Sleep Deprivation, Diarrhea and Delirium: From La Cruz to Mazatlan

With the new autopilot dialed in and working well after the sea trial, an acceptable weather window and Carol scheduled to arrive in Mazatlán, it was time to say goodbye to La Cruz and make my way north.  I had planned stops in Chacala, San Blas and Isla Isabel.  The passage from Isla Isabel to Mazatlán was 93 miles or about 18 hours, which meant leaving before midnight to insure arriving outside the hazardous approach to Mazatlán Harbor in daylight.  However, the anchorages at Isla Isabel are often unusable, so I knew there was a possibility I would have to continue on to Mazatlán nonstop through the night.  Of course that's what happened.  The consolation prize was seeing a bunch of whales near the island.  What I hadn't planned on was being sick.  It made what would have ordinarily been a tiring and unpleasant passage an exhausting, stressful and miserable one.  But I made it, and only hallucinated once.  I suddenly awoke from one of my 10-minute naps to see the red and green lights and huge bow of a freighter directly in front of me.  In a panic, I turned off the autopilot and cranked the wheel all the way over.  When the freighter's lights didn't move, I knew something was wrong.  I gradually realized I wasn't seeing a freighter, just my own red and green bow light illuminating the pulpit.  Eventually my heart rate returned to normal, but the incident didn't help my already tenuous bowel control.  After a very long night, I arrived outside Mazatlán.  But it was still dark, so I waited outside the entrance dodging ships until there was enough light to find my way behind one of the islands just outside the harbor.  I was too exhausted to try to negotiate the shallow and narrow harbor entrance and get into a slip.  It would be easier to drop anchor in an area that didn't require precision.  After a day of rest, I went into the harbor and got a slip with some help from my buddy Curt.  First thing on the agenda was finding a doctor and lab to see about treating my 'problem.' (Because it didn't respond to the usual antibiotic, which I carry, I knew it would need some lab work and professional assessment.)  Luckily there is a new modern hospital near the marina.  Service was fast, professional and amazingly inexpensive.  I've started taking the four prescribed meds, but it's too soon to tell if they will do the job.  Stay tuned....

Not Harry; just a baby green iguana doing push-ups 

on the malecon in La Cruz

Mexican humor at the La Cruz market

Unintended humor at the La Cruz Shipyard

A send-off dinner at Fonda Coqui

It's tough saying goodbye to friends like these.

Heading out of La Cruz harbor

Evening in Chacala Cove

Chacala Cove

There are a lot of these fishing trawlers (shrimpers?)

along the coast.  They are usually moving slowly,

but their course is often unpredictable and erratic.

They show on radar, but usually no AIS.

The frigate birds find them a moveable feast

Frigates are pretty impressive in flight with a wingspan

over six feet.

After an easy passage from Chacala, 

I made it into the anchorage in the 

estuary in San Blas without incident,

although it was very shallow and I had

to squeeze in between two other boats.

Having spent 10 years in the Sacramento

Delta helped.

When one of the other boats left, I moved a safe distance

from the one remaining and re-anchored.

Nice flat water, and luckily I had no

problems with the infamous 

jejenes (no-see-ums).

Boarders!

 

Sunset from the boat

The San Blas lighthouse from the boat

This poor guy made a mistake and ended up

aground across the channel from me.  He will

be waiting a few days if he expects the tide

to lift him; it was pretty minimal tides for 

the next few days.  He had been anchored in 

Chacala when I was there.  Pretty boat.

In the historic town of San Blas, made 

famous by Longfellow's poem

"The Bells of San Blas."  This is the old

customs house, now a cultural center.

Unfortunately it was closed.

The old church off the town square

Thar she blows!  Whales spotted of Isla Isabel

Since I couldn't anchor safely at Isla Isabel, I had to 

suck it up and prepare for an all-night singlehanded

passage while sick.  While the sunset was beautiful,

it becomes more foreboding as darkness sets in.

With no moonlight, this is about all you see from the

cockpit all night.

Except when you see lights.  Where are they?  How

far away?  Will we clear safely?

Although it was a VERY long night, eventually the

dawn came as I dodged shipping outside Mazatlán.

Sunrises are often beautiful here, but never more so

than after an overnight passage.

Safely anchored behind Isla Venados

The sun setting behind some of the many islands and rocks

outside Mazatlán harbor as seen from behind Isla Venados.

 

The sun rising over Mazatlán the next morning.

Coming into the very narrow harbor entrance 

was nerve-wracking as it shoaled to the point of showing 

no water beneath the keel.  But I made it into a slip 

before 10 am when the dredge would block access.  

It was really nice having Curt and Mary on the dock 

to help out as I pulled in.

It was great to see my dear friend Curt again after several 

months.

First outing was a walk to the nearest hospital.

Clean, modern and with some English-speaking staff.

Within an hour I had seen a doctor, gotten lab tests 

done and results back, and a prescription for  four

meds.  Total bill:  less than $100.  The cost of the

four prescriptions, about $43.  

Now if they will just work!

Back to Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta

Having done what I wanted to do (other than surfing) in Mantanchen, and needing supplies and restaurants that weren't readily available there, I decided to head down to Chacala.  After spending several days anchored in Chacala Cove, it was once again time to move on.  I had an uneventful, if lengthy, motorsail back to Punta de Mita.  However, that evening a routine check revealed that the circuit breaker for the autopilot and depth sounder had failed.  Well, I could hand steer the ten miles or so I had to go, and while I would prefer to have the sounder to get into Nuevo Vallarta because it is very shallow, I planned to go in at high tide and I know the harbor.  (If I had further to go, I would have connected them to a different circuit as a temporary fix.)  Surprisingly, the breaker functioned once again the next morning.  My guess is that the old and tired breaker got just warm enough in the tropical heat to trip.  By morning it had cooled off enough to able to reset.  While it still needs to be replaced, luck seemed to be with me as it would make the passage much easier.  On the way, a pod of dolphins came by to play in the bow wave.  That's always a good omen!  And, more good luck:  the dredge pipe that had been in the middle of the fairway in front of the fuel dock in La Cruz was gone when I came in for fuel!  My good fortune continued as I had no problems getting into my new slip in Paradise Village Marina.

I'm now in the early stages of the transition into maintenance mode and summer indolence.  I've already checked in with the port captain, done laundry and generated a much too long list of necessary projects.  And, after having been on the hook in remote places or small Mexican towns, I'm suffering a bit of culture shock in Paradise Village.  It sometimes seems like a strange and surreal version of a U.S. retirement community.

From Mantanchen I had a pleasant motorsail back to Chacala. 

After several days in Chacala, I continued south to Punta de Mita,

then from there back to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta

after a short fuel stop in La Cruz.

The dinghy at the landing beach in Chacala

My normally reliable little Yamaha outboard started acting

balky and on my last trip back to Circadian, failed to start.

Not a big deal to row, but another item for 'the list."

The path from the dinghy beach into town

I explored the little town a bit more and 

discovered I seem to have a little store.

Two stores!  One on each end of town.

I walked the full length of the beach to the less developed

south end.  This is looking back toward town and the

anchorage.

Very pretty.  Note the house (?) on the hill on the left.

I discovered a beautiful and secluded mid-size

hotel/retreat called the Mar de Jade Resort.

It bills itself as a spa/yoga and wellness retreat.

Hidden behind it is the much smaller Majahua, hotel, bar

gallery and spa.  Very secluded in the jungle with a great view

and a slow-food restaurant.

View from the path up to the Majahua.  Circadian is visible

in the distance.

Great sunsets every night.

After a few days, I was ready to move on and left early

to make the long run to Punta de Mita.

The next sunset was in Punta de Mita.

Looking more than 15 miles across Banderas Bay from

Punta de Mita.

The nearby Tres Marietas Islands

Leaving the next morning for La Cruz and Paradise Village.

The breaker for the autopilot and depth sounder had failed

the night before, but miraculously came back to life in the

morning, so I didn't have to hand steer half the day.

On the way I encountered what I later determined to be a

pod of dolphins encircling a school of fish to trap them 

and feed on them.

Later, another pod came over to play in

Circadian's bow wave.  These guys were more

active than most, and several times jumped

clear out of the water.

The water was so clear I could easily

see them swimming underwater.

Dolphin's-eye view of an approaching tourist catamaran.

Underwater view.

Dolphins, in, out of and under the water

After filling up the fuel tanks in La Crruz (the dredge pipe

was gone, fortunately), I got into my new slip with no

problems thanks to the help of a couple of the marina guys.

It's a bit far out, and not the best location, but it will do.

First chore was checking in with the port captain, which

requires a water taxi ride across the harbor.  But it was

very fast and easy.

I've got a long list of maintenance/repair items to complete

while I'm here.  My first project was rigging a way to make

it easy to use the kayak daily for exercise and photography.

I was able to hang the fully rigged kayak

by a couple of rope loops from the side of 

Circadian and the bow of the dinghy.  The lift

handles simply get inserted into

(or removed from) the loops to stow or launch. 

Tried it this morning and it works great.

And finally, a flower pic!