Bahía San Juanico (Punta Pequeña)

San Juanico (26 15 15N 112 28 37W) — also known as heaven

Environmental conditions: Air and water temp perfect-ish. Surf (Jody, too!)! Swim. Showers. Swim.

Fridge temp: Perfect

Battery state: 13.0V

Euchre score: Boys finally win a round (2 of 3)

We departed Abre at 1730 on Nov. 7 for the overnight to San Juanico. We left the bay under a double-reefed main in anticipation of some good wind and not wanting to have to wake the off-watch crew to reef. It was a perfect plan. We sailed and sailed and sailed right out of the gate until about 0500 when Jody discovered we’d snagged a baited long-line and its floats. Dammit!! Had to wake the Capt, doused all the sails and drifted around as we (read: Capt. Randy) cut the line and tried to determine if the prop was fouled. Luckily, it was not — at least not noticeably, so we were able to use the starboard engine. But for the snagged line, the night was magical – the fair wind, magnificent stars, moon, Venus, moon set — you name it. The moment we pulled into the anchorage behind the Advance Team, we knew we’d arrived — the place that is San Juanico is simply dreamy, and the anchorage? Calm and serene. Finally.

Well, our bubble was burst as we sat in El Burro en Primavera and the U.S. election returns were on the TV — not so magnificent. Several other gringos were there as well as a handful of Canadians, and we were all quite shocked. Luckily, we were distracted by the Canadians, who had been put on notice of our arrival by one of Jody’s workmates, Colleen, whose family has been a part of the San Juanico community for decades. Colleen’s family is great friends with THE local family, the Aguilars, and the Canadians, Christo, Barb (Babs), and Glenn, with whom we were honored to share stories and smiles during the election coverage. All in all, despite the outcome of the election, it was a wonderful evening.

It’s important to note a key feature of San Juanico – the lack of infrastructure. There isn’t any cell signal, for any carrier, no internet but the puttering wifi at a few select locations (via satellite), and even the power doesn’t make it through the whole day, typically shutting down from 11am to late afternoon, and again after 10pm until early morning. This is a place where people come to disconnect, and find out what makes them tick when not surrounded by the demands of technology. It’s a simpler life, and very seductive. It’s just one reason we’re pretty sure it won’t be the last we see of San Juanico or its wonderful people.

San Juanico was the first place we felt completely content and like we didn’t want to leave. There are multiple surf breaks here — 7 to be exact. And Punta Uno was for Jody — the waves were like training wheels. There were butterflies everywhere! There was scrubby vegetation, which made Jody feel right at home. There were amazing people besides the Canadians — Liz and Mary paddled out to the boats the very first morning to say hi, and a number of other folks came out by paddle board or kayak to say hola. Then there was Nico — another Colleen connection — who took time to show us his surf shop, sold us t-shirts, gave us stickers and wasabi (yes, wasabi, which was in the glove box of his truck), AND, in the morning on his way out to tend to their lobster traps, he and his partner stopped by da boat and gave us a beautiful bug. We are so lucky. The hospitality shown us in Mexico has been so heartwarming. And right now, we’re really glad we’re here.