San Carlos/Guaymas Area

We left Fonatur Marina, Guaymas on Friday 20^th April and motored four miles to Bahia Catalina. It was gusty with a strong SW wind blowing down an arroyo. We anchored in the northern part of the bay which gave a little shelter from the wind. Fortunately, the holding was good. There were a few local pangas and a some people on the far northern side as there is dirt road access to Bahia Catalina from Guaymas. Nobody bothered us.

Palapa Griega, San Carlos

The next day we left at 0730 and motored six miles to Ensenada Carrizal. The wind was much lighter, so we were able to do some jobs such as taking the water catching gutters off our bimini and cleaning and stowing the Hydrovane rudder. We had time for snorkelling and scrubbed Sal Darago’s bottom. Afterwards, Jeremy took off the jackstays, preventer and deck blocks and washed them.

Bonifacio's Cotton Club, San Carlos

The anchor alarm went off twice during the night. All was OK, thankfully. There is a fish camp nearby and some of the fishermen row out of the bay in the early hours to catch fish before the winds start to blow. None of them approached us. We left at 0700 and travelled nine miles to Caleta Posada, crossing Bahia San Francisco. We were now very close to San Carlos, a large yachting centre, but there was only one vessel at anchor. Another one arrived soon after us. The crew from the ketch Kha Khan stopped by and gave us useful information about shops and restaurants.

Caleta Lalo from the Mirador

I cleaned the front cabin and Jeremy washed the topsides. We went ashore in the dinghy, landed on the beach and walked along the red hot sand for a Greek lunch in Palapa Griega. Afterwards, we walked about three quarters of a mile to Leys Supermarket. Back at SD, we cooled off with a quick swim and more bottom scrubbing.

The Soggy Peso, Bahia Algadones

We weighed anchor at 0755 on Monday 23^rd April and headed for Martini Cove, only two miles away. This usually busy cove was deserted at this early hour so we had it to ourselves. As it has limited swinging room, Jeremy preferred to stay on board and keep watch while I donned my wetsuit and went snorkelling. Sadly, the visibility was not at its best, but I still saw plenty of colourful fish and found shallow passages amongst the kelp beds.

One of many caves at Ensenada Carrizal

Later in the morning, we weighed anchor and motored three miles to Caleto Lalo, which is below the Mirador, and round the corner from Bahia Algadones. It was very calm. We rowed ashore, landed on the beach, avoided scorpions in the car park and walked up to Coco Loco on the roadside. They had drinks but no food, so we walked on to Bonifacio’s Cotton Club RV Resort, where we had lovely tacos in their air conditioned restaurant.

It was a hot day and we were sweating when we reached the Mirador. It was worth the effort as the views were stunning. On the way back we stopped at Coco Loco and shared a coconut. One of the rope handles on the dinghy broke as we carried it, giving Jeremy another job to do on our return to SD.

Twin peaks of Las Tetas

The next day we motored three miles to Bahia Algadones and anchored close to the place where we anchored before. This time the weather was calm, so we were able to go ashore and land the dinghy on the beach. We searched for the film set of Catch 22 but did not find it. We consoled ourselves with lunch on the beach at the Soggy Peso.

Scorpion near Marina San Carlos

On Wednesday 25^th April we left Bahia Algadones and returned to Caleta Posada. This time we went ashore and up some steps between some pleasant houses. It was a short walk to Marina San Carlos. Tortugas restaurant just up the road was recommended for lunch and I was amazed to find Shepherd’s Pie on the daily specials menu. Pino Colada was also on special, so I had the former and Jeremy had the latter!

Happy lunch at Tortugas, San Carlos

We returned to Marina Fonatur, Guaymas via Ensenada Carrizal and Bahia Catalina. Jeremy changed the engine oil and filters and together we washed and took down the genoa. The end of our sailing adventure was close but not until we’d spent two nights in Fonatur Marina where we washed the mainsail, folded and stowed both sails and removed and washed all deck fittings.

New home for Sal Darago

Our final day on the water, Monday 30^th April, dawned damp and misty. We left Marina Fonatur at 0905, motored a mile across the harbour and were in the travel lift at Marina Seca, Guaymas by 0940. The rest of the week was spent washing halyards, cleaning lockers, stowing the canvas from our bimini and our dodgers and generally preparing Sal Darago for dry storage for the next ten months.

Sea of Cortez sunset

On Sunday 6^th May we called Jose and he arrived in his taxi within 15 minutes to take us to Hotel del Sol, Guaymas. From there our land trip to Tucson, El Paso, San Francisco and the Canadian Rockies began. Watch out for future blog posts relating our experiences as landlubbers.