Category: 2021-01 (January)

We got up around 7:30 or so, got it together and went out for breakfast. The hotel provides a very good breakfast. It started with fruit and yogurt (I skipped this and asked for no yogurt the next time), then eggs and waffles. The eggs were scrambled.

After breakfast we went for a walk, down the street and out the end of town to the Mission San Ignacio. This walk took us several hours, we walked by the rocks that looked like frogs, and turtles. It was a pretty challenging walk, as it was still cold and we are at 7,700 feet. So, the air is pretty thin.

We planned on stopping for a craft beer at the LODGE here in Creel, but could not figure out where the door was and they looked closed, so we walked up the street some more and found La Estufa, which has a really great menu, and a fireplace to warm up with. Only down side is the “best beer” we could find here is Tecate Roho (Tecate Original).

After lunch, we went back to the room. I napped and Renee’ went out and checked out the little shops. When it was time for dinner, we called the craft beer place and found out that they were open, one door past where we had stopped. So, we went there for dinner.

They have three beers that they brew:

1. An Amber
2. A Wheat
3. A Stout

As anyone will tell you, I love a good stout, and so does Renee’. We had the Amber. We ordered Pizza for me, and Tacos for Renee’. The Pizza was severed almost instantly, and was a supper thin crust and had a little meat on it. I would give that Pizza a score of 3 out of 10. The Tacos were so late coming that we had finished the pizza and we were wondering if it was still coming. Finally Renee’ got up and asked, and she was assured that they would be out shortly. The tacos would get an 8 out of 10 by me. The beer 5 out of 10, and so no we did not make it back here.

From there, we headed back to our room and bed. Another day done.

We started with a taxi ride to the train station. This was by Felix, it is very convenient to have a driver who sets a schedule and sticks to it for a reasonable price. Once we were at the station, Renee’ went inside to see if she could upgrade our seats. She was able to get us 1st class both ways. This means better food, probably better seats and access to the bar and dining car. The dining car is a double decker with a glass ceiling, the bar car has a wrap around view out the back. I described the train in more detail on our return trip, on January 24th.

We had awesome views! And after about 9 hours arrived in Creel. We were met at the station as we were told we would be, we expected to have a car to get from the station to the hotel, but it was a walk led by the lady who met us at the train (all of about 200 yards!) Our room was really cute! (Renee’ told me so) two full size beds, and oversized shower, not as big as a bathtub but still pretty good size. Only issue is it is COLD!!  We turned the heater on and set it for 25 degrees C (77 degrees F) down from where we found it. Later we put it back where we found it, 30 degrees C, (86 degrees F) and it almost thawed out the room.

We had our hearts set on getting some of the tamales from the vendor right outside the hotel. We had heard about them before we got here. They were filled with carnitas (pork) and as good as we had been led to expect.  We ate them at the dinning table in the lobby of the hotel. Renee’ had a chocolate and peanut hot drink, and I had water.

Finally we turned in about 9 pm.

We started our day with a sermon from North Coast, then got organized for our day trip into Los Mochis, Renee’ tried Uber, but “No Cars available” was all she found. We asked around and Omar the normal guy who watches the Marina was not here, and Luis was. He called a cab for us, and we coordinated the rides for going to Los Mochis for the day today, and in the morning for the Chepe train and the return trip when we get back from Copper Canyon. His rate is 300 pesos each way, so 6 trips is 1800 pesos, which is about $90 US. It is between 15 and 20 miles from the marina to Los Mochis depending on where you are going there.

Today, we went to a huge park, and saw ducks, turtles, and iguanas. Overall one of the nicest parks I can remember. Clean, and quiet. It backed up to a golf course. After the park we went to a lunch Restaurant Panamá Los Mochis. The food was excellent, I had a drink called a Mango Mambo which was an icee thing with lots of fruit and VERY sweet, actually between the cold and the sweet, it about put me over the edge. We checked out the bakery there before walking on to the open air market.

We got to the market as they were putting stuff away. But, it was still HUGE! We walked down one main thoroughfare which was about 3 blocks long, with two or three lanes of stuff to look at/buy. They had tools, fresh fruits and vegetables, lingerie, clothes in general, clothes for babies, clothes for men, bikes and bike parts and there was even a chiropractor (he was the only one I saw in a suit). Renee’ got a puffy vest to stay warm at the canyon, and I bought a couple of pairs of pants, there was of course no place to try them on. I did when we got back to the boat. Levis has a strange size system that I have not figured out. I bought Levi 505’s with “bigger thighs” and straight legs size 34w – 32l. They are probably two sizes too small. The jeans I bought that are no name, size 34w, 30l fit fairly well. OH well, they will go back to the states. They only cost 250 pesos each (about $12.50 each).

From there we walked back to a store near the park we had been to earlier, and Renee’ got a sweater. We then started looking for a place to get a beer (happy hour) and stumbled on McFly’s but the only beer they had was Corona and other “lite beers”. So, we had a beer and called our cab to come get us. We had him take us bake to the Malecón in Topolobampo, and found a restaurant there. Excellent food and about a 10 minute walk back to our boat. They did not have a salad on the menu, but made one anyway for Renee’, I had a tuna and mango tostada which was fantastic! Then back to the boat to pack and get some sleep. We have to be ready for the taxi at 7 am.

We walked around town, found our way to the Malecón, had dinner and back to the boat with a quick stop at an ATM. The tour book says there is limited ATM’s near Copper Canyon, and we need small bills. So, we took out 8000 pesos in 200 peso notes. While that sounds like a lot of money, the conversion rate was about 18.60 pesos to the dollar. Figure 20 pesos to the dollar, or about $400 US. While it is a fairly poor town, the view is spectacular. The food was also very good.

Finally, we managed to get out of La Paz. We had pretty high winds as we got out and around the point. With the wind mainly on the nose, and up into the low 30 knot range. Which made for a pretty uncomfortable ride, complete with me getting seasick. Yes, it happens to all of us occasionally. We had happy hour with chips and guacamole. Good new, it was fresh and tasted good, bad news it looks the same the second time.

Anyway it was a long day and night of motoring and sailing across. We left at 11:45 am. This was based on our planning. We use a speed of 5 knots for planning purposes, but typically go closer to 7 knots when we are going long distances, and I really don’t like arriving after dark. So, since this was 118 miles from Marina to Marina, we wanted to leave no earlier than 12pm, to arrive between 5 am and noon. As it turned out, we arrived and were tied up by 10 am. We got shore power hooked up and went to bed for a couple of hours before checking in.

We saw again, why it is time to update the chart plotter and maps. The entrance to Topolobampo is completely different than the chart plotter shows. The old channel is filled in with the waste from the new channel and is probably a mile north of the old one. I tried to set way points based on the old buoys, and I think only one waypoint did not have to be moved. Well, it is another very expensive project. In any case we arrived safely, and it is a nice marina. The rest of today is dedicated to rest!

We did meet a nice couple across the dock from us, they just got back from Copper canyon, so we went over and shared a beer and got tips on going there.

One other thing I did today is send the pictures and video of the whale shark to the family we took the tour with. I uploaded them to BOX and sent him a link so that he can download them at his leisure, as it would have been too big to send by email.