Puerto Balandra

El Hongo, the mushroom rock.



Lovely clear water and clean beaches.




Weathering of the rock wall, and ...turquoise water.

 It was difficult to leave Muertos, and we were among the last to set off, but we headed around the East Cape towards La Paz.  This is a 45 mile trip, so a fairly short day sail to our next destination of Bahia Balandra, near La Paz.  As we rounded the corner, the water became even more blue and clear, and the sun more intense.  The wind was on the nose most of the way, so we ended up motoring the entire trip, and fishing of course.  We caught one Mexican mackerel, and released it, no marlin today.  Around 1:00 p.m. we arrived at our chosen bay, a small inlet with crystal clear water and secluded white sand beaches.  Or so we thought, as this is Semana Santa, or Easter weekend, the locals are out in full force as would be the case at home.  Everywhere there are tents on the beaches, with cars and trucks parked nearby, and loud tuba and accordion music wafting throughout the air.  It's quite an atmosphere.  Mid-day today there were many smaller yachts, jet skis, and moorings sailboats that dropped into the anchorage to enjoy the day.  It seemed a lot like Catalina or the river.  As the sun dropped from the sky, the coromuel winds started up and the boats headed for La Paz or wherever they were from.  Every afternoon these winds start up from across the land, and they howl all night around 20+ knots.  It's not quiet shall we say.  It sounds a bit like a small hurricane, and in the late morning they die off, thankfully.  We have a really good anchor, once again, thankfully, and we bob back and forth, but stay put. 
   Today we snorkeled the nearby rocky shoreline, where there were corals, small rays, multitudes of tropical fish, and deep caves.  It was the best snorkeling I've had in years.  The water is clearer than Hawaii, unfortunately not as warm yet.  My water camera died in Las Hadas in the swimming pool, otherwise I'd have pictures of these great scenes.  Can't figure out why a water camera didn't like chlorine, but it didn't. 
   Tomorrow our friends on Blue Rodeo and Pacifico are headed into La Paz, we think we'll stay here for a few more nights, as it's so gorgeous.  I've seen pictures of the Sea of Cortez, I just never thought they were real.  Well, I was wrong, it really is that beautiful.  It's incredible.

Big Changes, style and location

Several changes have finally occurred on our trip.  First and foremost, we have left mainland Mexico for the Baja peninsula, Bahia de los Muertos to be exact.  Then, also, I have finally had it with long hair constantly in my face, and all over the boat, so I had it cut, short!  Sorry Tascha, it'll grow back and I'll need you when I return.  I love the change, but it's funny to see people's reactions who haven't seen me in awhile.  Now to get my blonde back as it's all cut off. 
   Mazatlan has a fantastic old town in it's downtown area, filled with great brick and tile buildings and one lane streets from the 1800's.  We toured the few museums which were open, and had a great lunch at Macaw's, across from the closed art museum.  That was one thing, they were always closed.  On our way home to the marina, we strolled along the waterfront for miles, finally catching a pulmonia for the final piece. 
   We arrived back, and spoke with several other cruisers who were thinking of leaving for Baja on Sunday a.m.  That sounded good, so we spent the next day, Saturday, finalizing our departure chores:  Checking out of the marina, grocery shopping, deflating the dinghy, stowing it and the motor, stowing all on board so it won't fly around while sailing, fueling up, taking that last shower in a real shower, eating at a restaurant.  Well, after all that, we were ready to leave Saturday afternoon, and so, off we went around 6:00 p.m.  The fog was starting to roll in, and we missed it completely so that made for a nice start. 
   The trip across is about 190 miles, so we figured it to be a two night and one day sail.  The sea was absolutely glass as we set out, no wind, or large seas.  That lasted all night and around 9:00 a.m. we hoisted sails and had a lovely sail all day and that night.  The whales seem to have left for the most part, we didn't see a one.  On the other hand, we did hook a marlin!  It leaped up out of the water several times, enough for us to see it, but not get a photo.  As Leif worked to stop the reel from spinning, it was obvious that he would spool us, so I yelled "cut the line", and he did.  Unfortunately the poor fish has a long string of line attached, but perhaps not for long, we smashed down the hook barb so it was fairly barb less.
   We arrived around 3:00 a.m., and with the help of the full moon, eased into the bay with around six other boats, dropped our anchor and tried to get some sleep in before the sun arose.  It would be a surprise to see the new surroundings in the daylight.  At sun-up, or rather 9:00 a.m., I popped my head out to see an absolutely gorgeous bay, turquoise water, dry arid land filled with cactus, and only one boat remaining.  Ahhhhh.  Banana pancakes for the crew, after a long night of watches.   

The new doo, and the Tarahumara mask.



Bahia de los Muertos, Hotel los Suenos.



White sand, clear water, Mariachi music all night! 

   Bahia de los Muertos is on the inside of Baja, just around the corner from La Paz and Isla Cerralvo.  The water is beautifully clear and there are coral reefs and a white sand beach.  There is also a resort called Bahia de los Suenos, which is just being built and has a golf course, condos, homes, and a very interesting restaurant and bar with a small gauge train set that is the largest I have ever seen.  It covers the entire upstairs, three tracks on a lower level and several at eye level.  Leif and I found a foos ball table and tried our hand at it for awhile, and there are also table shuffleboard, and billiards, not to mention the many, many infinity pools and swim up areas to sit and have a cold one.  I hate to see the place get crowded, but this resort was pretty classy, and empty.  We hope to have dinner there manana.  As the day wore on, it was amusing to see the parade of sailboats arrive.  We knew that half the marina was on their way over, and truly, about every 1/2 hour a new boat would come and drop anchor.  At sunset today there are 19 boats here, and many, many families camping on the shoreline as it's Semana Santa, or Easter week.  What a great place to come and camp. We hope to spend a few days here, relaxing in the 74 degree water and cleaning the bottom. 
         

Copper Canyon Train Trip



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Leif discussing life with his new friends.




Hand-made baskets, should have bought more of them!




Copper Canyon Tram




Scarves, pot holders and more baskets...




The locals bus station




Posada del Hidalgo, lovely pool, cool welcoming rooms and gracious hosts .



Beautiful canyons and scenery along the train trip



Hotel Mirador hanging off the cliff

 Copper Canyon is regarded as mas grande than our Grand Canyon, and we had to go and decide for ourselves if this was entirely true, being biased Americans.  Our home is currently in Marina Mazatlan, a fairly quiet marina with a few nice restaurants and lots of blowing dust and iguanas.  Tuesday morning we hiked up to the road, hopped in a pulmonia (like a VW thing sort of) taxi to the bus station in the center of town.  From there, we found a first class bus, Elite, and headed to Los Mochis, our first stop.  The bus was fine, t.v. and movies in Spanish with subtitles or vice verse.  It took around 7 hours with stops for the driver to get snacks at an Oxxo, pick up friends, and drop them off, and then a lunch stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  At the lunch stop we hiked around the corner to a beer store, where they sell beer from behind barred windows.  At this point, we needed some relief from the tedium.  We arrived safely after travelling through Culiacan, Sinaloa, the home of the Sinaloa drug cartel.  The check points had sand bags, as did the police station, and a couple of banks. 
   Our hotel was really nice, and had a restaurant inside, so we didn't have to venture out.  This town isn't the safest after dark.  Up early the next day for another bus trip to El Fuerte where we'll meet the train.  This bus was more of a local bus, although it was supposed to be a direct 2 hour drive, we stopped many, many times to pick up school children, drop them off, as well as locals at their homes.  Not exactly direct. El Fuerte is a small working town, with a fort from the 1500's which isn't there, but... they built a new one 20 years ago to honor the old one!  It was rather amusing.  Our hotel was truly fantastic.  The Posada de Hidalgo was supposedly the home of Zorro, and the buildings and courtyards were of old stone, brick, adobe and tile.  It was beautiful and welcoming.  Lots of lush trees, bougainvillea, and palms everywhere.  Our room was extremely high class for Mexico, let alone a small town in the middle of nowhere. 
   The train was a short drive away, and we boarded early for our trip into the canyon region.  The train, called Chepe is owned by a hotelier who purchased the train, several hotels and has created a small monopoly of the experience.  On the train, there were comfy seats, a restaurant car and a bar car.  We chose to stand in between the cars for a long time and take photos with no windows. It clung to the sides of the canyon walls in several areas and made my knees go weak.  The hotels are all inclusive for meals, since there really are not other options close by in most of these towns.  As time wore on, we figured out that the menus are all the same as well!  They called things by different names, but corn soup is corn soup even if they called it vegetable soup.  Not complaining, it was very good food, just rather humorous after a couple of meals. 
  Our first stop was Bahuichivo, where we got a ride into Cerocahui which had a very lovely church from the 1500's, and not much else.  We took a van ride to the canyon rim here, and it was very steep and amazing to see.  The local people were very well dressed, and their homes varied from huts to houses with tile roofs and tidy yards.  The men here work in the silver, gold and copper mines locally.  I forgot to mention that the poverty level along the way has been extreme.  There have been literally tin shacks along the train tracks, with no electricity, water or much else.  Dirt is the name of the game here.  No grass, cement or gravel.  Dirt roads, yards, sidewalks.  And it's windy... so dust everywhere.  There hasn't been much rain in months, and the trees are covered in white dust from the roads.  Not really very engaging landscape, and quite depressing to see the poverty. 
   Next stop, El Mirador.  Now this is why we came.  The El Mirador is perched on the canyon side, kind of creepy, I am hoping for no earthquakes.  It is in the southwest tradition, with adobe, bare wood rails, tile floors, woven bed spreads, absolutely beautiful.  In the states it would be a 5 star, and out of our expense league.  Here, it was 2500 pesos per night, or around $200. which is still a lot, but included all food, taxi's and baggage service.  They have the 2nd or 3rd longest aerial tram in the world, and a zip line across the canyons.  Had we known this earlier, we would have stayed an extra night.  The tram was fantastic, only cables, no towers, and it landed on a pinnacle across the canyon.  There are also hiking trails which travel near the Tarahumara native villages.  These folks have retained their culture to some degree, still wear their original costumes and make baskets from pine needles and other plants nearby.  They escaped from Pancho Villa by running into the canyons and hiding in the caves in the walls.  From the tram you can see their burial grounds in several caves and some homes with corrals down below. 
   Of course, we met some great people, one couple from London, or actually Surrey.  Some others from Chapala, transplanted American and Canadian, who decided Mexico was a great place to retire.  Then there were the many, many workers at the places where we stayed, and on the train.  We asked them how they liked their town and what they thought of the future of Mexico.  Most were optimistic about Mexico, and most said times are currently hard.  The narcos are not regarded as troublesome except that they stir up trouble and cause poor relations with their fighting between cartels.  It is obvious that the current government has stepped in to help create many new schools and technological institutes to train their people and help them rise above their current level.  Mexico seems on the rise in many ways, and in most areas it is evident.  One area in particular, the dollar is losing value to the peso! 
   Our trip back was much quicker, train to Los Mochis, then bus (different company, TAP, better bus) to Mazatlan and our little barco.


Tarahumara mother.



Chepe train headed into the canyon.

El Mirador hotel.



The view from the aerial tram, notice the small landing on the peak.




Tarahumara making a basket.

   A quick note on weather, it was very hot for the first two stops, and at El Mirador, it was chilly and very windy.  Our return to the boat found us being blown away with up to 40 kt. winds.  We'll stay here to provision for a few days and wait for calmer winds to sail northward.