From Mejia, we started our trek down. Northerly winds with us all the way, our first stop was behind a tiny volcanic outcrop, Isla Estanque. The old volcano crater can be entered by boat in the right conditions, but we arrived at low tide and with high winds so it wouldn't have been prudent to try the shallow and narrow entry.
After a spending a couple of nights with only dolphins as neighbors, we set off for Bahia Kino, on the continent. Our first anchorage, well protected from the northerly winds proved untenable when an unforecasted Easterly came up, bringing a growing chop with it. I decided to leave just before sunset, knowing full well we wouldn't find our next anchorage before night fell. Luckily my charts for Kino Bay were good, and had a number of anchorage spots well marked. After a careful approach using everything we had, from radar to all our charts, Google satellite maps, our senses and our strong light, we anchored in the lee of a small but very tall island. It provided us just enough protection, with flat seas in the still blowing wind. 150 feet of chain down in 15 feet of water and soon Enfin was safe and it was time for a good night's rest.
The next day we set off to nearby Bahia Los Algodones, a large sandy beach offering some good protection. We anchored close to the beach, making our walks ashore with Princess easy. One side of the beach has a number of restaurants and tourist activities, from kayaking to kite surfing. The other side has a large condominium with incredible views on the whole bay and sea.
The beach isn't very built up, though after spending so much time on the peninsula with completely empty beaches, it felt to us like coming back to civilization. We're still wondering how good that is, but we're happy to discover new spots.
Another short hop down the coast took us to San Carlos Bay. The bay is surrounded by beautiful houses, mostly to cater to gringo snowbirds I believe, both on the north low side and on top of the high cliffs on the South side.
The bay harbors a neat little marina providing incredible protection from all conditions. It looks like an excellent hurricane hole, surrounded by tall mountains with its narrow entrance.
It is a little far away from Guaymas, so it is not that convenient to go shopping.
Having been told that Guaymas' fuel dock was not operative, we stopped by San Carlos and topped off our diesel tanks before going to anchor in the bay to let a some more Northely winds go by. The marina was nice, but we'd planned to reprovision in Guaymas instead.
One last hop to Guaymas, a short distance south, and we arrived at the downtown "marina turistica", where we had a reservation for 11 nights at the very reasonable rate of $23 a night.
Identical in physical layout to other Fonatur marinas we've visited, the marina is small with only about 20 slips for small boats. We had a hard time getting Enfin at a slip. Most were too short for us, so we had to back in one, against strong gusts. Not the best time to realize that our bow thruster wasn't thrusting much; when scrubbing the hull a couple weeks ago, I had left the thruster for another dive. I knew the propeller blades were crusted with a lot of marine growth, but hadn't realized it would impact the thrust that much.
Luckily the local cruisers lent a hand and soon we were safely docked.
Guaymas is a pleasant little town, and the marina gives easy access to the main street, with its varied shops, including 2 large grocery shops. Just outside the marina we enjoyed "Pollo Feliz", and got regular treats there. An order of chicken often lasting us for many meals, with its accompanying tortillas, salsas, added guacamole and more.
Like in La Paz last year, we arrived during Carnival, so we got to mingle with the festivities, enjoying a few tacos and churros as we watched the colorful floats.
More than a touristic stop though, we treated these days as a good logistical and technical pause. We were able to grab the local boat detailer for 8 days of straight work, washing, polishing and waxing Enfin. After months in the dry sandy heat, daily rinses in hard calcium water this summer, it was past time to get her beautiful and shiny again.
I'm always amazed how well the boat shows after such effort. The original gel coat is of such quality that she shines bright and doesn't show her age.
Our dock neighbor needed her hull scrubbed, so we asked the diver to stop by our boat and scrub our bow thruster while he was there. A bit of luck as I wouldn't have asked him to come from San Carlos for such a small job. Our thruster now works at full power again.
We also took out our old bow shade, and the canvas maker at the marina was able to replicate it with brand new, much stronger material. I think the result looks good, a sand color that is very close to Enfin's aft enclosure. Princess is already enjoying her newly refound shade. We won't have to worry as much if the winds come up while the shade is in place.
We've made it to the other side. We're now firmly on the continent and have left the Baja peninsula behind. It already feels very different. More people, less touristy.
We're fueled up, provisionned up. The boat has been pampered, I'm up to date on all preventive maintenance, oil changes, filters, and so on.
Ready to continue our discovery.
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