Monday, May 25, 2009

Back in La Paz

Yes, you heard correctly, full circle for us, but at least we were sailing. We met up with Allan and his additional crew member - Enrique, in Puerto Vallarta and were immediately welcomed by the sticky, humid, almost stagnate, hot air as we stepped off the bus. Due to the swine flu scare, their was a noticeable different in and around PV, as their was no one around. It was a virtual ghost town, well, more or less. No problem, as we were anxious to get on the water and get sailing.

After some delays due to a watermaker issues, off we sailed. First stop, Punta Mita, a mere 20 miles away. This was our shake down leg, just to make sure everything was working properly. It was. Anchored out, we enjoyed a relaxing sunset dinner aboard Mystical Crumpet, a Passport 40, in which we got to know Enrique better.
The next morning, we headed off to Chacala. We arrived around 3:30pm in the afternoon and promptly inflated the dinghy. After trying to find the key for the lock on the dingy motor, we gave up and just rowed in. Brian, wanting to cool off, decided to swim for the shore. As we pulled up on the beach, I couldn't believe how hot the water was. Tons of people were frolicking in the waves, and it was just a georgeous day. We learned later that it was "Teachers day" which accounted for all the people.
Next up, we sailed to Mantanchen. Here we just anchored out and watched another beautiful sunset, as the next leg of the trip up to Mazatlan would be an overnighter. Their is really no good place to stop along the way. We were blessed on the leg with an escort of a huge pod of dolphins. Always a treat and Brian managed to capture a lot of them in action as they played in the boat's bow wake.
We arrived in Mazatlan at 11am in the morning after an over night sail. Immediately we could all tell the humidity change, as we all breathed a sigh of relief. No more sticky, icky, and there were showers! The next day we went into town. Wow, I didn't even recognize it. The last time I was there, well the only other time for any length, was in 1989. I couldn't even figure out where the hotel I stayed existed, and senior frogs had moved as well! In addition, downtown looked totally different. Consulting the good book, we settled on dinner at Lola and Pedro's on the main square. As we sat outside under an umbrella, it poured down rain. So much fun.
From Mazatlan, the plan was to go to Bahia de Muretos, instead of all the way to La Paz. You have to cross the Sea of Cortez which, with no good wind predicted, is a good 40 hours. So, you guessed it, a 4 am start! Also, as predicted, no real wind so we had to motor most of the way. Thank goodness for the auto pilot. Brian ended up reading two books in the day and a half we were on the water if that says anything. But then again, he has read 5 books on the journey from PV to La Paz! Amazing!
Anyhow, Muretos was just how I remembered it, beautiful. We decided to take a rest day there and spent the following afternoon in the restaurant El Cardon. Then we went swimming in the crystal blue, turquoise, and green waters. Very nice indeed.
The last leg into La Paz was uneventful, except I did see a sea turtle swim by. That was pretty cool, and we got to sail until the San Lorenzo channel when the wind changed direction and was on the nose. It was nice while it lasted.


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