A Taste of Cruising Mexico

Last night we debated whether or not to leave Turtle Bay early this morning, but one day's rest just didn't put a dent in the sense of exhaustion we were feeling after this last week. So we put off our departure until tomorrow. Our reward for making that decision was spending this evening at Anabel's.

There are two fuel services (panga's equipped with tanks and generator-powered pumps bring the diesel out to your boat). When you enter the bay, it's a flat-out race between the two operators to see who can reach you first to offer their services. Rueben runs one of the fuel docks and his wife, Anabel, has a restaurant just outside the village.

When we were doing the bash in 2009, Rueben extended an invitation to all the boats in the anchorage to have supper at his wife's restaurant. He picked everyone up in a panga and delivered them to shore. His wife and daughter prepared a wonderful meal, although the surroundings were pretty rustic. Reuben showed us the plans he had drawn up for a new restaurant building and they were very ambitious.

So when Reuben made the same offer to the boats in the anchorage today, we jumped at the chance. Reuben and his family have brought their dreams to life. The new restaurant is really impressive with a large dining room and a second story salon suitable for weddings or large parties.

The main course for dinner was fresh-caught yellow-tail tuna. I know all the cruisers who joined us there had a wonderful time. The photo here shows Reuben enjoying the company of his guests. His daughter told us she had looked on her computer and they had pictures of us from our visit three years ago. They were incredible friendly and gracious hosts and reminded us once again what we love so much about this country.

But it's time to move on, so come daylight we'll be heading for Cedros Island and working on finishing up the last half of the bash.