In San Carlos and Heading Home
Trip Start
Nov 27, 2006
1
12
Trip End
Apr 09, 2007
San Carlos, Mexico
Monday, April 2, 2007
We left Mazatlan about 2 or 3 weeks ago (time is hard to keep track of) and headed across on a 50 hour trip, leaving early-afternoon and arriving mid-afternoon 2 days later. We were lucky enough to catch south winds and were making about 15 knots with calm seas. It was one of those pleasant sails that makes a person think "I could live like this forever!" We saw whales, dolphins, black rays and a couple of turtles. We sailed in the company of Blue Pteron (Paul and Dee) and took pics-under-sail of both boats - something every proud boat owner desires and yet is impossible to do on their own...because, well...then who's steering the boat??
We anchored in a beautiful little bay on the south side of Isla San Francisco where Dee and I caught an enormous yellowtail tuna with nothing more than a flash of our smiles and a bottle of rum. A fellow with two 40-pounders in his dinghy was chatting with his buddy who was fishing out of a kayak, (believe it or not). They were a stone's throw from Blue Pteron where Dee and I were spending the morning painting watercolour landscapes from the cockpit. I heard the fellow ask his buddy if he wanted one of the enormous tuna he had lying in his dinghy and so Dee and I leaned out to behold these monster fish and his buddy said 'no, but you can give it to them 'cause they look like they'd want one.' And we did!
(Since there are two Pauls in this story I'll identify them by their boat names).
Cuervo-Paul had a 3-year old bottle of rum rolling around one of the lockers that was happily offered up while Blue Pteron-Paul was pressed into fish filleting duties, with no regard to his attempts to nap. And so for the next 3 days we ate raw tuna, tuna ceviche, and three full meals of grilled tuna for 4 one evening and 6 the two following evenings. That one tuna fed 16 people plus 2 ceviche lunches for 4, plus 2 dishes of sushi for 4 and one small breakfast for two...that was one big, delicious fish!!!
The day after 'catching' the tuna, both Blue Pteron and Cuervo sailed to Agua Verde; a short distance north and another scenic beauty. True to its name, the water is blue-green and clear. In the bay are two pinnacle rocks that stick out of the water. One is quite near to shore and perfect for Dee and I to spend the next day painting en plein aire, which we did. Blue Pteron-Paul set us up perfectly with a tarp over an abandoned framework that must be used for fishermen when they're cleaning out their nets (only a guess). Afterward, all three boats in the anchorage came aboard Blue Pteron where BT-Paul had created this gourmet meal of blackened grilled tuna. He was the chef three nights running and all of his amazing creations were enjoyed aboard Blue Pteron. I've dubbed their boat the 'Party Palace', because they're so welcoming and because the boat is so comfortable and spacious that it easily accommodates a number of people without too much 'squishiness'.
In the anchorage as well were Flame, a boat we'd met back at San Blas where all the gnats were, Tiki Iti, a boat that Paul and Dee knew from Mazatlan and Danzante, a boat that Flame had become friends with. I should mention here that the sailboat community is a very friendly group and it usually only takes a tap on the hull and a chat from the dinghy to become friends.
And then ... well, it had to come sometime ... it was time to say good-bye to our friends on the Baja side. Because of Paul's work schedule up north we had to get back across to San Carlos before everyone else. Saying good-bye is never easy. And it was particularly hard saying adios to Paul and Dee on Blue Pteron because it seemed we had shared so many adventures, and a few mis-adventures too! And let's face it, in the cruising world where traveling is the focus and wind and weather your only constants, you're never sure when paths will cross again. I hope it's soon...
With one overnight in Bahia Ballandra, (where the nightbreeze off the land forced Paul to sleep in the cockpit so we didn't drag anchor) we headed back across the sea to San Carlos. South winds had been forecast but we saw little of them. Instead we ended up with seas so sloppy that even with medication I was on the verge of seasickness. I ruefully recalled that that was exactly the way I had left San Carlos so many months before. Luckily this was only a single overnight passage. (Come to think of it, I don't think I've stayed up all night long for so many nights since I was a party-girl back in the day!) I just barely managed to stay in control and not leave Paul to man the boat alone. We arrived to some very cold weather! I think it was down around 12 degrees C. That may not sound all that cold but I suppose everything is relative isn't it? It's since warmed up, although the nights and the mornings are nippy without a heater onboard.
We're leaving here next Wednesday morning before the five thousand college students descend upon this tiny town (not a word of a lie!) to celebrate Easter long weekend, which sounds like it's quite a lot longer than Canada's. They say it's so filled with 20-somethings that you can't drive on the streets and overnight a hundred tiendas (outdoor tortilla vendors) spring up everywhere. Yep, it'll be time to go by then I think!
I'm expecting to get back to Kelowna by Saturday or Sunday at the latest, and likely exhausted after a 4 or 5 day, 13-hour-a-day drive. So, after a day or two of rest and unpacking I'd love to hear from all of you and how your winter was! So telephone, email or just drop in and we'll go for coffee!!!
Hope to see you Soon!
