A lot has happened since the last post so let’s get down to it! Long story short, we’ve been to Mazatlan, Bahia de Los Muertos, Caleta Lobos, Balandra and La Paz. Buckle up, this is going to be a long one!
We left Isla Isabel late afternoon and overnighted to Mazatlan. As you can see it was just a motor sail since we didn’t have any wind.
When we got closer to Mazatlan we were in a fog, figuratively and literally. We had plans to stay in Marina Mazatlán so we gave them a call shortly after 8am to get our slip assignment. We were told that we would need to dock at the fuel dock until they had a slip ready. They also let us know that the port was closed, meaning we could go in, but others could not leave. Which made us feel better as we were navigating with limited visibility. 
Luckily we could navigate by our chart plotter to get us to the entrance of the marina. I stood at the bow and Brad steered us in. We eventually got our slip assignment and explored the marina. They had wonderful bathrooms, laundry on site, and an amazing pool! And it was super affordable too! 
We spent a short amount of time in Mazatlán and managed to get to Mazatlán Centro which is their old town area. We had a great time checking out the gigantic market, lovely church and stumbled upon a tasty gelato shop. 
The next morning we left the marina with Silk Purse and headed to Muertos. We scheduled this to be about 36 hours. This stretch was one of our finest sails yet and we managed to sail 19 hours and motored 15. We sailed all afternoon and you’ll notice our path kind of veered off while we searched for better winds.
When I woke up for my midnight to 3am shift I came up to full three full sails and the boat speed was over 7 knots. Brad gave me the scoop on the ideal wind angles for our sail set up, showed me traffic on the radar and headed below for his nap. The boat was like a freight train through the water for my entire shift. I snuggled up with my blanket and Sydney until it was over, whew!
Views from our daylight sail…
As we got closer to Muertos we saw random splashes in either direction. Upon further investigation, these turned out to be rays jumping out of the water landing with a loud splat! So cool to watch them, and also very intriguing. We made our way into the anchorage around 3pm and settled in nicely. Jim on Silk Purse was a few hours behind and we made plans to head to shore. We’ve visited Muertos before and it holds great memories of meeting Steve from Mia, and Jim on Silk Purse.
Our stay in Muertos was a mixed bag this time around. We were waiting on a strong Northern wind to end. We had 20-30 knot winds blowing sand off the beach and onto our boats. Don’t worry, we managed to entertain ourselves just fine and pigged out on guacamole and kicked some butt at Mexican Train.
After 2 full days of hiding out, we made a run for it. No overnights this time and we left around 10am. Next stop was Caleta Lobos! We would be navigating through two channels; Ceralvo and San Lorenzo. The northern wind hadn’t broken down yet but we pushed through using our motor making 7 plus knots. The last time we went through the San Lorenzo channel it scared me enough to cry. This time was much more mellow and enjoyable.
Caleta Lobos is a fine anchorage that is usually not crowded with excellent holding ground. We dropped anchor next to a charter catamaran that turned out to be a childhood friend with his in laws and children. What are the odds of that?! 
We hiked the surrounding mountain and relished in the views they provided…
Even Sydney got to enjoy the beach again. She surely comes to life on shore! 
We decided to leave Caleta Lobos and head to Playa Balandra due to “bobos”. Which are small gnat-like bugs that were swarming outside and inside our boats. Maybe swarming is excessive, but they sure were annoying! We heard that Balandra did not have bobos so off we went! Balandra is a popular beach and anchorage due to Mushroom Rock, a rock formation that you guessed it, looks like a mushroom! For us, we were just interested in a bobo free zone! Views in Balandra…
Are ya still with me? I know this one is a doozy! The next morning we headed to La Paz to provision and get some ice cream at our favorite shop! We did all those things and managed to book a snorkel date with some whale sharks. Brad and Jim even booked a diving excursion. Both were successful and the snorkel with the whale shark was exhilarating! You are taken in by a Panga that spots the whale shark then drops you off ahead of him. Then you start looking underwater for the big shadowy figure to appear. Our experience was that you had to get out of its way to avoid being hit by his big tail! After the encounter you swim as fast as you can beside him and enjoy the views as you go. It was a fascinating experience being next to such a large creature! Here we are anxiously waiting for our first turn…
And here are a couple of stills from the GoPro footage that Brad took. We do have video on our Instagram and on my Facebook so feel free to check it out!
We had such a great time on our excursion and would highly recommend the Carey Dive Center to take you. The tours are highly regulated in an attempt to protect the whale sharks and it’s a pleasure to support their efforts.
Speaking of a great time, we had a great time with visitor Jim on Silk Purse but it was his time to go back home. In case you are wondering, we did get the bread recipe before he left! Thank you Jim, for the recipe and for being the extra push to hike and swim with the whale sharks!
Sydney is speaking again. She said she has enjoyed the long walks in Mazatlán, even the taxi ride! 
Here she is…hey it’s Sydney here. I’ve finally been treated with some respect. I’ve gone to shore, found coconuts to shred, beaches to play on, and pillows to snuggle. This isn’t so bad! But please, do NOT take me back to that dumb bird island place! Keep the tasty Mexican kibble coming, I’m going to need it for all these beach dates!!!
Well there you have it! We are glad that Sydney is in a better mood. Thanks for hanging in there and reading another post! Cheers to a happy, healthy Friday!