Hike from Boca Tomatlan to Las Animas

April 14th, 2016....Last day to Play for Janet and Henry before they flew back to Newport, RI. on the 15th.    I had heard about a 6 mile hike from Boca Tomatlan to Quimixto but not many details so I checked it out on line and it sounded like an arduous 6 hr. hike.  So right then I'm thinking we better only go half way and just plan on stopping at Las Animas.

No roads after Boca so you hike or take a panga.

We all slept in so didn't even leave the Marina till 1000.  Three buses later we arrived in Boca Tomatlan around 1130 and started looking for the trail, which we missed twice but thanks to wonderfully helpful locals we finally got on the right path.   It was steep ups and downs mostly along the shore line. Beautiful the entire 3 plus miles.  Glad we didn't try to do the long one.

Note the yellow arrow...thought we were back on the Camino.

Got to Las Animas in time for Red Snapper and a cold beer.   Watched our waiter run out to a panga to unload a baby and help a bunch of other kids off the boat while the parents struggling to get them all off safely.

        Guess I am fascinated by iguanas!

It was a great afternoon but no one was looking forward to the trip home so we got the last (0415) water taxi all the way back to Los Muerrtos, which cut out one of the buses.   As we still had are bathing suits on we collapsed at the lap pool  to recover before walking down the dock to the boat.  The beauty was worth it but it was sure exhausting. 

Laser Worlds

An amazing site greeted us the first day back in the Bay.  Vallarta Yacht Club is hosting the Laser Worlds.  Three parking lots full of new Lasers and women from all over the world competing.  We hear 21 of them competed in the last Olympics and the men aren't even here yet. 

Each team was called up on stage by country for pictures.  Then we all went to down town for dinner and a walk enjoying the sunset and balmy weather.

Return to the Bandares Bay

April 11, 2016

Left on a higher tide at 1010.

Not as much current this time but see that rock wall ahead.  That's the 70 degrees to port turn going out.  

Motor sailing again but wind clocked and by 1830 we turned engine off, downwind pole out,  sailing at 6 kts. wind up to 16 kts.  Sailing close to the rum line with a way point 4 miles west of Isla Isabella.  Not much traffic but we could see strobe lights over the Isla Marias, (prison island which have a 20 mile stand off zone)

Entered the Bay at Punta de Mita around 1030.  It's another 17 miles or so to the back of bay.   We were in our slip at Paradise Village by 1400 on April 12.  177 miles from Mazatlan.

They put us in with the big guys on B Dock.

April 5-10-2015 Copper Canyon/Mazatlan

First order of business is to get Al a new IPhone and to figure out how to get to Copper Canyon since the weather was not good for taking the boat North across to La Paz in the next few days.  We decided to bus to Los Mochis in the state of Sinaloa and from there get the 0600 train El Chepe to Creel, a little mountain town where we stayed over night at the Margarita Hotel. The train ride was spectacular.

 Next day we hired a transport to take us to the Canyon Rim at Baracas. Where we stayed at Mansion Tarahumara  Hotel.  Maria, who speaks fluent English has built this very cool hotel over the past 30 years.  Most of it faces the mountains but the latest rooms are right on the canyon rim.  Ours looked right over the canyon and down into some of the natvie houses below where many Tarahumara live.

We hiked a little before dinner.

     Our rooms top center White building.

Then in the morning took we a Tram ride down into the canyon then back to the hotel to gather our stuff and head back to the train stop near by.   

Train trip was a blast.  The adventure was definitely worth it but from Mazatlan it was a long 17 hr. One way bus/train event.  

Got back on Sat. but office was closed till Monday to checkout so we had a chance kayak.

 Al got to update his operating system for the phone and we all got to explore more of Mazatlan and have a nice Sunday dinner at the Local Chill and Grill.

               National Siblings Day