas with Allan, Ann-Marie and Cathy who was preparing to head back to Canada the next day. She wanted to leave the beach and begin her trek home before the Mexican Easter, when many people descend upon Santispac and camp for the entire week. Indeed as we look out at the beach each morning, there are more and more campers lined along the sandy beach and we are serenaded with Mexican music and glow from the campfires at night.
Lupe’s is the beach Cantina hangout on Saturday nights for the Gringos and is complete with disco, a DJ and oldies music. There were only a few cruisers there, but the food was good, as was the company and the very strong Margaritas.

Friday, 30 March 2012

It was gusty in the afternoon on our sail north. We left San Juanico at 4:10 am and threaded our way out of the cove and between the rocks in pitch darkness using our chart plotter and Radar. The chart plotter map of the cove was a figment of someone’s imagination as it showed islands where there were none and was wildly inaccurate. In fact, we had sailed through one of these imaginary islands on the way into the cove! Fortunately, during our arrival, we had recorded and plotted our route into the cove and we used this with Radar to retrace our way out to the open sea. Once we were clear of San Juanico, we set course for Punta Pulpito, a very large, tall, round rock; a prominent landmark along this part of the coast and about two hours away.
With calm seas and no wind, we were once again motoring at just over five and a half knots and at sunrise we were just off Punta Pulpito. It continued to be a warm, windless day with a glassy sea as we continued north. While crossing St. Nicolas Bay we were treated to two large Blue Whales who were sounding. There is a steep underwater canyon in this area and this is where they were probably feeding. Anita saw them first and they made a great display as they splashed back into the sea it was quite a sight to behold, even if we were quite a distance from them. We believe they were Blue Whales just from the size of their Flippers which they swished through the air as they lay on the surface.
We finally rounded the headland leading into Conception Bay at noon turning into the actual bay about 45 minutes later. As we had picked up some wind, we managed to sail for about an hour into the bay before the hills on either side blanketed the welcome breeze.
At 2:30 pm., we anchored off Santispac cove in the area generally called Coyote cove on the north side of the bay and about 200 yards off the beach with lots of campers. There were already a number of other boats in the cove and sailing into Conception bay, we had shared our trip with two other sailboats also headed to the same cove. Coyote Cove actually consists of a number of individual coves and beaches, many protected by small islands all with their own anchorages. Santispac being the best known of all the coves is also owned by the Indians so there are no houses on the beach which is why it is ‘the’ hot spot to camp. It is quite a pretty area.
The afternoon was still and hot, over 90 degrees. We no sooner anchored than we were invaded by lots of pesky flies so we had to close up the main companion way and open all the hatches with screens. Fortunately, all of our hatches have screens; surprisingly, the interior of the boat remained quite cool. While we were doing this, our electronic barometer issued a gale warning! A quick check of the barometric pressure indicated that it had dropped over three millibars in the last hour and was still going down.
Sure enough, about 3:30 pm we had sudden sustained winds of 20 knots out of the north that escalated to gusts over 30 knots. This lasted for almost two hours during which time, one of the 36′ sailboats in the bay dragged anchor and began sailing itself out of the bay. Fortunately, it did not entangle other boat anchor lines during its progress. It had moved more than a quarter of a mile before the owners, who were ashore, managed to get to the boat and rescue it. When they did finally get back to the anchorage, they put out two anchors for added security.
There are clumps of weed in the bay and we had to anchor twice as the first time the anchor did not hold to our satisfaction. While we did drag a little way during the squall, about 40 feet, some of this was normal anchor stretch. As soon as things calmed down, we added 40 lbs of weight (Sentinel ) to the eye thimble between the anchor chain and anchor rode. This dampens the movement of the entire anchor line, adds springs to line and helps keep the anchor at a better angle to the seabed for holding. We have not moved since and have been sitting out some good wind gusts.
At least all of this wind got rid of the flies and after 6:00 pm, things became quite calm.

It was a calm night with a very gentle breeze and once the moon had set, it was a very dark sky with lots of stars and a shining Milky Way. In the morning, we launched the dingy, attached the outboard and new wheels and went ashore to do some exploring. What a difference the dinghy wheels made to landing the dingy on the shore and pulling it up above the high water mark. Almost no effort and a stark contrast to when we tried this at Los Frailes where we both struggled to drag the 120 lbs over the sand to get it above the tide line. We discovered that launching from the beach was even easier. Just lift the bow and it rolls down the beach to the water by itself. Oh what a wonderful purchase!
Caleta San Juanico is a wonderful area to explore with lots of trails, sand beaches for swimming and coves to snorkel in. A couple of houses are up on the cliffs above the cove, otherwise the area is deserted except for some beach campers. We headed off on one of the trails to see if we could find some ‘Apache Tears’ or Obsidian for which this area is known. While we were unsuccessful at finding Obsidian, we did discover the ‘Cruisers Tree’ on the beach where we added a shell with Hilbre’s name to the collection of artifacts that have been left by various boaters over the years. There are lots of nice shells and rocks to choose from. Many of the rocks have nice markings and colors and there are lots of shells embedded in the shale along the shoreline.
In the afternoon, we took the dinghy for a longer ride along the cliffs, to another bay called ‘False Bay’ where a Mexican fisherman was just hauling in his nets and catch of leaping fish; it looked like a nice haul. The area is very photogenic and we took many pictures to record our stay here. If and when we come back, we plan to stay much longer as it is such a nice area.
Later in the day two more sailboats arrived, one an older Catalina 36, the first C36 we had seen since Cabo. It arrived with another smaller sailboat. Both boats were travelling together the smaller one anchored in the bay behind us and the C36 just off to our port. The skippers were alone but not so a small boat from Anchorage, Alaska that had arrived the day before. He had picked up three young women in La Paz who were cycling around the Baja. They had stored the bicycles on the boat and sailed with him from La Paz and were headed later that day to San Carlos on an overnight passage. We had met them on the beach and the skipper was very happy with the arrangement as he had not had to cook a meal in weeks.
We took in the dingy before nightfall as we planned on an early start for the 54 mile trip up the coast to Conception Bay.

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

We left the southern anchorage of Coronados Island at 5:30 a.m. with no wind and calm seas. We headed back through the Coronados channel and north to San Juanico. We were treated to sunrise behind Coronados and what a difference 24 hours can make, no wind and absolutely flat sea with the very slightest of a long swell. By 8:30 we had passed the Mangles point and just before 10 am we were already anchored in Caleta San Juanico at the head of a bay. There were three other boats already there, one of which left just after we had anchored.
This is a delightful anchorage, with its nice beaches and various coves. With an improvement in the weather it was nice to relax and forget the bashing we had taken trying to reach here the day before. I put on the wet suit and took a look at the prop as we did have some vibration while motoring from Coronados. After I had cleaned the large clump of seaweed that had attached itself to the prop-shaft just in front of the strut and propeller, we both took sun showers and cleaned up the boat.
During our trip home in December, we had purchased a set of boat wheels for the dingy. Later, we took out the tools and drill and after hoisting the dingy up from the deck with a halyard we attached the brackets for the wheel arms to the transom. During the afternoon, three other sailboats arrived and anchored in the bay. For dinner, we had a bottle of wine and the grilled steak we had purchased at the Dali meat store in Loreto; all while watching the setting sun.

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

We left Puerto Ballandra at 9:45 am, later than our usual departure times. We had some nice north wind on the crossing to Coronados Island so we managed to sail for about an hour and a half. The inside channel of Coronados was recommended as the seaward side gets a lot of fishing and has nets and long-lines which are likely to get tangled in the prop if you happen to run over them. We had also received a tip that some local fishermen use empty Coke bottles as floats for their long lines.
As we turned into the Coronados channel the wind had picked up to 15 knots out of the north and the sea along with it. While this is not necessarily a problem, the short swells were getting steeper with a very short duration. Over the next hour and a half we battled the increasing wind and steeper seas as we headed north to San Juanico. During this time, the wind increased to 18-20 knots (true) and we were pitching heavily in white caps with four foot seas at eight second intervals. Our speed had been reduced to almost two and a half knots and we were still over 10 miles from San Juanico. At 1:00 pm we made the decision to turn, head back to Coronados Island and anchor in the southern bight of the island. With a following sea and wind, we covered the trip back to the Coronados channel in just under an hour and after making our way through the channel, we headed over to the southern anchorage where we finally anchored at 2:40 pm. We put out a long anchor scope to ride out the continuing wind but little sea as we were in the lee of the Island’s ancient volcanic dome. So much for the weather forecast, however these are amateur forecasters’ doing their best to help boaters with some useful weather

Monday, 26 March 2012

We continued to hang out in Puerto Ballandra, sitting out the north wind blow with gusts to 25 knots. It is a good place to sit out the Northerners that continue to blow in every week but they are not as strong as in November and December. We plan on leaving tomorrow as the forecast is for winds of 8-12 out of the NNW.

Sunday, 25 march 2012

We relaxed most of the day and cleaned the bottom of the boat to remove the sludge that had collected since the last cleaning in La Paz. We had a visit from the Dolphins again last night, but this time they did not come close to the boat. Two other boats arrived, a Catalina 42 and a Hylas 49 and anchored close by. The Hylas 49 was purchased in New Zealand and had been sailed from there by the new owners, Jim and Ellen. We had met them in Puerto Escondido just before we left and Ellen had talked to us about their voyage from New Zealand to Hawaii at 35 degree latitude. Like many of the boats we have met, they are also headed to San Carlos for summer storage.

Saturday, 24 March 2012

This morning we turned in our car rental and headed for the anchorage in “Honeymoon Cove” on the island of Danzante. This cove is just across the Channel from Puerto Escondido and only four miles away. Unfortunately, it is quite popular and one or two boats had taken up strategic positions in the coves to deny other boats the ability to find space to anchor. This seems to be a real issue with some live aboard cruisers who “Hog” some of the best anchoring spots, sometimes for many days or even weeks.
Because of this, we continued on to Puerto Ballandra, a cove on the island of Carmen, about two hours north of Honeymoon cove. Only one boat was anchored in the cove and as it is a fairly large cove, there was plenty of space for a number of boats. As we sailed north passing Loreto, we were able to use our cell phone to talk to John & Juliet. The weather was nice, the seas calm and the wind light, but what wind there was, was on our nose as usual.
Puerto Ballandra is very nice and well protected from all but South and Southwest winds when it becomes an uncomfortable lee shore. It has high hills all around. Our friends Allan and Ann-Marie arrived on their boat in the afternoon so we had a chicken BBQ on our boat. They left Sunday morning but as the weather and bay were so nice, we decided to stay a couple of days and relax before heading north to San Juanico. Monday is supposed to be breezy white-capping conditions from the NNW which would again put the wind on our nose and mean bashing into it with the engine on. We had been hoping for the Southerlies to kick in so we could sail; but it looks like this is not going to happen for some time.
We had some strong phosphorescence last night and some dolphins came into the bay stirring up the phosphorescence. As they swam near the boat, they were large glowing objects in the water; it was quite a sight.

Friday, 23 March 2012

The harbor of Puerto Escondido is almost landlocked. As you enter the harbor there is a small anchorage area to the right called the “Waiting Room” with a number of long term sailing residents. To the left is a jetty for medium sized tourist cruise boats like the National Geographic Explorers. Beyond that and on the left, is a large circular area, also used to anchor sail-boats.
The entrance to the main mooring and anchorage area is narrow but quite navigable with a depth of at least nine feet. The main bay/harbor is then before you, with its anchoring areas and many moorings. There are hills surrounding the anchorage on the right and two hills with gaps between them at the far end of the bay. To the left, the Sierra Gigante rises up providing a nice backdrop to the whole area. This harbor is considered the “Hurricane Hole” on this side of the Sea of Cortez and makes a secure and pretty setting.
The marina is run by the Government with a nice restaurant, small store, sometimes WiFi and a Pool/Jacuzzi; neither of which are heated and therefore quite cold. There is also a boatyard with a Traverlift. Although Puerto Escondido is about 15 miles from Loreto, the car rental agencies will deliver and pick-up cars from the Marina and therefore do a steady business with visitors. Cruisers often share auto rental expenses and long-term sail-boat residents will often give you a ride into town. We did one pump-out while we were in the marina which was an interesting operation that took over an hour to set up and complete.
The moorings are not well maintained and it can take some work to get attached to one. This is because there are few moorings left with trip line floats so the main mooring line just hangs under the mooring ball. We finished up lassoing the ball and pushing our dock line down over the ball to snag the chain underneath. We then found the mooring line and got properly attached to the mooring; other boats had similar problems. Because there is some uncertainty as to the reliability of the moorings, I did attach an extra line to the top of the mooring ball ring which turned out to be a mistake. This line eventually became entangled with the chain under the mooring ball and it took almost a half hour of free diving to untangle the mess. In the end, we just lived with the main mooring line attachment and used our anchor alarm overnight as a safety precaution.
There is a morning VHF Channel 22 Cruisers net and a clubhouse (Hidden Harbor Yacht Club) with a well stocked book exchange and DVD library. The club also provides mail services to and from the US. Loreto is a nice small town with a number of restaurants, banks and stores. It is very limited for sailing products; these are best bought in La Paz. We enjoyed the town and had the best Tacos of the trip at El Rey, a small kitchen style eatery on a side street. Grocery supplies can be had at three or four different stores although each is better for certain grocery products. One store called “Dali” had cases of frozen meats from the US.
We enjoyed our stay here as there is much to do from visiting the missions in Loreto and the Loreto area as well as lots of good hiking. To the south is a new resort, the “Villa del Parma” where we spent a very enjoyable afternoon using their pool and Jacuzzi facilities. They do offer “day-passes” which include all drinks, food and pool facilities. They were very hospitable and although we arrived too late to make use of a day pass, they allowed us to use the pool and order drinks from the bar.
There are many islands around the Loreto and Puerto Escondido area, so it is a worthwhile place to linger and try the many nice coves that dot the islands. These Islands are all part of the Mexican National Park system for which you need to purchase an annual pass.
We could certainly have used more time to explore the area using Puerto Escondido as a base. The area is home to many “Gringos” who have homes and live here permanently, some in very choice beach-front locations. As development expands, we wonder how secure their property rights are, especially as other areas of coastal Mexico have seen resort and marina developers usurp the ownership rights of both foreigners and Mexicans alike.
We would certainly return to this area and spend more time cruising around the many coves and islands.

Saturday March 17th 2012
A little over 25 miles outside of Loreto and just before you enter Loreto from the South on route No.1, is a turnoff to another mission located in the hills on the Pacific watershed. This morning we headed out early to visit this mission called, Mission of San Francisco Javier. This was a small and winding road leading high and deep into the mountains about two thirds of which is paved and the rest is dirt with a lot of roadwork going on. Because of this it was quite bumpy however this side trip, which took us over and hour each way, was well worth the drive. It does have a small pension style hotel and would make an interesting overnight stop.
The missions’ architecture is quite interesting and one has to appreciate the hard work and trouble it took to construct a building in such difficult terrain. The interior is quite surprising given its location and many of the panels and altars were built in Mexico City, shipped to Loreto and then hauled up into the hills. There is a small dam forming a lake which is the main water source and the whole oasis is surrounded by high hills. Each December there is a celebration at the mission which draws thousands of pilgrims from all over Mexico.

Friday, March 16th 2012
Today we shared car rental expenses with another cruising couple Allan and Ann-Marie and drove into Loreto for the Day. The Hertz rental car was delivered to the Marina from town and then collected after our adventures, the keys being left at the Marina office who assisted Alan in making the arrangements.

Loreto is 14 miles north of Puerto Escondido. It was founded in 1697 by the Jesuits who built a mission, the first in all of California. The mission, Nuestra Senora de Loretto was the center for establishing missions throughout the California area as far north as San Francisco. It was from here in 1769 that the Jesuit explorers set out to travel along the California coast and found the many missions familiar to Californians. Loreto was the capital and the center of the Baja area for many years until 1829 when it was heavily damaged by a storm. Because of this, the capital and administrative center of the Baja was moved to La Paz.

The town is quite small and very easy to walk around. It has a small but shallow harbor and a Malecon which is in the process of being modernized. Most of the town consists of single or double level houses and hotels. Because of this, the Mission church still stands out as the tallest building in town and dominates the skyline. It is very much the small Gringo town with many homes owned by Americans especially along the waterfront. While ripe for development, it is still a quiet backwater that has its own charm but will probably eventually succumb to commercialization. It also serves as a center for Kayakers’, who make group camping trips along the coast and to the nearby islands of Carmen, Danzante and Coronados. The morning VHF channel 22 cruiser net in Puerto Escondido has a section devoted to them for check in and provide updates on their daily activity.
There is a really nice old hotel on the main town square called,’ Posada de la Flores’ that is well worth seeing. The main street is a pedestrian walk-way with intertwined overhanging trees. There are a number of nice restaurants and we had a nice Huarache for lunch and Sea Bass for dinner.

The mission has an interesting museum containing many early items from its founding in 1697. Loreto is certainly a nice town with a lot of charm and well worth a visit.

With no urgency for the four hour trip to Puerto Escondido, we had a leisurely breakfast before leaving Agua Verde. We took lots of photographs as we headed out of the bay and past the Solitary Rock. With wonderfully calm and warm conditions, we were again motoring along the coast and as we motored the area became more interesting. Lots of small Islands and coves line the main shore which gives the area the feel of a resort. Heading into the Los Candeleros reef we passed the White Rock, yet another pinnacle covered in Guano but an active area for fishing, especially along the outer edges of the reef that surrounds the rock. We did see a number of Pangas fishing in this area. After navigating the reef (the nautical charts say “No Passage”) we turned northwest to our destination, Puerto Escondido.
Puerto Escondido is a landlocked bay and the only real Hurricane Hole in the Baja. After passing through the narrow passage into the inner harbor we picked out a suitable mooring. This caused us a problem as there was no float line to hook onto, just the ring on the top of the mooring buoy. The mooring line was hanging down under the rather large weed covered ball and the boat hook proved useless in snaring this line. What we really needed was a long fish gaff to get to the mooring line under the ball. We eventually used a dock line which we looped over the ball and then pushed down under the ball with the boat pole to snare the lower chain on the mooring to hold our position. Of course, because of the plentiful growth on the ball, this could lead to chafe. This is Mexico and you do not know how well these moorings and mooring lines are maintained. The one on our mooring, while heavy duty, did not look too healthy. Finally, after getting the mooring line aboard Hilbre, I also used a spare length of anchor rode which I shackled to the ring on the top of the ball just as an extra precaution. You can anchor here in the lagoon but they do not encourage it even though they charge the same daily rate as using a mooring. The area is very pretty with the mountains; it just lacks lush tropical vegetation to make it complete. It does have good showers, a nice restaurant, a small store, a great book exchange and a pool/hot tub. Being 14 miles from the nearest town is something of a hindrance as you are left either using a taxi, which is about $35 each way or hitching a ride from someone with a car. At least it was nice to be hooked up to something that at least feels secure so that you can sleep at night.
We have tried the restaurant and had a very fine meal of shrimp with Margaritas which were well endowed with alcohol so we were quite happy by the time we returned to the boat. We do have intermittent Internet access and plan on staying in this location for about two weeks while we explore Loreto and the area around Escondido. The area is quite charming with all of the islands and anchorages and it would be easy to spend lots of time exploring all of the sea life and anchorages.

We have now covered 1,265 Nautical miles or 1,468 land miles since leaving San Pedro.

It is calm and sunny.
This morning, we pulled up anchor at 6:30 am and all but one sailboat had already left ahead of us. As we motored out of the bay the sun was coming up highlighting the mountains and putting Isla San Francisco in the distance into a shadowy haze. It was a warm and hazy morning as we motored up the San Jose Channel passing a whale that was just lazing about on the surface of the sea. As there was no wind we continued motoring north to Punta San Marcial. Off to our starboard after clearing the Island of San Jose were the islands of San Diego and Santa Cruz. As we motored up the coast we could not help but compare the scenery to that on Lake Mead. We could have been heading to Middle point on Lake Mead; instead we were in over 800 feet of salt water heading to Agua Verde.
About 32 miles up the coast from San Evaristo is the anchorage of Puerto Los Gatos with its red rock formations, just like Lake Mead. As we passed this point, we saw at least three other boats enjoying the calm weather. We decided not to do a detour and by 1:30 pm we were approaching the San Marcial Reef. We had set the GPS way-points to guide us through a small channel between the main reef area off to our starboard and the San Marcial headland with its own reef off to our port. Anita was on duty reef spotting but the waypoints were good as we saw no shallow spots.
Once we cleared the reef, we set our final course for the ‘Solitary Rock’ which marks the entrance to the bay of Agua Verde and was plainly visible in the distance. As usual, this rock stood out quite clearly as it is quite white from the Guano. By 3:10 pm we were safely anchored in the Bay. There is a small cove off the main bay which can hold three or four boats however by the time we arrived it was already full. Once outside of this cove, the depth drops quickly to over 50 feet so we choose to anchor in the main part of the bay in about 18 feet with a sand bottom.
Agua Verde, like San Evaristo is very pretty with the mountains as a close backdrop but it is larger bay. There are a couple of fishing camps and a fine sand beach. During the late afternoon, a Shrimp boat arrived however there was no shrimp on board so we were a little disappointed at not having a nice fresh shrimp dinner.
As we were exposed to some of the small swells entering the bay we did rock about quite a bit as we had not put a stern anchor down to hold us into the wind. We eventually found a solution to this by using the dingy oar to paddle the stern of Hilbre around so we could put down a heavy mushroom anchor. This managed to hold us in a more comfortable position until the seas calmed down later in the evening. During this maneuver we stirred up the water with the oar making it obvious that we had a good phosphorescence display. Everything in the water lit up wonderfully including the fish swimming under the boat. We also watched the phosphorescence light up anchor as it sank to

It is calm and Sunny.
As expected the wind died down overnight and it became quite calm in the bay at Isla San Francisco. This morning there is hardly a ripple in the bay. After pumping up the dingy we eventually decided not to go ashore and instead left for San Evaristo with is about nine miles north of Isla San Francisco up the San Jose Channel. As we motored out into the channel, the wind picked up to a nice 15 knots but it was on the nose which would have meant tacking a number of times up the channel. Instead we continued motoring all the way to San Evaristo arriving there at 1:00 pm.
The San Evaristo bay makes a wonderful anchorage surrounded by hills. It has good holding over sand and a nice backdrop of the Sierra Gigante making it a very pretty location, much prettier than Isla San Francisco. The beach has a number of fishing camps and Pangas come and go quite frequently to these camps. There is a small notch in the cliff to the North of the bay which can protect about 5 or 6 sailboats from the north or northwestern wind. However, as the weather was now good, we chose to anchor in the main portion of the bay in about 16 feet of clear water.
Frank and Cheryl, new sailing friends from a Hans Christiansen 38T came by Hilbre. We were hoping that we could all go ashore and have fish tacos for dinner at a small restaurant on the beach however it was closed. Instead, we spent the afternoon drinking G&T’s on Hilbre and swapping sailing stories. The weather continued to be calm and the anchorage secure, so we spent a peaceful night with five other sailboats. San Evaristo certainly deserves a longer stay than just overnight.