Banderas Bay – Wildlife Central

Our first port of call on mainland Mexico was the beautiful coastal town of Mazatlan. We decided to anchor just inside the harbour entrance as we would be able to get into town much easier than if we stayed in one of the marinas over 3 miles away. The anchorage had shower and internet facilities provided by Club Nautica and was lovely, save for the fact that it was next to the sewerage works. If you can get over the intense smell of the raw sewage produced by a city of spicy burrito and chile eaters, it's great. We were even able to use the smell to our advantage, when we got a taxi and the driver didn't speak English or know where Club Nautica was, we simply held our noses and he drove us right to the doorstep. After 3 nights getting a little too used to living with the smell of waste hot in our nostrils we pushed off for our final destination Banderas Bay.

Arriving in Banderas Bay after an overnight sail dodging what must have been the whole Mexican trawler fleet and spending the next day picking our way through hundreds of miles of long lines we were a bit worried that the bay would be devoid of life due to severe raping. Thankfully we were to be pleasantly surprised by one of the most wildlife filled days we've had since starting the trip. After spending the night at anchor and filling up with fuel and water we headed out into the bay to visit Las Tres Marietas Islands. Within a few minutes we were faced with flocks of boobies and frigates dive bombing schools of fish from all directions. Minutes later they were joined by pods of dolphins and porpoises adding to the frenzy. As if this wasn't enough we then had the pleasure of watching a group of 8 humpback whales simultaneously lunge feeding less than 100m from Indian Summer. When the whales stopped feeding the rays started jumping. We must have seen hundreds of pygmy mantas, cow nose and bat rays breaching. This level of activity continued throughout the day with us being constantly strafed by boobies, followed by dolphins and having to dodge a total of about 40-50 whales before going to anchor. Our luck in catching fish was the only thing which remained less than stellar despite seeing multiple mahi mahi swimming around the boat. All in all an incredible day and a great start in what will probably be Indian Summer's home for the next few months.

Mantas a jumpin

Boobies a divin

Dolphins a frolickin

Whales a feedin

It's now time for Johnny and Emsy to leave Indian Summer after 5 months of loyal crewing and for Johnny to sign off as official blogger. All that I can say to blog readers and Mike's friends and family is that it has been an experience of a lifetime. From never sailing before I arrived I've learnt so much, travelling nearly 2000 nautical miles from San Fran to here. I've experienced the full gambit of emotions from agony to ecstasy. Seen and done some of the most amazing things ever, from diving with great whites and schooling hammerheads, to seeing sunfish while blue whales were feeding behind them, to cuddling baby sea lions, to catching the biggest fish I ever imagined...the list goes on and on. For those who are thinking about visiting Indian Summer for a couple of weeks or longer, what are you waiting for? Look at any entry in this blog for a realistic idea of what you'll experience. If you don't want sun, sea, sand, desert islands, freedom, wildlife, drinking, good food and adventure...don't come!