Tidings of Joy: Mainland Mexico Mostly

With the holidays behind us it was time to move along. But not too far. Around 9:30ish we untied our lines from El Cid Marina in Mazatlan timing our departure with high tide due to the shallow water in the channel we took the short 1 hour cruise to the downtown Mazatlan anchorage. Both of us wanted to come here to see all the cruise ships and experience being right in Mazatlan instead of outside of town at a marina. By 11a.m the hook was dropped and we were thinking about lunch. The anchorage had about 20 other boats in it with lots of room for all. We spent a lazy day enjoying being out of the marina and on our own reading, chatting with old looper friends and playing rummy cube. Sometime later in the evening we were given the best show- the three cruise ships departing so close to us it felt like we could touch them. It was shocking how large they were and just how vast the amount of channel they took up upon their departure. We were like kids in the candy store watching with amazement. Great free entertainment.

Cruising to Downtown Mazatlan

Cruise Ships Docked Downtown

Downtown Mazatlan

Rocks We Passed Underway

Lighthouse Downtown Mazatlan

Commercial Fishing Boat

Downtown Anchorage at Sunset

Our Stern View

Cruise Ship Passing By

Another Cruise Ship Passing By

We were enjoying our solitude and entertainment so much we decided to stay a second day. I had read there was a hike to the lighthouse we could take but Jeff had a bad cold and wasn't feeling up to it. Instead we just lazed around repeating the same activities as the day before.

Freighter Coming In

Cruise Ship Leaving

Fishing Boat Heading Out

After slothing out for two days it was time to move along. Our next stop Isla Isabel I had been looking forward to for months. Located 18 miles offshore the volcanic island (nicknamed the "Galapagos of Mexico" due to the enormous amount of birds and iguanas) which is a national park has been explored by Jacques Cousteau and is home to 525 nests of frigate and booby birds. I was eager with anticipation. At 0500 we up-anchored and started our 98 mile journey to Isla Isabel. The further we got from the mainland the more abundant the sea life became. We saw lots of whales, sea turtles and dolphins. And after 12 hours of cruising our noses let us know the island was near. The smell of bird poop is pungent and carries for miles in the air. With the island insight so appeared the birds. Hundreds and hundreds flew in flocks swarming and gliding their way through the air. We knew we were approaching something magical. At 1655 we were dropping the hook with 4 other sailboats. The rocky bottom gave some resistance at first but with some persistence we got her to grab and settled into the aft deck to watch the sunset and moon rise over the island.

Passing a Whale Underway

Whale Tail

First Siting of Isla Isabel

Rock Formation at East Anchorage

Our View South Anchorage

Anchored in South Anchorage

Moon Rise

Sunset

We both slept great and when we woke we discussed sounds we heard overnight only to discover it was whales singing underwater. Locals say they hear them all the time out there and after some googling we learned that whales sing in order to communicate, locate food or find each other. We felt so privileged to hear this wonderful sound. The morning was slow as most are when we are given a choice. Jeff was still a bit under the weather with his cold and I did some blogging. Finally after lunch we launched the dink and made our way to shore. Little did we know what we would see. With the help of a local guide we found the hiking trail that led to the east anchorage and started on our way only to discover that every couple of feet there are tons and tons and tons of birds in the trees right along the trail and sometimes overhead. They saw us the entire time and didn't mind that we were so close we could reach out and touch them. We were in complete amazement and shock at the symbiotic relationship that existed here. As we made our way along the trail we couldn't stop gawking at all the birds around us and a few times we had to go off the trail because the blue footed booby was sitting on a nest in the dirt. It was the most incredible experience we had ever had with birds and we couldn't get over it. The hike itself was nice some ups and downs and it was hotter then hell. Out of shape and lacking in exercise we both huffed and puffed and sweated our way along. When we finally got to the other side it was a gorgeous view of both the anchorage and birds of varies types flying, nesting, swimming and just sitting around. We clearly were the visitors on this island.

Bird Viewing in the Morning

View From the Dink

Made it to Shore

Frigates in Nest on Hiking

Sleeping Frigate

Blue Footed Booby on Path

Frigates

Trail to East Anchorage

Booby Overhead

Blue Footed Boobys

East Anchorage

Birds at East Anchorage

Research Village on Shore

Frigate in Flight

Surrounded by Pelicans

Our Anchorage View From Shore

Blue Footed Booby

Tons of Frigates in Tree

So Many Birds

Frigate

Hiking Along

Blue Footed Booby

Booby Mates

Bobby Nesting

Avoiding Booby Nesting on Trail

Always Lots of Birds

East Anchorage- End of Hike

Boobys All Around

Iguana

Bobby Tag for Research

Look How Close

Hike complete and throughly sweated out as soon as we got back to the boat we immediately put on our swimsuits and launched ourselves into the water. It felt so cool and refreshing despite the 75 degree water temperature. We took turns jumping in and drying off and it felt amazing to swim at such a stunning place. We settled in for the evening and watched another incredible moon rise and sunset. What a place.

Moonrise

Tidings of Joy at Sunset

We were having such an amazing time we decided to stay a third night. This time we were smart and got moving earlier then the previous day before it got too hot. Again we took the dink to shore but today we explored the opposite side of the island walking out to the reef and checking out the pavilion not far from the beach. The timing worked out that it was low tide and we able to walk pretty far out on the reef passing tons of nesting frigates and a little chapel for the local researchers and visitors. This island is so peaceful and so undisturbed it felt incredible to once again experience its abundance.

Frigates

View From the Reef

Iguana on Shore

Pavilion

Surrounded by Birds

Frigates

Chapel

Shore From the Reef

Nesting Booby

The Reef at Low Tide

Exploring the Reef

Reef

Back at the boat we spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening swimming, watching football and enjoying the view and the solitude.

Evening Approaching

Swimming, Football Watching & View

Sunset

Feeling we saw the island from east to west it was time to move along and continue our exploration. Todays journey back over to the mainland would take us to San Blas, a short 48.2 mile cruise. The cruise itself was uneventful except for the 20 plus whale sitings. We dropped the hook at Bahia Matanchen a circular bay surrounded by palapa restaurants and some homes. We noticed the catamaran Tiamat from Isla Isabel was also here. By now it was late afternoon when we arrived so we didn't leave the boat but spent the afternoon swimming. Later Tiamat dingied over to introduce themselves and say hello. It was great meeting new people in Mexico. They are a very nice family of four from San Francisco.

Fishing Boat Underway

San Blas

Anchorage- San Blas

Anchored in San Blas

Tiamat Saying Hello

The anchorage was calm which helped with a good nights sleep. After breakfast we launched the dink and started making our way towards shore. Not exactly sure where to go we eased our way in surveying the shore until I saw a man waving and signaling us over. We assumed he knew where we should leave the dink and he met us as we hit the beach and helped Jeff roll the dingy onto shore. He introduced himself as Baro Sanchez and explained that he worked at the restaurant in front of us and he would keep an eye on our dingy while we went into town. We thanked him and Jeff gave him 40 pecos (2 dollars) and we set off on foot to grab a bus into town. San Blas was charming and we enjoyed walking over the cobble stone streets checking out the shops. We visited the municipal marcado where I bought some produce. Later we visited the tortillaria where I bought fresh homemade corn tortillas that were still warm in the bag. I had to sample one immediately and boy were they delicious. We made our way to the one marina which consisted of only 20 slips then later caught a cab to Caballito del mar where we had lunch on the beach. The view and the food were great and Jeff even bought some banana bread (a local speciality) from a vender walking through the restaurant. Super full and getting sleepy we cabbed it back to Baro Sanchez's restaurant and bought a couple of beers from him to show our appreciation for watching the dingy. Most of the beach was empty due to their no-see-um problem. It made us kind of sad that this gorgeous beach and all these restaurants at the anchorage were empty due to their bug problem.

Baro's Restaurant

Baro Sanchez

Long walk to the Cab Stand

Banana Bread Shops

Town Square San Blas

Cathedral San Blas

Fish For Sale

Neighborhood in San Blas

Commercial Pier

Marina

Lunch at Caballito Del Mar

Our Lunch View

Beers at Baro Sanchez's Restaurant

Baro's Restaurant

Coconut Smoke Bomb to Keep Bugs Away

Our third day at San Blas isn't even worth mentioning since I annoyingly picked up Jeff's cold and felt miserable the entire day. I laid on the couch the all day and Jeff nicely made me matza ball soup which always makes you feel better.

Bird on Flopper Stopper Line

Pelican Swimming By

Picking up Food

Sunset San Blas

The next day I felt a bit better and once again we took off via dink this time to the other side of the anchorage which was closer to town. We made our way to town to take the jungle tour via panga. When we arrived they explained we had to wait about 15 minutes for more people to arrive so they could fill the boat. The wait went fast and a nice family of four joined us in our panga. The cruise through the mangroves was green lush and gorgeous and we spotted sea turtles and crocodiles swimming and resting on shore. It was incredible to be so near these exotic creatures in the natural habitat. The tour included two stops in the mangroves the first was a crocodile sanctuary which seemed a little too zoo like to me where crocs were in cages and Jeff reached in and touched one. Not for me. Our second and final stop on the tour took us to a swimming hole which also had a restaurant. Neither of us wanted to swim in the swamp so we opted for beers and lunch (for Jeff only there were no vegan options for me) then hopped back onto the boat. The day was great and the scenery even better.