We had Breakfast at the El Embarcadero, bought some groceries and then headed to Hilbre.

It is clear and 88 degrees with Hilbre sporting a freshly painted bottom. We are currently cleaning, polishing and organizing the boat after five months on the hard. Everything is as it was when we left her and she is even cleaner this year.

The first thing was to setup the Dodger/Bimini, reconnect the batteries and plug into power so we could bring the batteries up to a full state. They had weathered the summer heat very well and still had a strong charge.

We had worked on the Bimini over the summer. It needed some reinforcements, a new zipper and a new clear glass window. After this work which was done by our local canvas shop, we washed it thoroughly in Woolite and allowed it to completely dry. We then applied two coats of High Tech 303 Fabric Guard over two days, allowing everything to dry between the spray coats. Wow, it brought back much of the color and the Bimini looks like new and is once again water repellent.

More to come in the next few days as we continue to prepare for launching and a departure to Mazatlan in early November, once Hurricane Raymond has left the region.

Today we took the long drive to San Carlos courtesy of our friend George and his trusty pickup. We arrive shortly after dark and checked into our Condo which we will use until Hilbre is launched back into the water and is at a berth in the Marina San Carlos.

It was a long but uneventful drive with an easy entry into Mexico which took 13 hours and covered 725 miles. In the evening we had dinner at the marina hotel restaurant (Embarcadero) before tuning in for the night.

We listened to the Cruiser Net on VHF 22 and then motored into the dock in the Dingy. The owners of AirOps, who had a car kindly, took us into Loreto and the local Hospital so we could have Anita’s wrist X-rayed. It turned out she has a compression fracture (Split part of her bone) and will be in a cast for at least another month. This changed our sailing plans and we will skip a number of anchorages we had planned to stay at and instead head directly to San Carlos as soon as we get a good weather window. With a strong, late season Northerner expected sometime Wednesday or Thursday, it is good to be in the secure and protected anchorage at Escondido. We spent the afternoon at the Porto Bello Restaurant drinking Margaritas and snacking on Guacamole and Chocolate clams. We watched the harbor area begin to fill up with boats coming in from the various Island anchorages for shelter. The anchorage area is quite large and can accommodate more than 100 boats.

Sunday, 21 April 2013
To San Carlos

After the Northerner had gone, the weather took a more settled view and by Sunday it was quite calm with a good weather forecast for the week ahead. We had planned to leave early on Monday morning however as everything had settled down so well we decided to leave on Sunday evening instead.

We dropped the mooring lines at 7:00 pm and headed out of the harbor. Once clear of Puerto Escondido we set course for San Carlos passing between Isla Coronados and Isla Carmen at midnight. The weather stayed calm with gentle winds from the SSW and then SSE at 8-12 Knots during the night. By daybreak Monday, we were already almost a third of the way to San Carlos.

During the morning, we passed through a fog bank for a couple of hours until about noon when the sun finally broke through to give us a very pleasant day of motor-sailing in very light winds of less than 5 Knots with a slight sea of less than two feet. An hour or so short of San Carlos, we hailed the Marina on the VHF and received a slip assignment for the next two weeks until our haul-out on May 6. We were safely in our slip by 4:45 pm ships time. A very pleasant crossing in great weather conditions for the 132 KM in just under 22 hours.

We will take a day of rest before cleaning the boat and starting the preparations for our Haul-out.

So ends season two of cruising in Mexico. We covered just over 1,000 miles during the six months and experienced the usual mix of weather conditions but had two relatively mild crossings of the Sea of Cortez. Once again we made many new sailing friends and saw some wonderful locations spending long enough in each to get much of the flavor of life in Mexico.

We had agreed to share rental car costs with our friends and so this morning we set off to enjoy the Loreto area. This was our friends first time in Loreto so we showed them the way to the Mission San Francisco Xavier in the hills near Loreto. It is always a fun drive up the narrow, steep winding road and this year there were many washouts from heavy rain on this portion of the road. However, the road is now paved all the way to the Mission, unlike last year when we drove for many miles on gravel.

We had a fine lunch in Loreto at Orlando’s just off the main plaza after which we shopped for provisions before returning to Puerto Escondido.

Friday 19 April 2013

This morning the storm was still going strong but showing signs of coming to an end. Early Friday morning, a 42 foot sailboat just behind us broke loose at about 3:00 am and ended up on the rocks near the dock. With lots of help after their Pan Pan Alarm went out, people responded and they managed to get it off the rocks and broadside onto the fuel dock for the rest of the night. She has some nasty scrapes and marks on her starboard side but did not get more seriously damaged. Currently, she is back on the same mooring just behind us. Apparently, their single line leading through the loop on the mooring line and back to their bow cleats got chafed through by the mooring loop. Our sailing buddies on their 42 Brewer Pilothouse next to us have two separate lines through their mooring loop. I had the mooring loop directly onto the port bow cleat with a secondary line tied onto a second loop in the mooring line for additional safety. Of course, this is never a guarantee that something else will break.

Our wind instruments recorded consistent winds in the high 20’s to low 30’s with the highest gust being in the low 40’s but lots of gusts hitting the 30’s. We have certainly been buffeted strongly in this storm with the boat gyrating as the wind gusts hit us. Offshore, at anchorages in the Islands, boats have been reporting steady winds in the mid 30 to high 40’s with gusts into the mid 50’s. One also reported losing their Bimini to the wind. Boats have been dragging in many of the anchorages but none have been lost. Lots of fun and games, this had certainly been a very nasty, long Northerner for so late in the season.

The wind did drop in the late afternoon, so we went ashore to the Porto Bello Restaurant for more food and drinks and to celebrate Anita’s birthday. It was finally quiet overnight.

Allowing for the sea to settle for a couple of days, we might get more settled weather by Sunday or Monday to make a crossing to San Carlos. Everyone is complaining about the weather in the Baja this year. Apparently, the winter was really bad and the spring weather has been inconsistent, as we have discovered.

The mountains to our west, the Sierra Gigante were slowly covered by clouds as north wind started to blow during the morning. It slowly increased in intensity getting quite strong overnight. We swung from side to side as the 30 MPH gusts hits us from one side or the other. The highest gust was 40 MPH but overall the wind was steadily blowing in the low to mid 20’s. Puerto Escondido is a pretty anchorage so we were quite happy to just sit and wait out the storm which increased in intensity through Thursday and into Friday night.

As the harbor is quite large we had a lot of small sharp wave action of up to a foot, not a good time to dinghy ashore. It continued to blow very hard from the NNE throughout Wednesday and Wednesday night, all day Thursday and Thursday night.

We managed to sail partway from Agua Verde to Escondido and arrived in Puerto Escondido about 1:00 pm. on Monday. Upon going forward to hook the mooring buoy in Escondido, Anita tripped over the line holding the dinghy and hurt her wrist as she fell forward. We stayed on the boat and rested for the remainder of the day but not before launching the Dinghy so we could go ashore on Tuesday

Next day, we dug the anchor out as it had buried itself quite deeply with the wind. We motored all the way to Agua Verde in pleasant sunshine but no wind. We passed El Gato, another anchorage we had wanted to visit, however we pressed on to Agua Verde anchoring just off the beach with a nice 7:1 scope for a change. The weather was just perfect and it is such a picturesque spot. We went ashore the next day and visited the small Tienda buying about a pound of homemade goat cheese for 7 Pesos. The cheese was very mild and not what we expected but it was good for just snacking on. We also did a short walk from the beach around the cove to the south anchorage area passing through a small arch on the way and picking up some nice pieces of coral. Both nights were quiet and there was some phosphorescence but not as bright as last year.

We had a fine sail north out of La Paz going directly to San Evaristo. The wind was from the SE at 18-22 Knots. As we headed north, we felt sorry for the boats trying to get back to La Paz as they had the wind on the nose and were having a hard time. Our wind gave up about noon, just as we were parallel with Los Islotes. We had wanted to stay in Caleta Partida and swim with the Sea Lions at Islotes, but we knew there would be a strong Coromuel overnight so we continued directly to San Evaristo.

We waved to Isla San Francisco but we did not stop, we seem to have little luck spending time here other than sheltering from Northerners! We tucked into San Evaristo along with nine other boats which meant it was a little crowded so we had to use a scope of 4:1 as we swung to the west in 20’ of water when the Coromuel started. The new Rocna lived up to its reputation and even though we had steady wind to 30 Knots and winds gusting to high 30’s, we never budged. Just as well, as we had a reef behind us about 300 yards away in our lee. The Island Packet next to us dragged as soon as the wind started and almost finished up on the reef. They had to grope their way among the boats in the dark with no moon and wind to try and find another spot to anchor which they finally managed to do.

We have enjoyed our sojourn in La Paz, where we have been for the last month. Overall the weather has been nice, mainly sunny and warm during the day but cooling off nicely at night. We reacquainted ourselves with the joys of the town, the ice cream parlors, restaurants and outdoor bars where you can sit and watch the world go by. We also enjoyed the pools at the Marina.

We made new friends here as well as met old friends from last year who somehow never left La Paz. We think we will be underway next week and have already provisioned for our next leg to Puerto Escondido. This will take us along the same route we took in March 2012 but we hope to send time in anchorages that we missed when dodging ‘Northerners’ as we did last year. However, at this time of the year, the days begin to get warm and it is time for the Coromuel winds to fire up. These are westerly winds, usually starting in the late afternoon and often lasting until morning. They can be gentle and they can be fierce and are quite unpredictable. It means the west facing anchorages on the islands are good during the early part of the day but you need to get tucked into a sheltered cove on the east side of the Baja for overnight anchoring.

We expect to miss out on Isla Espirtu Santo as all of the best anchoring spots face west, right into the face of the Coromuel. However Isla San Francisco has some protection on its eastern side and San Evaristo which is close by, offers good Coromuel protection. San Evaristo is close enough to make forays during the early part of the day to other interesting nearby places.

Of course, the weather was nice last week, but now we are leaving it wants to make our lives a little more difficult, however the winds may give us some decent sailing. We did some maintenance chores while in La Paz including changing out the raw water pump which was starting to fail. The outboard needed some help to get going as we had not used it in almost a full year and we will use it heavily over the next 30 days. There were also a few hoses that looked suspect, and these were replaced.

We expect to arrive in San Carlos on mainland Mexico at the end of this month and plan to make the crossing back across the Sea of Cortez from San Juanico which is north of Puerto Escondido.

Friday morning at 6:00 am we left Los Muertos for La Paz, passing through the Cerralvo channel during the morning before turning to head through the San Lorenzo Channel into the Bay of La Paz at about 1:00 pm. The weather had warmed up during the day and while we had to motor all the way to La Paz, it was a really beautiful day and a nice trip. Certainly better than last year when we had to fight our way from Los Muertos to La Paz in heavy wind in the middle of the night.

We tied off at the fuel dock of Marina Costa Baja at 4:15 pm to check in with our paperwork having covered 293 nautical miles since leaving Mazatlan. The entire trip had taken about 58 hours. In front of us on the fuel dock was ‘Venus,’ the boat Steve Jobs was still building when he died. At about 250 feet, its design draws interesting comments. It is lightweight aluminum, with lots of windows and highly polished stainless steel.

After fixing everything, we went back to the engine as the waves had settled down and set our course for Los Muertos where we arrived at 10:30 am and had the anchor down at 10:45 am. The bay was quiet with a number of other sailboats at anchor. We decided to spend two nights and catch up on some much needed rest. The weather was friendly and we had a calm anchorage during the entire stay.

After watching and listening to the forecasts, we finally got a good weather window for a crossing over to the Baja. Earlier this morning, we had the bottom of the boat cleaned and finally left Marina Mazatlan at 10:10 am heading for La Paz. We had waited a couple of days for the sea to settle and we had fine sailing after clearing the harbor entrance for most of the day with our bow pointed just north of Isla Cerralvo. During the late afternoon we spotted a thick fog bank to the west of us which finally descended upon us just before nightfall.

We had the RADAR on, using a three mile range when suddenly in the fog and dark we heard voices and then strong beams of light. With visibility of about 250 yards, we had run right into the middle of a group of Pangas that were actively fishing about 17 miles offshore. We had earlier noticed the waves were somewhat confused which appeared to be the demarcation point for the Sea of Cortez hitting the Pacific. The group of Pangas was spread out over more than a square mile and even on very short range RADAR, they were not showing up too well. We finally managed to extricate ourselves and avoided entangling their fishing lines. I think they were as surprised as us but they were in good humor and appeared grateful for our care in avoiding their lines.

We pressed on during the night under the engine as the wind had died. By 11:00 pm, the fog had lifted to a hazy night but with much better visibility. Early on Tuesday morning, we picked up some nice wind which was on the bow so we altered course to take advantage of it. It gave us a nice sail for most of the afternoon and evening until it petered out about 11:00 pm shortly after we had tacked to the north. We turned the engine on to a loud squeal so we either had a loose drive belt or needed to replace one. It took an hour or so to fix this issue; head down in an engine compartment in the middle of the night in a wallowing boat is not my favorite pastime but you do what you have to. After all, cursing and cruising is all about being self-sufficient!

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.)

Cerritos Mazatlan
We took the bus over to Cerritos and Playa Brujas named for the female Witch Doctors who used to perform their rituals here. It has some nice seafood restaurants and a small strip of shops with a nice coffee bar where you can buy freshly roasted and ground coffee. A few weeks back, we had come over here with a group of friends to have a Sunday Brunch as the restaurant offers a special deal for cruisers. Sitting in the restaurant, we dined while watching the surfers having fun in the waves off the point. A fine view with a filling meal cost under $10 for the two of us.
The area still has some Oyster beds and it is a great spot to find fresh Oysters. It is still has something of a fishing camp feel about it with Pangas drawn up on the beach. On the headland, tucked away behind the stores is a RV park full of vehicles with US and Canadian license plates. The park has something of permanence about it as people have built walls with windows to provide wind protection while still enjoying the view. The RV’s sit on concrete slabs; some even have extra rooms alongside the campers. In Mexico it is not uncommon to find these hideaway places where Gringos have found an inexpensive spot in the sun to winter over from the colder climates.
The sandy beach leads to offshore rocks where there are fine salt water pools when the tide retreats. As you walk around the headland from the Cerritos Bay, you can look down on the Brujas beach and the sand dunes with the surfers working the waves below you.
Back at the Marina, we have discovered the Palapa restaurant on the Island where on Tuesdays you can come and grill your own food and share in a cruisers potluck. It is the haunt of some British ex-pats some of whom hail from the part of England where I was brought up. One even went to the same school as me! We have had a fine time reminiscing about places we knew long ago.
Our weather is slowly improving for crossing over to La Paz and if it continues, we expect to be underway on Sunday. The marina has turned out to be in a convenient location and easy to get around with lots of local services with good local transportation for getting to stores or downtown. However, after spending six weeks in Mazatlan, we are ready for a change of scenery even though we have found this a pleasant place to hang out, relax, enjoy life and make new friends.

Some places seem to want to hang on to you and never let you go. Last year it was La Paz and this year it seems that it is Mazatlan. We were all checked out and ready to sail the 90 miles south down the coast to Isla Isabella on Monday, 4th February. We were all provisioned and ready when John came down with a bad cold overnight. He probably caught it on the 12 hour bus ride back from San Carlos the previous Friday where he had taken the car for storage. After a few days Anita caught it so we have spent a couple of weeks recovering.

The port has been closed this week because of the weather so we could not leave anyway. Our time has been spent on the Internet, reading, cooking or sleeping. With taking antibiotics, our afternoon Margaritas were off limits. All of those provisions we had stocked up on had to go somewhere before they went bad. A pressure cooker is a wonderful thing; we made lots of Pot roasts, Meat stews, Veggie stews, Fried Rice dishes and in between a few gourmet meals of Shrimp for some variation.

We did manage to head to the Malecon for Fat Tuesday and saw a good portion of the Mazatlan Carnival procession. The floats were very professional with lots of wonderful costumes. We quite enjoyed the break from hanging out on the boat. The whole of the Malecon was blocked off from the Fisherman’s memorial to the Aquarium. The big parade with fireworks over the bay was on Sunday however Tuesday’s parade was still significant and lasted many hours, even if the weather was a little cool for those people with small costumes. Everyone was having a great time. It was quite a different atmosphere from the Carnival in La Paz, which has a more down-home family feel to it; the Mazatlan one is quite glitzy.

Our ships cat, Pasha has settled in and is always looking for tidbits of food. He has finally become a little more adventuresome and loves to prowl the deck in the cool of the evening. We have become quite used to the busses here in Mazatlan, they pass the Marina frequently so it is easy to get to the grocery stores or even downtown for seven or ten peso a head depending upon which bus you take.

Being back in Mazatlan is almost like a homecoming. Hilbre was in fine shape and we have been enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. We met up with David and Carolyn from the “Aztec” who we had met before we took off on the Baja Ha-Ha. They were helpful and informative about cruising in Mexico, as they had already done a few seasons. We did have one brief VHF exchange in February last year while we were in La Paz, they were returning home and we were headed north up the Sea of Cortez so it took until Mazatlan before both boats finally connected in same Marina.
We again have Pasha our ship’s cat with us and he seems quite content with going sailing again. He has become quite the traveler. Our weather has been good with sunny days and temperatures in the 70’s during the day, but making for some nice sleeping with all hatches and ports open at night.
John has been having a Crown replaced at a local Dentist who was recommended by a fellow countryman from Manchester. The dental work is very thorough, it is quicker to get an appointment and at less than half the price of the US. This morning we had glorious breakfast in the old town at the Panama Restaurant, lots of great breakfast food and fresh Mexican coffee. We were tempted by the desert trolley that was roving between the tables but resisted the temptation to start our day off with large pieces of gateaux. We love the bakeries in Mexico, both bread and desserts are wonderful and we always seem to have a supply of fresh Baguettes. Here in Mazatlan it seems the Banana Cream Pie is something of a staple, we see it everywhere; and is it good!
Currently we have one pier of the marina almost full of cruising sailboats so we have a daily safety meeting, usually about 4:00 p.m., at least that is what we call it, drinks and snacks. It is so useful to exchange information about sailing and places to put down the hook; there is always something new to learn and tips to take away. Cruising is about meeting people, seeing new places and sharing in the fun of cruising. It is quite an eclectic crowd, cruisers who have done the West Indies, the Panama Canal and Central America. Others are preparing for the El Salvador Rally which starts in Puerto Bahia de Sol in El Salvador on Mar 16. You make your own way there from where you are; just arrive for the start of the events.

Today we drove into the old part of Mazatlan, the city square, the Cathedral and the market. We have been in Mazatlan twice before but this is the first time we have been able to really explore the city. Our previous two visits were on cruise ships and we never got to see the real Mazatlan, which is hard to do in one day. This had left us with a fairly negative view of the town but our longer stay here has allowed us to see more of the city and come to appreciate some of the hidden treasures of the town which really has a charm of its own.

Mazatlan has three or possibly four zones, the old city center, the original Malecon, the Golden Zone (Zona Dorada) with a fourth developing beyond this area with newer condominiums and hotels. In the Marina El Cid, we are really on the northern edge of the Golden Zone.

We spent the day exploring the original town with its narrow streets, sidewalk cafes and small plazas. The Plaza de la Republica is a busy area in front of the Cathedral and seems to be the place to get a fine shine on your shoes. Two sides of the plaza consist of shoe shine stands, I was sorry that I was wearing sandals. The Cathedral Basilica de la Purisima Conception was completed in 1899 and is quite a fine building. There was a service in progress while we were there and the bells and children singing provided an interesting backdrop to our visit.

Markets or Bazaars are always fascinating and it does not matter where in the world they are. From the Orient to the Mediterranean they all share a similar style and the Mercado in Mazatlan is no different. Anita finally found her Huaraches (Sandals) that she had been looking for months and was thrilled with the price she paid for them. While the market hall is somewhat small, it had two levels, the second being for food where we enjoyed a fine lunch of Shrimp with a soda for under $10, what a bargain!

We found a place to park the car for a few dollars and had it washed while we were gone. The narrow streets in the old city have many trees and a flavor all of their own. It is so nice to sit and enjoy a leisurely coffee in one of the many sidewalk restaurants and watch the world go by. Our return to the Marina was by way of the Cerro Vigia, a hill which overlooks the harbor, the old city center and the Pacific. Another stop was at the Divers point before returning along the Original Malecon.

Our perspective of Mazatlan has changed; it has a lot to offer and even areas of the Golden Zone which to us on previous visits seemed too touristy, grows on you after a while. We had a fine lunch at Panchos yesterday looking out over the sand, sea and islands. It is certainly a city of contrasts and one we have come to appreciate and enjoy.

Last night we had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at the Marina El Cid restaurant. We have been enjoying the pools and resting ourselves. Pat McLeish flew out of Mazatlan on Tuesday afternoon and as we have a car, we took him to the airport doing some sightseeing on the way. Tuesday was a holiday and unfortunately, the whole of the Marine promenade was closed off for the festival. We finished up driving through many small back streets before driving up one of the hills to get a nice view over the city.

The marina we are in is very comfortable with lots of facilities and we are enjoying our stay here; it is quite luxurious. The marina is the first one in the estuary complex and sits in the narrow main channel into the estuary. Because of this, the marina does suffer from a lot of tidal surge at varying states of the tide. Sometimes, the boats move around quite a bit and some even use cargo straps to hold themselves in place. Even so, we do like the location and are taking every opportunity of using the wonderful facilities.

Next week, we will move to another marina, further into the estuary which will be quieter with no surge; I am sure we will miss the pools and other facilities.

2012-11-18 18:16:50
Bus Mazatlan-Guaymas

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Informational blog for other travelers using the bus from Mazatlan to Guaymas and planning on driving back to Mazatlan from San Carlos.

10 November 2012
Traveling by bus in Mexico

The intercity bus services in Mexico are very economical and also comfortable. Our experience using the overnight Tufesa bus from Guaymas to Phoenix in April worked well.

My recent bus trip from Mazatlan (November), also with Tufesa was economical, efficient and comfortable. This trip was to retrieve our car from storage in San Carlos and bring it to Mazatlan. For a few of you who may be wondering how this works, here is the information.

Bus fare was 534 Pesos. I took the 9:30 am bus from Mazatlan which arrived in Guaymas at 9:15 pm with stops in:

Coulican – 11:40 am
Guamuchil – 1:30 pm
Los Mochis – 3:15 pm
Navojoa – 5:45 pm
Ciudad Obregon – 7:00 pm

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Guaymas, about a 10 minute walk up the road from the Tufesa bus terminus and close to fast food restaurants. The Hotel is all new and quite comfortable at 988 Pesos a night.

The return trip took nine hours and included ten road tolls at a total cost of 647 Pesos. The roads are good allowing driving speeds between 50-70 MPH. Going to Guaymas there are a number of agricultural checks, so do not bring fruit with you and a few drug enforcement checks. All checks were polite and efficient.

Pat McLeish had joined us in Topolobampo, having taken the El Chepe train from Chihuahua to Los Mochis. He was to sail with us as extra crew on this leg. Pat has sailed with us a number of times as extra crew.

After two days and nights underway we arrived off Mazatlan about 3:00 am, earlier than planned and had to stand off for a couple of hours before heading to the Marina. The trip was uneventful other than catching our first Tuna, a small one but very tasty. Surprisingly, our cat was not interested in eating any. On this leg, he seemed to have become more comfortable with being a sailor cat and was only seasick for a short time before bouncing back.

As we closed with Mazatlan, the wind and sea kicked up with gusts to 25 knots. I had taken in the Genoa earlier to slow our speed and better time our arrival at dawn. However, with the wind, our speed had increased to 5+ knots under just the mainsail. We reefed the main heavily and even with this, we were still doing over 4 knots, more than the 2 Knots that I had planned on.

The entrance into the Marina channel is quite narrow and can have strong tidal currents. However, we arrived at slack water and had no difficulty mooring to the fuel dock at Marina El Cid while we checked in and obtained our slip assignment.

The Marina El Cid is the first marina in the estuary complex and is part of a much larger Hotel/Resort facility with all of the usual amenities; spas, pools and restaurants. There are a number of other marinas in the estuary and because they are further away from the channel, they do not suffer from the tidal surge that inflicts the Marina El Cid. It is interesting to see some boats moored to their slips with Cargo straps.

We awoke early to watch the sunrise over the mountains directly in front of the hotel. After a nice breakfast we set out on the tour which included a ride on the Cable car halfway down the Canyon. This was well worth the ride as we got some great views of the Canyon, the hotel and a number of Tarahumara homes on ridges below the Cable car. The only place we saw and got to hear a homemade violin being played was here and the performer knew his instrument exacting some great Indian melodies from it. You can also take the four mile long Zipline to the lower Cable car terminus and then ride back in the Cable car. Some of the guests did this and had a really wonderful time.

We stopped at a number of viewpoints, each a little different finally ending at Divisadero where the “El Chepe” train comes close to the edge of the Canyon and stops long enough for travelers to walk to the viewpoints over the Canyon. However, the Canyon area is large and interesting enough that a week could easily be spent staying in some of the small villages and exploring the area more thoroughly. Along the way we were able to take many pictures of the Canyon and Tarahumara Indians as well as look at quite an interesting selection of homemade artifacts.

After returning to the Hotel for a drink and checkout, we were transported back to the station to catch the 1:15 pm train to Los Mochis. In true fashion, it arrived about 2:00 pm. We had a nice lunch on the train as it made its way down through the mountains to Los Mochis arriving there about 10:00 pm; an hour late. From there we took a taxi back to the marina in Topolobampo.

While we had a rather limited time to spend in the canyon, it is clear that the area deserves a much longer stay. We enjoyed every minute of the train ride, the hotels and the canyon views along with our stay in El Fuerte. Anyone traveling in this part of Mexico should make the time for this excursion into the Sierra Madre Mountains.

“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.