Tag Archives: cruising mexico

Mazatlán for 8 days

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Our original plan was to have a quick 3 day visit to Mazatlán. We recently heard of friends getting stuff robbed off their boat in the middle of the night in the anchorage south of old town, so we anchored off of Isla Venados the first night. The next day we brought the boat to Marina Mazatlán. We heard the marina wasn’t too expensive and we rather pay a little money versus having items stolen off our boat. It also would allow us to make day field trips away from the boat without worrying about theft or dragging anchor.

Two days after our luxurious days in a marina, we noticed the leak in our boat was more serious than we expected. Everything was closed for boat repair/haul out, so we had to wait until Tuesday to do an emergency haulout to repair a broken thruhull for our engine intake. We managed to keep the boat floating through the weekend by using a plunger and bung. Yay! In the mean time we made the best of our forced extended stay in Mazatlán.

In hindsight, I’m grateful for the extended stay, even though our cruising kitty isn’t. Mazatlán is rich in history, full of beautiful people, good food, and has easy bus,taxi, and walks. The mall was in walking distance, which the girls loved. Walmart was also in walking distance, making provisioning easier.  The bus ride to historic Mazatlán only costs $1 round trip. The taxi cost anywhere between 70-100 pesos ($5-$6) from downtown to the Marina. We did a lot of walking as well, including the “self-guided walking tour” of the historic district.

We recommend stopping in Mazatlán to all boaters. And definitely eat at Dock7 restaurant at Marina Mazatlán. The seafood is so fresh and amazing and the guys running it are super cool. They also play surfs videos, for an added bonus. 🙂

walking tour map (above)

a cool street just south of the art museum (below)


The kids posing with Pedro the famous Actor and singer at the Pedro Infante Museum (above)

A little history at the Museo Arqueologico

A stroll through the Mercado



The Basilica, Cliff Divers, and public salt water pool.

Out door activities. Above: all three kids climbing ropes at the outdoor adult jungle gym. Below: Ellamae catching waves at Playa Bruja!

Above: Boatschool abroad at La Playa Bruja

Below: science experiment on the dock. Thanks Homeschool Ahoy


Below: Iguanas and kids at Marina El Cid

Our favorite restaurant in Mazatlan, Dock7

Above: Taj’s favorite spot, helping Mom cook in the galley.

Hay hay now, or rather Jejenes

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Jejenes (hay hay nays), also known as no-see-ums, keep most cruisers from staying in San Blas/Matanchén for long periods of time. We stayed in Matanchén for three nights, two full days, before we had had enough Jejenes and Mosquitos. 

We thought we were fully prepared with the no-see-um netting that I made and organic bug spray, store bought and homemade from essential oils. We even broke down and downloaded the “Mosquito App” to try send them away using radio frequency and the real deal DEET bug repellent. Nothing would stops these buggers. 

During the mid day hours, the bugs were more tolerable, but they still found their way into your skin. We made sure to reapply spray frequently and we shut ourselves in the boat well before sunset and stayed in until well after sunsrise. The no-see-um netting kept the mosquitos and the Jejenes out,  but we have a few hatches that only have mosquito netting over them. Well, those Jejenes found their way right through the wholes! Unbelievable! 

We endured the little pests for the two full days in order to experience the many cool things San Blas has to offer. San Blas is almost 500 years old! The history is rich and beautiful, and the town well kept. From Bahia Matanchén, we brought our dinghy to Playa Las Islitas then we walked,hitch-hiked,taxi, and/or bused it to the town of San Blas. We experienced the infamous Pan de Platano (Banana bread), the old fort of La Contaduria and Templo de la Virgen de Rosario on Basilio’s hill, and did the panga tour up Rio Tovara to Camalota Springs. We ended taking the tour from the little establishment just east of the bridge over the Estero de Poso. It was slightly more expensive, ~150 pesos per adult, but well worth it. We spotted a few very large American Crocodiles, boat- billed herons, other marshland birds, iguanas, and turtles. A must do for visitors. 

Excited to leave bug city, we set sail for Mazatlan. On the way, we stopped at Isla Isabella hoping for a good snorkel/free dive experience. Unfortunately a south swell picked up and a NW wind blew through the South Anchorage. The water was a little stirred up the evening  we arrived. The next morning I jumped in for a pleasant dive. I lasted all about 3 minutes before swimming quickly back to the boat. I had been stung by tons of “string of pearl” jellies! That was our deciding factor to set sail for Mazatlán. 

We enjoyed a nice overnight sail with winds 12-17 kts out of the WNW the first day, becalmed from 0100-0700, we bobbed around, then the wind shifted from the WSW. Blowing 10-15 kts WSW, we made a quick remaining 60 miles to Isla Venados, just off of Mazatlán. Just prior to anchoring we spotted our first leaping Manta Rays! We are looking forward to many more up in the Sea Of Cortez over the next few months. 

Makeup time underway:

 






 


Bahia Tenacatita memories: Jan – Mar 2016

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Tenacatita is a lovely anchorage situated south of Puerto Vallarta and about 10 miles north of Barra de Navidad, Mexico at WPT 19 17.9’N 104 50.3’W.  This particular spot draws cruisers in for multiple days and for some, becomes an annual home for months during the winter season. 

A few of the long term transient occupants have made Tenacatita into its own unique sailing community. Daily swims to the beach at 1:30, followed by bocci ball on the beach or a stroll  to one end of the beach and back. Afterward a beverage and/or meal at the one and only palapa near the river mouth. Every Friday at 5:30 the “Mayor’s Raft Up”, organized by Robert Gleser aboard SV Harmony, provides the community opportunity to meet each other and learn about one another when otherwise you might not get the chance to. Plus a chance to taste what other cruisers eat. Everyone brings a dish and it gets passed around from dinghy to dinghy!

Provisions are nil at Tenacatita, so one must either land taxi, sail, or take a skiff 2 miles over to La Manzanilla or sail to Barra Navidad. The seclusion is part of what draws cruisers here. It’s worth the extra effort to get supplies.

We hopped in and out of Tenacatita during a two month span. Our first visit was shortly after the New Year and our last was during the second week of March. Our days consisted mostly of a morning 45 ish minute swim for me, a kayak or free dive/spear fishing for Christian, beach going, and mangrove adventures for the kids. We had lots of people to visit including kids boats. At one point we counted 46 boats in the anchorage! 

I put together a little video to show the expierience that we had while we were there. See below.

Here is a list of some of the boats we saw in Tenacatita. If you were there and don’t see your name on the list, or if I misspelled your name, please contact us so we can add you to it!  Also, send me a link for your blog if you’d like me to link you. 

SV Adagio, SV Agamère, SV Banyan (misspelled in the video, sorry!), SV Believe, SV Cake, SV Cadenza, SV Carmanah, SV Chae Mi, SV Cielo Grande, SV Dazzler, SV Finte, SV Flight, SV Fools Gold,  SV, Fukngivr, SV Gitana, SV Gene Butler, SV Gia, SV Harmony, SV Komaru, SV Kiwi III, SV Overheated, SV Magic Lady, SV Mambo, SV Mango Mango, SV Moonshadow, SV Nalu 4, SV Penelope, SV Putachieside, SV Ravens Dance, SV Seychelles, SV Sea Boa, SV Speakeasy, SV St. Leger, SV Tigress, SV Voila,  MV Voyager, SV Wild Rumpus, SV Woody, SV Worth Waiting For