A Taste of Cruising Mexico
| Vessel Name: | Journey |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Passport 40 |
| Hailing Port: | Ventura, Ca |
| Crew: | Jeff and Dori Beller |
| About: | We're home ported out of Ventura, California. Jeff is a software engineer and Dori is a special ed teacher. We're both on sabbatical from our carreers or early retirement. We're not too sure which and don't really care. Cruising fits us real well right now. |
| Extra: | This is our third extended cruise to Mexico. I guess we like it there! We hope you enjoy reading this journal of our cruise. |
19 March 2020 | Ventura, CA
Another Taste of Mexico
This is a photo from back in 2008, the first time Journey went cruising to Mexico. The boat was full and overflowing with guests come to wish us Bon Voyage before we set off on our travels. It is a memory we still cherish.
12 July 2012 | Ventura, CA
Home Sweet Home
Journey has been home for just over a week, after sailing into Ventura harbor on the Fourth of July.
20 June 2012 | San Diego, CA
Survivors of the Un-Bash
It seems there is no rest for the weary. (OK, after resting four days, I guess being weary isn't an excuse anymore.) Anyway, we've received a few 'gentle' hints from some impatient readers. They've noticed that our position reports show we've reached San Diego, but our blog hasn't been updated to reflect [...]
12 June 2012 | Turtle Bay
A Night at Anabel's
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 [...]
11 June 2012 | Turtle Bay
The Half Way Point
Arriving at Turtle Bay is a milestone because it means you've reached the half-way point in your trip up or down the Baja. Several of the boats who left Cabo with us had a little celebration by having a scrumptious potluck lunch hosted by Mary and Jack on S.V. Oriana. We also attended to mundane details [...]
04 June 2012 | Bahia San Juanico
The 'Un-bash'
With one-third of the trip north completed, the good news is that we haven't really been 'bashed' much at all. The closest we've came was the passage around Cabo Falso early Saturday AM which Jeff described in his last post. As he mentioned, once that was behind us, it was all motoring in calm seas [...]
The Jungle Cruise
side of the Sea of Cortez....a little bit of shopping, a dash of sight-seeing and just a few boat chores. The weather looks promisingly benign, so we plan on leaving tomorrow about 5 A.M.
But I missed out on telling you how much we enjoyed the Jungle Cruise at San Blas. Although we stopped there on the way south, we didn't have time to make the river trip, so that was a high priority this time around.
We anchored out at Mantanchen Bay with a flopper-stopper and a stern anchor helping to ensure our comfort. Early Sunday morning, we headed to shore along with two other cruising couples. Things have come up a few steps since we made the same trip 15 years ago. The Jungle Cruise is a real attraction now, with a big billboard, a paved parking lot and you even get a free soft drink with your paid admission.
The six of us went out on the first panga of the morning. We'd planned it that way because we'd heard you got to see a lot more wildlife then, and we were rewarded for our efforts.
There were birds of every shape and variety, turtles, crocodiles and even a few head of cattle!! It was also interesting to see the scenery
change from the dark, over-hanging, almost claustrophobic tunnel formed by the mangrove trees, to the wide-open landscape
characterized by exotic ferns, tropical flowers, tall marsh reeds and other aquatic plants.
Paying a little extra entitled us to stop off and visit the crocodile farm, where we were able to see far larger crocs than the ones we spotted in the river. (Even though those pangas are stout boats, I was rather glad that all the full grown crocs we saw were behind fences.)
The final stop on the cruise was a little resort at a place called Tovara Springs on San Christoval Creek. The amenities include a little cafe,
a shop selling tourist trinkets and a crystal, clear swimming hole. It was a great opportunity to enjoy splashing around in non-clorinated fresh water for a change. After taking our time over some nice cold drinks, we headed back to Mantanchen Bay. It was another high point in our travels.
As I said, we hope to be in La Paz in a few days. Our son, Josh, will be flying down there to join us for a week.
You'll hear more from us once we've completed the crossing,
Dori
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We've posted our favorite photos from this year's cruising in the Sea of Cortez
46 Photos
Created 8 July 2012
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Four glorious days of surfing "the longest wave" at Matanchen Bay in warm water, tropical surroundings, and no crowds.
11 Photos
Created 13 April 2012
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Dori shot these photos of a morning surf session at Barra de Navidad. She was standing on the breakwater which adjacent to the surf break, giving great access for pictures.
15 Photos
Created 22 February 2012
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This is a morning spent touring the estuary and river above Matanchen up to Tovara springs.
28 Photos
Created 27 January 2012
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Yelapa is a unique little hidden away village on the south side of Banderas Bay. No roads reach it and the only way to get there is by water.
14 Photos
Created 15 March 2011
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