The Winds of Change

Today we set off on our last overnight sail for a while. We are headed for Matachen Bay, which is where we anchored 14 years ago after crossing over the sea from Baja. Most people pass by this bay or only stay for a single night due to the abundance of no-see-ums, pesky little gnat like insects that have a painful bite and will leave you scratching for weeks; but in spite of them, we loved it on our first trip and had to re-visit. Wow, what a difference 14 years can make! Fourteen years ago this endless expanse of sandy beach surrounded by lush green jungle seemed pretty remote with only a few cinderblock frames of mostly unvisited restaurants. There we met two local families and had a wonderful time getting to know them. But now, it seems to have exploded with tourism from nearby San Blas. The beach was lined with restaurants, palapas, vending carts, and hundreds of Mexican families enjoying themselves--they even had a panga towing a banana boat--they have banana boat rides?! Well, we still like it here--although as a different kind of experience. Anchored boats seem to be part of the banana boat experience, and there was plenty of whooping and waving each time the sped by, we enjoyed eating jicama and mango on a stick on the beach, brought back some freshly made and still warm bread back to the boat, and even got ate up by no-see-ums, and enjoyed every minute of it! Not sure why we didn't take any pictures here--perhaps it was from being overwhelmed in the differences?? But here are a few shots traveling to Matachen.