We arrived at Isla Isabella first thing in the morning after motor sailing all night and realized right away that we were in a different world than we had been in Mazatlan. The whales were so numerous that it seemed every direction we looked we saw water spouts and whales breaching. The wildlife at Isabella is truly amazing. Once at Isabella we ended up anchoring near the Monas (the mannequins in Spanish) two large pinnacle shaped rocks for only a very short time as there was a report of possible strong winds and the protection there is not very good. After spending awhile in awe watching the whale activity we sailed another 35 miles east to San Blas which is the town that the famous poem written by H.W. Longfellow "The Bells of San Blas" was written about.....
What say the Bells of San Blas
To the ships that southward pass
From the harbor of Mazatlan?
To them it is nothing more
Than the sound of surf on the shore,--
Nothing more to master or man.
But to me, a dreamer of dreams,
To whom what is and what seems
Are often one and the same,--
The Bells of San Blas to me
Have a strange, wild melody,
And are something more than a name.
For bells are the voice of the church;
They have tones that touch and search
The hearts of young and old;
One sound to all, yet each
Lends a meaning to their speech,
And the meaning is manifold.
They are a voice of the Past,
Of an age that is fading fast,
Of a power austere and grand,
When the flag of Spain unfurled
Its folds o'er this western world,
And the Priest was lord of the land.
The chapel that once looked down
On the little seaport town
Has crumbled into the dust;
And on oaken beams below
The bells swing to and fro,
And are green with mould and rust.
"Is, then, the old faith dead,"
They say, "and in its stead
Is some new faith proclaimed,
That we are forced to remain
Naked to sun and rain,
Unsheltered and ashamed?
"Once, in our tower aloof,
We rang over wall and roof
Our warnings and our complaints;
And round about us there
The white doves filled the air,
Like the white souls of the saints.
"The saints! Ah, have they grown
Forgetful of their own?
Are they asleep, or dead,
That open to the sky
Their ruined Missions lie,
No longer tenanted?
"Oh, bring us back once more
The vanished days of yore,
When the world with faith was filled;
Bring back the fervid zeal,
The hearts of fire and steel,
The hands that believe and build.
"Then from our tower again
We will send over land and main
Our voices of command,
Like exiled kings who return
To their thrones, and the people learn
That the Priest is lord of the land!"
O Bells of San Blas in vain
Ye call back the Past again;
The Past is deaf to your prayer!
Out of the shadows of night
The world rolls into light;
It is daybreak everywhere.
We attempted to enter the estuary at San Blas but after seeing the depth meter hit 8.5 feet in the channel decided to back out (a rather scary event) and head over to the nearby anchorage of Mantanchan Bay. Mantanchan is a very large shallow bay with good holding and protection from the northwest. It was easy to take a bus from Mantanchan to San Blas for 6 pesos and the famous San Blas Jungle Tour was only a few blocks from the anchorage. The only bad thing about Mantanchan and San Blas was the man eating bugs that seemed to come out in droves anytime the wind died down (which was every afternoon). All in all it was a lovely little town but after 5 days we were definitely ready to head out before the bugs did anymore damage.
After leaving San Blas we headed over the Chacala. Chacala is a amazingly beautiful place with gorgeous sandy beaches and palapas dotting the beach. Unfortunately the anchorage was very Roley due to some big swells so we only spent one night but look forward to spending more time there in the near future.
Right now we are sitting at anchor at La Cruz in Banderas Bay. Our plans for the next few days are to provision, tie up a few loose ends and head out within the week for the Mexican Gold Coast.
