After cruising down the Pacific Coast from Vancouver, BC, taking in the California coast and Channel Islands, it was time to get a  move-on towards Mexico, to continue our year-long loop of the Pacific.

The Pacific Northwest Coast was no joke, and our family was already a little weary as we prepped for our trek towards Mexico.

Arriving in Mexico

Our first steps on Mexican soil were gentle and welcoming, as Marina Coral in Ensenada is known for being an easy and straightforward entry port into Mexico. We pulled in after a very calm overnight from San Diego, tying into our slip at first light.  Nothing looked wildly different from where we’d been, other than the  Spanish words on signage. I was sure my 400+ day Duolingo streak would save us, after all, I could ask where to buy red shoes or tell anyone the days of the week and numbers up to 29, thank you very much. This should be easy… It didn’t take me long to realize how wrong and lost I was!

“Qué hermoso día!” a friendly dock worker said to us with a wave, as we walked towards the marina office. A stunned smile on my face, I waved back, looking friendly, but obviously at a loss. “What a beautiful day, in Spanish,” he said quietly in English, as I slowed down trying to translate what he had said in my head.

“Ah, of course,” I said, “Can you say it one more time for me?” and he graciously helped me learn my first Spanish off-book phrase. It was a beautiful day, and we were starting a new chapter in our year long family adventure.

Simple magic of Bahai Tortugas

After all of our paperwork was done, we were officially checked in and ready to roll. Our first jump down the coast was to Bahia Tortugas, which lies about halfway down the Baja peninsula, just below a curling hook of land. It is an underplayed and, if I’m honest, underwhelming spot, but it was the right stopping point for us. After a two-night and three-day passage, we arrived at the large and quiet bay.

Looking back now on our travels, I’m so grateful we saw this little slice of Mexico. Our teens need to see that a happy home doesn’t have to look pretty or put together, and that things that may look a little rundown aren’t necessarily so. The streets in Bahia  Tortuga were dusty and winding, and it was our introduction to the signature Mexican sidewalk (IYKYK). But this place opened our eyes to the simplicity and the joy that comes with a small coastal fishing town in Mexico.

Again, our minimal knowledge of the language made things difficult, but not impossible. With a lot of wandering around without cell phone data (there was no cell tower available, so the entire town seemed to run on Wi-Fi, which is a little difficult for newcomers), we eventually found our way to a few small shops where we could try some Mexican pastries. We were certainly the odd ones out as this didn’t seem to be a tourist hub, but of course, as is with most of Mexico, Bahia Tortugas was a really welcoming place.

We met an American there named Jeff, who has been sailing up and down the Baja Peninsula for years as a delivery captain, and he graciously introduced us to a few of his local friends. We met a lovely Swiss man who shared some local knowledge and immediately roped Matt into helping him with the concrete pouring  of a skate park that he was putting together for the young Muchachos in town. We met Rogelio, who shared his beachfront patio with us all and let us hang out and enjoy his Wi-Fi. We tried his mother’s empanadas as well as a rice pudding dessert we bought in a corner store – it was clearly made at home and probably not up to North American standards, but it was creamy, cold, and sweet, and only $1.

There were so many simple kindnesses that were given to us without question and demanding nothing in return. It was so refreshing. It was so simple. It was so Mexico.

I dwell on this first experience of Mexico because the country is so vast and expansive, and I feel like we got a good taste of the breadth of the country the further south and east we traveled. We often  reflect as a family on the stark contrast between sweet and unsuspecting Bahia Tortugas and the wild and raucous Cabo San Lucas. Though Cabo certainly met all of our provisioning needs, it was so vastly different than anything we’d seen as we made our way  down the peninsula. We chuckle about being able to hear from one of the beachfront hotels a loud chant of “chug, chug, chug!” from our boat in the anchorage. It was 10 a.m. in the morning.

Feeling at home in La Paz

Before we knew it, we had made our way into the Sea of Cortez and were heading to La Paz. La Paz ended up being such a perfect, happy medium for us all. It was a relatively well-protected anchorage with a super accessible dinghy dock (with a small daily fee), and the town had everything you could ask for and more. It seemed like we walked that boardwalk back-and-forth 100 times while we were there, but we never got tired of it.

Though La Paz had some of the glitz and glam that Cabo did, it was still much more down-to-earth and approachable. Our teens loved La Paz because it was a place we felt pretty safe, letting them wander ahead or “let’s meet at the whale sculpture in an hour.” We could have our fill of happy hour margaritas on the main drag or wander up a few blocks, navigating even more treacherous Mexican sidewalks, to find an art supply store or a candy shop or corner-side churros with an excellent coffee. There were museums, churches, and art galleries to spare as well.

There was quite a community of families surrounding the La Paz  anchorage, which made it a great hub for meeting new friends. We continued to cruise with a number of these families for weeks and weeks, and still keep in touch today.

Sailing across the Sea of Cortez

La Paz felt like an old friend in no time, but of course, we had to keep moving. We continued to explore a bit more of the Sea of  Cortez, but after some experienced friends strongly encouraged us to cross the sea and head south towards Banderas Bay, we couldn’t resist.

The thing that we didn’t quite understand until we were there was how dry and arid the peninsula is. We hadn’t seen rain in weeks and weeks, and almost forgot what a lush landscape looks like. Don’t get us wrong, Mexico is beautiful, but the peninsula is its own unique ecosystem that’s probably more similar to Mars than the mainland.

Our first view of the mainland, after a few overnights and a brief but beautiful stop at Isla Isabella (“the Galapagos of Mexico!”), we certainly could see green upon green upon green on shore. Coming from the PNW of Canada, this felt much more like a place where  you can thrive.

Banderas Bay

Banderas Bay is a huge bay with a slightly protected anchorage at the northernmost corner, La Cruz, and the popular Puerto Vallarta in the middle. PV is great if you need to get in and out of Mexico easily and quickly by plane, if you want to experience some Mexican nightlife or you really want to get to Costco to buy some North American food staples.

Many cruisers drop the hook in La Cruz, as the anchorage is free and relatively easy to access the cute and friendly town. With many local fruiterias and hardware stores and even a sail loft, it’s easy to see how cruisers can get pretty comfortable in La Cruz. “Comfortable” is a relative term, keep in mind, as we had some of our rolliest nights at anchor here, but that just meant we would sometimes tuck into the marina if we were able, especially over Christmas, which was a treat for everyone.

The true beauty of cruising Mexico

With every week we stayed in Mexico, our Spanish improved and our general level of chill expanded. The Mexican way of life is something that every North American needs to properly experience. Though we certainly found ourselves griping about how long some things would take in Mexico, we never saw a frazzled mother in the grocery line or a hectic father wrangling misbehaving children in town. Life had a “sympatico” vibe to everything and it was a friendly reminder to take a step back, take a deep breath and just be patient. Why the rush? Everything is happening just as it should, and our stress adds nothing to the situation— except for stress.

We took a few family forays south to Tenacatita and as far as Manzanillo to enjoy more of the beautiful mainland, and like a fine wine, it was only getting better and better the longer we were there.  Mexico is such a lovely country to see by boat and can be a cruiser’s dream for years and years. We met many families who had sailed up and down the Mexican coast for years, never getting bored and only loving Mexico more and more the longer they stayed. Marinas can be quite affordable and beautiful (Paradise Village lived up to its name) and there are enough anchorages with nice sandy bottoms in protected bays to keep life simple and economico.

Though our rigging was full of dry, Mexican dust, and our decks  were often hit with pelican poop, our boat’s stores were filled with good, affordable food that would carry us through our travels across the Pacific and beyond.

Mexico got between our teeth, a dusty grit between our molars, but also solidly wedged into our hearts. Mexico will always hold a special spot in our collective family memory as the place where we all learned to take life a little less seriously, to laugh about silly bureaucratic paperwork and to soak in a sunset without worrying about tomorrow’s checklist.