At 5:30 AM on January 25th we finally left Marina La Cruz for the 96 NM run around Cabo Corrientes and down the coast to Bahía Chamela. Weather was pretty mild, but we had some rain going around Cabo Corrientes. It felt great to be underway again, and all systems were back to working well.
On the way we saw a half dozen sea turtles at various points, bobbing along sometimes lifting their heads to look at us. As we were arriving at Chamela a pod of humpback whales was nearby, but I could only get a few pictures because we had to focus on avoiding the fishing nets that were placed in about 400 feet of water a mile or so offshore. We had spent most of the trip about 5 miles offshore and avoided any nets, but coming in closer was a different story. Fortunately, they were well-marked and we were able to work around them towards the shore and shallower water.
There were about 22 boats anchored in Chamela, so we wound up dropping the anchor a bit further out than we’d prefer. It was moderately rolly, enough so that we put out both flopper stoppers. We read in the guidebooks that a beach landing on the dinghy was required to get ashore here, but it turns out that they had recently built a pair of jetties and an entrance channel into the estuary. So, no beach landing necessary, but we needed the small dinghy anyway, as the estuary mouth got too shallow on the ebb tide for our larger dinghy.
The guidebooks also said that there were anchorages and snorkeling spots near the large islands across the bay from the anchorage. After making a choppy crossing on the big dinghy, it seemed pretty clear that these anchorages were not very well protected. There were a couple of small sailboats in one of them, and both were bouncing around quite a bit. We then went around to a cove with a beach and reportedly good snorkeling, but it was incredibly crowded with pangas and groups from the local area. We decided to wait for another day, hoping for the crowds to thin out.
The next afternoon, we went back. This time there were only 2-3 pangas and groups, but it was evident when we went into the cove that there was no way that we would be able to land the big dinghy on the beach. In fact, there was so much swell we couldn’t anchor the dinghy, and we actually lost our stern mushroom anchor. We went back to a beach near the anchorage in the lee of the other island and were able to anchor the dinghy and snorkel around a bit. However, with all the swell the visibility wasn’t good, and there wasn’t much to see. We had a very choppy ride back across the bay to the main anchorage.
One day we walked into the town of Punta Perula on the one dusty main paved road. Small town with a few restaurants and some small hotels, but not a big tourist focus, yet. Another day we did a long beach walk, and on both days finished up with a palapa lunch and beer before making our way back.
A great 4 day stay at anchor. Next stop, Tenacatita anchorage.
MV Miss Miranda 