From PV our route took us out past Punta de Mita again and north up the coast to our destination of Mazatlan. We initially did not plan to stop at Isla Isabella as we both felt that the first stop just could not be topped. Again, so much for plans. We approached the island around 11pm and could not pass by. Anchoring at the island is not something to be attempted in the dark, so we tacked off to the east for a few hours and then tacked back to time our arrival for sunrise. It was a good choice, as we spent another three days at the island exploring and diving.
Leaving Isabella in the evening, bound for Mazatlan, we ran into foul winds, steep choppy seas and numerous shrimp boats plying the waters. It made for a tedious and tiresome passage but we arrived in Mazatlan the next morning under sunny skies. The plan was to spend only a couple of days, just enough time to "get fuel, get water,get provisions and get out". Let's see, have we heard the line "so much for plans" before?
We spent a fantastic month in and around Mazatlan. It is a wonderful place full of wonderfully friendly people. The old part of the city has been redeveloped and is a center for the arts, food and culture, inhabited not by the rich but by a growing middle class. There are art and music schools, an opera house that showcases local and world class theatre and musicians, and music fills the neighborhood plazas every night.
We also spent a lot of time in our kayaks as Mazatlan is home to some great birding in the estuaries and on the islands just off shore. As Copper Canyon was not too far away, we spent a few days making a side trip by bus and train to visit this world famous geologic feature that rivals the Grand Canyon.
After staying even longer than planned due to weather and to see the "Carnival" we finally got underway to head back across the Sea of Cortez to Baja.
