When we left Yelapa, and set out across Banderas Bay, toward La Cruz, it sort of felt like coming home: we had friends in La Cruz; we knew about Thursdays' produce market in town and movie night at the marina, Fridays' Mexican Train games at the marina deli, Sundays' craft and food market on the malecon; we knew where to buy food, where to buy marine supplies, and where to get a haircut. It was kind of odd, to already know our way around a place we were traveling to. Odd, but nice.

We had a good time in La Cruz. We spent time with our buddies on Sarita, and got to know the crew of Penelope better; we visited the produce market, watched a movie at the marina amphitheater, played Mexican Train, bought quiche from the French guy at the Sunday market, bought groceries and marine supplies, and Eric got a 40 peso haircut from the same woman who cut my hair in January. We also spent an afternoon and evening at Paradise Village Marina, in Nuevo Vallarta, catching up with our friends aboard Grinn II, whom we hadn't seen since December, in La Paz, and with Morris and Debbie, who were getting ready to leave Impulsive and fly to the Pacific Northwest for a few months.

We went out to dinner with Morris and Debbie at a restaurant called Sonora al Sur, where you order your meat from the butcher ("What kind of meat, and how thick do you want it cut?") and then have it cooked on a barbecue grill to your specifications. It was the best steaks any of us had had in Mexico. So good!

We were planning to leave La Cruz and start heading north on Thursday, a week after arriving, which would get us into Mazatlan by April 29, the day SCOOTS was scheduled to be hauled out. But after watching the weather forecasts trending toward higher swells and more wind from the direction that we were going to be headed in, we decided (at about 2 pm on Tuesday), to leave Tuesday evening instead. (Cruisers are notoriously unreliable, often leaving earlier or later than when they say - or think - they will.)

So we stowed things for travel, checked out at the marina office, said goodbye to our friends on Sarita, backed out of our slip, and headed out into Banderas Bay to catch the remaining afternoon winds. We had a wonderful sail for the rest of the day until the sun set and the wind died. Being more prudent mariners than we were a month ago, we had plenty of fuel, so we were able to motor all night on flat seas, to reach Isla Isabel, the place where I learned that frigatebirds are jerks.

We anchored quite close to our GPS anchor position from January, and enjoyed being back in the aviary again. After a short nap, we put on our snorkeling gear and swam in the warm, clear water around SCOOTS, checking - and resetting - our anchor, and then perusing the multitudes of colorful fish who call Isla Isabel home.

We watched the boobies and the frigatebirds, the pelicans, gulls, and tropicbirds - and, some newcomers: brown noddies and bridled terns, who were also nesting on the rocks. The swells were up, causing the waves to smash spectacularly against the cliffs lining the bay, but even when we were beam-on to them, we didn't roll. Four other boats were anchored at Isla Isabel - all in the east anchorage around the corner; we had the little bay to ourselves.

The next day, I took the kayak and went exploring. I spent a lot of time checking out the noddy nests in a rock near our boat. I had never seen brown noddies, but now I know what they look like and that they like to nest in little rocky crevices. I really enjoyed bobbing around in the kayak, watching them court each other and set up house.


Nine noddies and a booby. How many can you find?

A little while later, I beached the kayak and went ashore to see if things had changed since we were there in January. Not much had changed. There were still frigatebirds in all stages of immaturity - fuzzy white newborns, pinfeathered adolescents, and ungainly teenagers - some of whom were much too big for the nests they squatted in. There was still a lot of bird poop everywhere. And iguanas.

After another night in the bay, we pulled up our anchor at about noon and headed north again, toward Mazatlan. We rode the afternoon winds until the sun set and the wind died (again). This time, though, the waves didn't lay down and we spent the entire night motoring north while being rolled - back and forth, back and forth - by waves from the west. Ugh.

We arrived in Mazatlan at dawn and dropped anchor behind Isla Venados, just as we had last December. We took a short nap, then arranged for a slip at Marina El Cid, and at about noon when the tide was high and near slack (it matters in this estuary, as the current can really get going), we headed to the marina.

The breakwater here requires concentration: at the opening, there are rocks you need to miss, swells (sometimes large, sometimes breaking) rolling in, and a hidden shallow spot "toward the right of the channel." Just inside the breakwater, the channel bends to the right, where sometimes a dredging barge and its associated pipes and such are lurking; in this case you have avoid both the hidden shallow spot on the right and the dredge on the left. Once past the dredge and the shallow spot, you now have to slow down because the marina is just up ahead. This can be especially tricky if there is any current pulling you or wind pushing you. I have wished, more than once, that boats had brakes.

This time, entering at almost high tide, we had reasonable, non-breaking swells; we kept left to avoid the rocks and the hidden shallow spot on our right, but not too far left, because that's where the dredge was lurking. We must have passed over the hidden shallow spot, because for just a second or two Eric saw the depth reading plummet from about 17 feet to a reading of 7.2 feet (SCOOTS draws 6.5), and then back up again - one of the reasons for entering at a high tide. Then we were through, floating along, with the marina in sight, and I was bumping SCOOTS into reverse to slow her down before we got there.

We tied up and looked around. There was the El Cid Marina Resort, just as we had left it in January. There were the pools, and the hot tub, the golf carts for transporting resort guests, the mangrove swallows, the same smiling guy driving the water taxi, the Bingo game in Spanish and English. The only thing missing was Kelly, since she was with us the last time we were at Marina El Cid.

As the sun set, we were surprised to feel cold! How could Mazatlan in April be cold? But it was...barely 65 degrees! We slept with a blanket on! Apparently, our time in the tropics have acclimated us to warmer temperatures. Mazatlan feels absolutely temperate!

We enjoyed being at Marina El Cid for a few days, doing some boat projects, soaking in the hot tub and swimming in the pool, doing more boat projects, and visiting with Anne and Dick on Full and By. Eventually, SCOOTS' appointment with the TraveLift arrived, which I'll tell you about in another blog.

PS. Frigatebirds are still jerks.