San Carlos

PHOTO GALLERIES
2008 Mexico 4 – La Paz to Guaymas

Here we are in San Carlos – as close to Tucson as Raven will ever get! It even feels like a suburb of Tucson. Half the boats in the marina name Tucson as their home port. This weekend the Tucson Sailing Club is hosting a regatta. We even bought an Arizona Daily Star in the coffee shop!

Our cruise across the gulf was uneventful – accomplished in one long leg. We meant to stop at Isla Sal Si Puedes which means Leave If You Can Island. We left as soon as we could! Not only did the anchorage described in our cruising guide turn out to be way too tiny for Raven, it was flanked on three sides by jagged rocks awash with surf. In addition we were enthusiastically greeted by an advance contingent of the local bug population.

So spraying the cockpit with Raid to discourage any hitchhikers, we revised our cruising schedule to finish the crossing that same day. We reached the mainland coast near sunset and had to explore and discard a couple of potential anchorages before locating one that provided protection from the forecasted strong northwesterlies. En route we enjoyed an encounter with a huge pod of rambunctious dolphins and a sperm whale at the same time. Sperm whales are toothed whales and apparently dolphins and whale were sharing the same lunch. Or else he was adopted!

Friday morning we cruised into San Carlos and are here for the duration. Cellphones are working again, wifi internet is available at the coffee shop and the hotel, restaurants are available for a nice dinner out. In addition the harbor is a gem – beautifully scenic with islands and rock outcroppings, clean inviting water (warmer, too!), and nice homes clustered on the hillsides like Italian villages. This morning Mike and I kayaked out to watch the start of the day’s sailboat race – we even paddled through a couple of stone arches en route. We’ll probably rent a car tomorrow or next day and do a little land exploration, including a visit to the city of Guaymas. Wednesday is reserved for packing and laundry – our flight leaves at 4:30 p.m. and goes through Phoenix, so we’ll be “back in the office” Thursday.