Back in Mazatlan

We washed down the boat and had a relaxing morning.  In the afternoon went into town for Dawn to do a little souvenir/birthday shopping.  Her granddaughter Maggie’s  16^th birthday was coming up and she found  her a beautiful silver dolphin pendant with blue opal .  Off to Fat Fish for supper, their speciality,  2 huge plates of ribs with salad, baked potato, garlic toast etc only $160 pesos, less than $15.00 for the two meals.  And 2 for 1 strawberry margaritas as well.  The place is packed…mostly Canadians…we know a good deal when we see one…Tony Romas stand aside!

Sunday found us at the Juarez Market, a 12 square block street market where you can find fresh produce, tools, household goods, clothes, food and just about anything you can imagine. 

  In the afternoon Dawn’s sister Cathy and company who were vacationing at the El Cid Resort close by, came down to the marina to see the boat, and to look at pictures of our trip to Isabella.  Then we all took a camioneta (little red truck with seats in the back) to Playa Bruja.  Had an excellent supper, good music and dancing and a free sample of their own Coffee Tequila. 

A laid back day for Dawn & Frank’s last day here.  Walked over to the Isla and checked out some of the real estate…most of it abandonded then stopped at the palapa for a juice.  Went out for supper with Merry & BJ from Willow to La Traymoya right at the top of our dock.  The following morning, Dawn & Frank caught a taxi to the airport, and by afternoon the wind really howled and the temperature dropped, but nothing like what they would experience on their return to Calgary.

We spend the next two weeks doing boat chores…installed a battery charger switch and scraped off some of the peeling paint on the side decks.  By the time we got the new paint on, we realized it was all for naught….the dew rolled in about 5pm that evening, and before we could get it covered with plastic, we could already see the paint washing off.  This is the second time in the six years that we have been here that we have tried to do a paint touch up…without much success.  Will have to try some other kind of paint next time. 

We’ve had a couple of swap meets since we have been here, and we’ve been quite successful in lightening our load.  Sold off some extra scuba equipment and tanks that we had on board for Shannon, and a Android tablet that Don could not get to run our navigation program.  Had hoped to find a new anchor, but so far no luck. 

We have been successful though in finding new glasses for both Don and I, and I made a quick trip to a Dermatologist to cure a case of exzema that seems to have appeared on my head.  So easy to see a doctor here, went in to the office one afternoon, doctor met us at the door, unfortunately she was just on her way to the hospital.  She gave me an appointment for first thing the following morning, and not only diagnosed the problem, gave me the prescription and had the special shampoo on hand for me to take with me.  Problem solved….quick and easy !

In between our chores and shopping etc, we have biked to Bruja Beach several times for Sunday morning brunch, celebrated a birthday for Rita on s/v Overheaded, had dinner on Willow with John & Barb some other Calgarians who live in the Mission district.  Stewart & Sallyanne, also from Calgary (Edgemont) invited us over to their boat in El Cid Marina where we enjoyed a dip in the pool and a delicious dinner on board their beautiful s/v Jekamanzi

We have also attended two cooking classes this year held by an association called Sonrisa.  The cost of the classes are all put towards offering scholarships and schooling for some the families that Sonrisa sponsors. 

Roasting tomatoes on a Comal

Chocolate tamales !

Roasting peppers on open flame

Chili in Nogada Sauce

Isla Isabella

Leaving Mazatlan

We departed Marina Mazatlan around 9:30 am when the dredge shuts down for a while to let the tour boats depart.  By ll:30 we had the sails up and by early afternoon we had seen 8.2 kn of speed….better than hull speed.  Yahoo !! we are really sailing now !  Our first wildlife sighting was a turtle, then rays,  then a school of spotted dolphins played under our bow while Dawn & I were sitting out forward. 

We continued to sail at break neck speeds, so just before dark, we reefed the main to slow us down some so that we wouldn’t arrive at Isabella in the dark.  By 3:00AM, we even dropped the jib.  Because we had so much wind all day, it had been an exhausting trip, but at least we did have a full moon.  We arrived at Isla Isabella around 6:30 am and were greeted by our first whale sighting.  A mom and calf, really close !!

(Note:  Since I am writing this blog many weeks after our visit, I have added a  link to whale rescue off Isla Isabella, that we believe could well be the same mom and calf that we saw on our arrival)  http://inoneday.ca/?p=1965#more-1965
and another whale rescue also at Isla Isabella
http://www.logofdelviento.blogspot.com/2012/01/heartbreaking-decision-part-i-by.html

There were four boats at anchor at Las Monas, so we went around the corner and there was no one there, so we were able to anchor very close to where the fisherman had lead us in 4 years ago.  We made some breakfast, then rowed the dingy to shore .  Two young ladies greeted us as we arrived  and asked us to register.  Assuming they were part of the university student camp, we asked them if they were studying the frigates or the boobys on the island.  They replied “Neither, we are studying the tourists”  I’m hoping that they are just thinking of charging a fee to visit the island, not that they will ban visitors.  This really is a spectacular place to visit, one of natures many wonders.

We hiked up to the light house, a very steep climb, but well worth it for the view of the island, and to get up close and personal with the booby’s.  Unfortunately, there are others hazards , not just the  the steep climb…with hundreds of booby’s soaring overhead, there is a really good chance of getting “pooped”, and I was the lucky one this time !

Following day, we rowed back to shore to hike the other side of the island.  We stopped and chatted with some men on shore who appeared to be building something that looked like giant bee hives.  Turned out they were artificial reefs, made from sand and cement then covered in a layer of sea shells.  I hope they don’t drop them right in the middle of the anchorage.

First part of the trail on this side has a few stairs built from cement, but the other part is a little steep.  Both Frank & Dawn took a little tumble.  Glad it wasn’t on the hike yesterday, as it was much steeper.  Had a picnic lunch with a booby family.  The mum and dad were both feeding a new little one.  One of the students told us that it was about a month old.  The next researcher we met spoke perfect English and told us lots more about the boobys.  The University Autonimo de Mexico, DF has been studying the booby on Isla Isabella since the mid 90’s, and they have one booby that they believe to be about 27 years old, but the average age is 15 or 16 years. 

He told us that the boobys mate for life and both Mom and Dad sit the nest are care for the young.  When they mate, they generally nest within 20 meters of where they were born.  The couple lay from 1-3 eggs, each about 4 or 5 days apart.  Often the younger ones are tormented by the older ones, and there is only about a 50% chance of them all surviving. 

Their mating rituals are a site to behold.  The boobys are very proud of their pretty blue feet, and pick them up and show them off to a prospective mate.

  It’s hard to tell the male blue footed booby’s from the female, in any case,  they also pick up twigs and give them back and forth to each other.   Guess they are deciding who should begin the nest building… which generally happens to be smack in the middle of the trail.  Getting around them is a little tricky, cause they are not going to move for you.  The males will hiss  as you go by, but it’s the females that really squak !!!

We returned to PSS, and Don and I went for a swim and checked on our anchor.  No big rocks to get tangled up on, but lots of rock all over the bottom, and lots of anchors too!  Isla Isabella is reported to be an anchor biting location although we have never had a problem on this side of the anchorage.  However, since we want to leave in the middle of the night, thought it best we move over to the “sandy” anchorage at Las Monas where it will be easier to get out in the dark.

It was still quite deep (40ft) where the first boats was anchored, so we continued in a little further.  It shallowed quickly and we dropped anchor in about 16 feet.  Seemed to set OK, we had a light supper so we could have an early night.  Unfortunately, about 7:30,the wind died completely and we swung a little and the chain rattled big time over the rocks.  Not possible to sleep with all the racket, so we tried to pick up anchor and move back a little.  No Way !  Anchor is stick solid…quess we won’t be leaving at 2AM.  After listening to the rattling for an hour or so, Don had an idea to let out all the chain down to the rode (rope) and that got rid of the noise.  We stayed out in the cock pit for a while to make sure we weren’t too close to our neighbour. Beautiful warm night under the stars, but still no sleep as we stewed about how to retrieve the anchor. 

In the morning, a bowl of hot oatmeal before Don makes a cold dip in the water.  The good news was that when we checked the water temp, it was a “balmy” 26degrees.  Both the air temp and the water temp were considerably warmer here than in Mazatlan, even though we were only 100 miles away. 

Don used the stern anchor over the side to hold us in place, then he dove on the anchor and had it freed in about 3 or 4 breaths.  Free diving to 20 feet…amazing !!!

Finally on our way, warm, sunny, and no wind…yet!  We put up the reefed main for some stability, but had to motor into the swells, and they just kept getting bigger and bigger as the day wore on and the wind picked up as well…from the wrong direction.  By night fall, we were barely able to maintain 2-3 knots.  It was a long trip home, but by daybreak at least we did have a few more whale sightings.  

The seas only settled down when we were in the shadow of Wolf Island…almost home !  We Radioed to anyone at El Cid to see if the dredge war working…it’s not, so we can got right on in.  Saw a few more dolphins , then arrived at Marina Maz about ll:30am and the guards were on the dock to takes our lines.

Home at last…27 hours to go less than 100 miles!!

Photo Gallery of Isla Isabella

One of Las Monas

Dingy ride to shore at Isla Isabella

Dawn seems rather glad to have her feet on solid ground

And here's Frank on top of the world !



First came the frigates




Male frigate showing off



Six frigates sitting in a tree



Looks like this one lost his balance and took a tumble to the ground



and another little one that didn't stay in the nest



Lunch time for baby booby






Pelicans keeping watch




Booby everywhere!






Moma with her chicks




showing off the blue !





Yellow footed booby



Preparing for company

Before our company  from Calgary arrive, there are a few minor details we would like to attend to.  After mopping up all the water in the bilge from the exhaust hose, we discovered the first time we turned on the washing maching that we had another leak. Sploosh !  Some of the “stainless steel” hose clamps leading to the washing machine gave way, so now we have more water in the bilge.  We used up our supply of hose clamps fixing that problem, so before attempting to fix the taps in the galley, we headed over to Home Depot to replenish our stock of hose clamps, and possibly even invest in a new tap.  No joy on new taps, nothing that would fit properly, so some new clamps and back to PSS to trouble shoot the problem with the taps…haven’t been getting enough water pressure to make the hot water tank engage.  Problem seemed to be with the spray nozzle, that I never use as it takes too much water, so Don disconnected it, and pressure returned.  Of course, now that we’ve got pressure, we’ve  also got some more hose clamps leaking, so have to replace them before they explode into the bilge as well.   And our last chore for a while is to find a water filter system for dock water.  To date, we have been borrowing BJ’s, so since we intend to be here in Mazatlan for most of the season, think it’s time we got our own.  A trip to the water store in Gran Plaza mall was successful, and the girl in the store even understood my Spanish.  She had the right filters, but no connections, so another trip to Home Depot.  It took some time, jumping the plumbing dept and the garden center, but we finally got the right fittings in the right sizes, and  we now have filtered dock water to use. 

Dawn & Frank, who have their boat at Thetis Island at the West Coast, arrived the first week of January for a little visit.  For many years now, we have been returning to Calgary with pictures and stories of our visits here in Mexico and told them that they should think about coming to visit us aboard Prairie SeaShell.  They only found out about their trip to Mazatlan on Christmas Day, a surprise Christmas gift from their kids who had been corresponding with us to organize times and dates etc. 

It was great to have company, now we can quit with the boat chores for a while and relax and do some touristy stuff !  They arrived on a Wednesday afternoon,  and after getting them settled aboard, Frank took us out for dinner at Gus Gus Restaurant, it’s right at the top of the dock, excellent Mexican cuisine, and live music…with no cover charge !

Our first outing was a trip into town to the Mercado, the Cathedral, (where the Christmas decorations were still set up) and a long walk along the malecon where we came across a fisherman trying to sell us a manta ray. 

Next day was a little more relaxing, after a breakfast of fruit waffles and media crema, we took a dingy tour up the canals where the igrets, herons, buzzards and iguanas were all out to greet us.  And after lunch, a long walk on the beach to end the day. 

Saturday, we headed up the dock for a swap meet.  These are like garage sales for boaters, minus the garage.  A great place to find something you just have to have, exchange books, and sell off stuff you haven’t used in years.  It’s also a great social event, and Frank bumped into Lyn & Debbie from s/v Dolphin Tails, another BCA member that he knew from one of the rendevous they had attended. 

After the swap meet, we gathered a few cruisers together and headed out to the beach at Stone Island.  It is possible to sail to Stone Island and anchor out there, but it’s much quicker to take the bus and the local panga across the channel, which is exactly what we did.

The next day, Dawn and I did a little provisioning while Don & Frank hanked on some sails and got the dingy on board.  We are heading for Isla Isabella tomorrow….weather permitting !