TOPOLOBAMPO

Okay... Day 1  is a little disappointing, but I'm sure it's because we can't find the information we need. As with anything, spending more time in Topolobampo we might discover it's little secrets which make it a fun little town... or not.

The houses line the hillside here in Topo. Fruit trees grow along the roadside (kumquats, oranges, grapefruit, vanilla beans) and chickens roam the yards and empty lots. The estuary here is gorgeous... dolphins hunting and multitudes of these funny little boats that appear to haul nets underneath the hulls using bamboo poles on either side to secure the ends of the net. A restaurant owner here told us they are catching all types of fish and shrimp.

We only had one cruising guide that discussed Topo or the next stop south, Altata. It is the Raines' MEXICO BOATING GUIDE... donated to us by our dear friend, Don on Young American. Unfortunately, it is out of date... 2006. It mentions in the guide that you can anchor in many spots. However, we were told once here that it is very dangerous anymore to do so. We did notice that on the north side of the anchorage that it becomes very shallow (4.5') in many spots and the pangas rip through the anchorage at top speeds, thus creating swell. When we approached the 12 miles channel, we hailed the Port Captain and got no response. After the 10th attempt in Spanish and English, we stopped trying and approached anyway. The Port Captain was responding to Mexican boats, but not us.

At $15 US per night, we opted to get a slip at Marina Palmira and ask around. Unfortunately, no one gave us any clear answers whether anchoring out either on the north side or south side of town is okay. We also couldn't get any information regarding dinghy docking. So, I guess we won't be exploring the various bays and channels. Too bad. The mangroves and outer bays look gorgeous from town.

We did stop at a very small tienda and purchase a few groceries. The prices her are very cheap: 7 pesos for a head of lettuce, 6 pesos for a head of cabbage, 10 pesos for a liter of coke, etc.... Compared to the Baja side, this is super cheap! The restaurant we patroned, however, was disappointing. 60 pesos for three of the worst shrimp tacos we've had in a long time. Chico's has a splendid location right off the bay, but the food was expensive for the quality. We should have gone to a taco stand instead.

I will say this... I was unexpectedly surprised to see the looks on the local's faces when we wandered through town. They were clearly very surprised to see tourists. I thought being semi-close to the border or having so many people catch the bus up to Copper Canyon from here would bring some sort of tourist activity to this quiet port town... but I guess I was wrong.