Sailing Intermezzo: Chamela, On, Under the Water and In the Town

Friday, January 22, 2016

Chamela, On, Under the Water and In the Town

We had a nice moonlit sail to Chamela, the wind a bit too good as it moved Intermezzo too fast such that we would arrive before sunrise. So I put a couple of rolls in the jib to slow us down. The wind must have been paying attention, because not long afterwards, it died down to just about the right speed for a well-timed arrival. We only had to motor the last hour when it died down completely. Marc and Marci endured their seasickness well enough to get some sleep during the night.

Bahia Chamela is a much bigger bay than I had envisioned. It has a half dozen small, uninhabited islands that are national parks, a very long sandy beach and a small town along the main street behind the beach.

There are three or four dolphins that weave their way between the boats in the anchorage as they feed in the morning, which we enjoy watching as we drink our coffee.

We have been enjoying swimming, snorkeling among the rocky reefs of one of the islands and practicing landing and launching our dinghy in the surf, which has ranged from minor to somewhat challenging. So far, so good.

We took a trip into town for lunch and to pick up some fresh produce. The quality of the produce was very good, which surprised me in such a small town, and the prices were really low. A heavy bag of fresh produce for less than $6. Nice.

The town and beach are very laid back. There is a small but noticeable population of gringos wintering here, enjoying small town life. The local people seem to eek out a living serving these seasonal residents and there is a small panga fishing fleet. There doesn't seem to be much else going on economically.

Another beautiful, peaceful place in Mexico.

Tomorrow we leave to head just a little way down the coast to a smaller, more remote anchorage called Paraíso.

Some photos of Chamela: