Ruminations of a Sailor: Coatimundi boarding + Eclipse + Mezcal tasting

Happy at the helm - luckily no fashion
police here to see my unmatched outfit

At the marina in Barra de Navidad, we saw coatimundi roaming the grounds in the evening hours. We made the mistake of thinking our high freeboard and step access from the dock made us ‘safe’ from boarding – that plus we remove our garbage every night. At 5AM our last night, we heard a kerfuffle in the cockpit quickly followed by our weighted bug screen being shuffled. A coatimundi had scrambled into our galley / salon. We flipped on the light and started yelling 'get out' (hmmm, do they understand English or Spanish, or not? ha).

Not really that cute - coatimundi

Lights on, it jumped above the settee, across the boat and down to the sink where he managed to break one of our valuable wine glasses before he leapt to the steps and out. I’m pretty sure the sight of two naked people screaming was adequate to encourage a rapid escape. All things considered; we were fortunate - without further incident! And that was the end of that night’s rest. As a side note, it took us years to bring glass on board – not for this but for general safety reasons.

Full moon rising

Our next mentionable event was the full lunar eclipse mid-March. After viewing the solar eclipse in Mazatlan in 2024, we were thrilled to experience the lunar eclipse from a quiet and dark anchorage in the bay of Chemela. While we didn’t stay up for the entire sequence, at 12:20AM it was pretty close to full coverage. Directly below the ‘show’, we could see the Southern Cross, a spectacular addition to the moment. With the rocking motion of the boat (even in the best of anchorages, there’s up and down or sideways motion), it’s hard to get photos.

Since January 25^th, we’ve traversed over 550 miles (@5 NM / hour, average), exploring anchorages along the Pacific coast. Kayaking, hiking and beach walking have been our main exercise and entertainment. Palapa restaurants dot the beaches along the coast with their colorful umbrellas beckoning you into the shade. Not to complain, but it’s hard to escape the sun so any shade becomes an oasis – even walking inland along sandy streets, we duck under the shade trees as we seek local veggies or a cool beverage.

Along with chilled drinks and amazing fruit, every tienda showcased a line up of Igloo coolers (that is, in the villages that warranted more than one tortilla shop) featuring the family name of the tortilleria written in Sharpie. Ah, the choices! Some tiendas had ‘older model’ (cheesy) gambling machines outside that promised riches and attracted some of the locals. Las Vegas on a shoestring?

Our third ‘extravaganza’ was Raicilla tasting in a tiny village an hour’s walk from the anchorage known as the Aquarium, not far from the popular Tenacatita anchorage.

Our friends we’ve been traveling with knew about the place, otherwise one would not realize the treasure that awaited behind that humble stone wall and unlocked metal gate.

A retreat behind the stone wall - waiting for our host

We waited for a while then gently pushed the gate open – there was shade beyond that wall that beckoned us out of the midday sun! A couple came by in a car after a while and let us know that Alejandro, the promoter of Raicilla Jalisco, was at the pharmacy and would be back soon. With them, we waited for an hour and were glad.

Upon his arrival, Alejandro invited us into a small palapa that serves as a museum and tasting room. He regaled us with the history of the local mezcal, how the cooperative was formed and how to taste and purchase this golden nectar.

Alejandro's drink cart

Raicilla is the state of Jalisco’s mezcal, their local version of cooked agave made from the jima (core) of the agave plant that’s distilled for 40-45 days. Like an AVA for wines, each distillery must meet certain standards to achieve the Raicilla certification.

He had samples of many Raicilla distilleries

Alejandro pouring a taste for Miguel

He shared how to identify a ‘good’ mezcal from a cheap one, including looking for their shield. As the chief promoter of Raicilla Jalisco, he was proud of their process and encouraged us to shop smartly.

We are in Banderas Bay right now – actually at Punta de Mita on the north end – waiting for our weather window to head north to San Blas about 6AM – for an estimated 10-hour trip. It’s the end of whale season here – most have headed north. But we had a great whale show yesterday from the shore at La Cruz and today while we motor-sailed north. It’s the mom’s and their babies doing their final training before their very long migration.

Barra de Navidad - paradise with a French baker!

We’ve made the decision to return to Mazatlan for the summer so that means a ton of logistical planning in the next 6 weeks. In 2 days, we’ll haul out in San Blas, Nayarit to get our bottom cleaned and painted (less expensive than Mazatlan). Then we will head the 130 miles to Mazatlan.

Our friends in San Blas helped with local details for haul out and painting so that’s been very helpful. We’ll be on land for about 6 days while Lucio does his magic – removing barnacles and other nasties then preps the bottom for painting. We’ll hang out in San Blas and take the bus inland to explore Tepic for 2 days. We hear there’s plenty to see and do in Tepic and besides, it’d be like watching paint dry to wait while Lucio works…