Relax!!!

We both slept exceedingly well, and it was nice to not have to get up and worry about getting our suitcases outside the door by a certain hour.  The breakfast buffet at the hotel was fantastic, with all kinds of American and Mexican choices, including some funky goat stew and the famous menudo (tripe stew).  K and I stuck to the American selections.

View From the Room in Daylight

Our Hotel -- Marinaterra Hotel & Spa

Directly from breakfast we stepped outside, to the marina, from where we were taking a boat tour into the Sea of Cortez.  The boat was just the right size for all of us, and K and I set ourselves upstairs, as the weather was absolutely perfect.  The views from the marina and then out into the sea were breathtaking.  The crew set up fishing lines out of the back of the boat, and several fish were caught along the way.  They allowed members of our tour, who were sitting downstairs, to reel in the catches.  At the end of the cruise, we watched as another crew member deftly filleted all of the fish and presented to meat to Raul.  The plan had been for Raul to go to the hotel kitchens with us in the afternoon and make fresh cerviche (raw fish marinated in citrus juices).  Alas, the fish was accidentally left behind, so no cerviche for us. 

Heading Out From the Marina

Hundreds of Pelicans, Everywhere

One of the Catch

As we approached a large resort just south of San Carlos proper, we were about 100 yards off shore, and between the land and us was a large pod of dolphins.  A woman swam from the resort and was literally playing with the dolphins as we watched.  The crew whistled, and that drew the dolphins right up to the boat.  We'd never seen dolphins in the wild so up close before, and it was exciting.
https://vimeo.com/302736918
On the way back to the marina, we went past a large nesting area for blue-footed boobies, which I thought were only in Galapagos, but evidently they do migrate up to Mexico for part of the year.  They were precariously perched in very steep cliffs.

Pelican Taking Flight

Dolphins

20181110_085144 from Allen Steele on Vimeo.

More Dolphins

Blue-Footed Boobies Nesting on the Cliffside

Our tour was just over two hours, and from here we took the bus south, to another inlet on the sea, to the largest pearl farm in North America.  It was a new experience for us.  I expected it to be a big sale pitch, but in reality the outdoor lecture, overlooking the physical farming area out in the water, was exceedingly interesting.  I had no idea how pearls were cultured, and was very surprised to hear how low the success rate really is.

Demonstration of the Pearl Farming

On the way back to the hotel, we drove through the small city of Guaymas, which is much older than San Carlos.  In fact, San Carlos was originally known as Nuevo Guaymas, but was rebranded for tourism purposes.  Guaymas is a fishing city and port, and is famous for being the home to three of Mexico's presidents.  We were told that for decades the Mexican presidency was dominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party  (PRI).  They held that office for over fifty years, and each president -- when they term-limited out of power -- would designate their successor, who was all but guaranteed to win the election.  Well three men from Guaymas basically just handed the presidency from one to the other.  We visited the plaza where their three statues stand.  The next day we would drive through another Sonoran city, from which another president came.  In all, four of Mexico's 14 post-revolutionary presidents came from this relatively small area of Sonora.

We learned, too, that San Carlos was developed as a resort area, with the original intent to become a haven for American retirees.  Successive presidents would designate a town they wanted to develop, usually for tourism, and almost always to their financial advantage.  The resort cities of Mazatlan, Acapulco, and Puerto Vallarta, among others, were all developed under the "patronage" of successive presidents; usually after they had purchased large tracts of land themselves.  Well, San Carlos was one of those towns, too.  A lot of money went in to develop the marina area and begin building condominiums and resorts, but then the PRI lost the presidency in the early 2000's, and the free-flowing pesos from Mexico City dried up.  The locals, we were told, were actually happy about this, as the town never overgrew, and it has a more backwater feel to it.  Quite a few Americans did find it,  however, and there are several marinas which fill up in the winter months with snowbirds from the States.  English was widely spoken and all the signs were in English and Spanish. 

Another View of the Hotel

We had the afternoon free.  We had planned to go to the hotel's beach area, but instead opted to get massages.  They were drawn-out affairs, and by the time we finished, there was no time for the beach.  We again met the group on the bus and were driven to a promontory point on the far side of the marina, from where we had a perfect view of the sunset over the water.  The area was purpose built for this occasion, and there were quite a few locals there doing what we were.

As our arrival time in Tucson the next day was unknown, due to uncertainties with the border crossing, we had our official farewell dinner this evening, at a local restaurant close to our hotel.  As we had become accustomed, the meal was excellent and the margaritas were flowing.  We made the short walk back to the hotel afterwards, in the perfect evening weather, and witnessed a local wedding underway.  Our hotel is evidently a "hot spot" for weddings, and there was a very large one going on this evening.  We had seen them setting up tables and such on the beach as we left earlier, and we walked right past the church where the formal ceremony was taking place.  The couple and all of their guests walked to beach after the service.  We were so tired, though, we never saw that, nor did we hear them...thankfully.