SV Gallant Fox

Road Trip to Durango - Part II: La Ferrería

For fans of antiquities like GB and me, no trip to Durango is complete without visiting the two very distinct sets of ruins at La Ferrería, about 5 miles south of Durango proper.

The more recent site of La Ferrería (= "The Iron Works") comprises the 19th Century hacienda and private foundry/smelter outbuildings that had been used to refine the iron ore that was found in the region. As technology developed, the foundry structures fell into disuse and, eventually, ruins. In the 1980s ownership of the property transferred from private hands to the State of Durango, which restored the hacienda, transforming it into a museum and community center. Durango further stabilized the remaining foundry buildings and developed them and the surrounding area into a public park. We and several local folk enjoyed strolling around the grounds and peeking into the remains of the smelter, but a century ago it must have been a very treeless, loud, and dusty place.

The site of La Ferrería that interested GB and me the most, though, was perched atop a flat bluff overlooking a bend of the Tunal River (photo, above right, shows a bit of river and the city of Durango in the background). It represented human occupation that was a bit older. Like, going back 2000 years with its apex from 800 CE - 1450 CE. This time period especially interested us because it is generally the same time frame in which the cultures further north in the US Southwest and in Mexico's Northwest (Mimbres- Mogollon, Hohokam, Ancestral Puebloans, Paquimé) were active.

Road Trip to Durango - Part I

We spent February 2, 2016, through February 7, 2016, sightseeing in Durango (in the state of Durango, Mexico) while there was a break in the Great Mazatlan Stern-pulpit Refit action. Mr. Pickup Truck handled the new (well, just 3 years old) Durango-Mazatlan highway 40D just fine.

Climbing up this highway from the coastal lowlands over the backbone of the Sierra Madre mountain range is spectacular. We traveled through a number of tunnels and across high suspension bridges over narrow, deep gorges. The view is so scenic that many locals stop their cars in the highway lanes in the middle of the highest bridge, Puente Baluarte, and climb out to take pictures. [Photo on left, courtesy of The Tequila Files.]

However, in January 2018 one of the freeway's other suspension bridges - the El Carrizo - was so badly damaged it had to be closed (tanker truck full of diesel fuel overturned, caught fire, burned for 5 hours, melted bridge). We hear that as of today (June 26, 2018) the bridge may still be under repair; people can still use the freeway but the detour around the bridge repairs may be a gnarly one. Protip: find out the status of the bridge repairs or any other road hazards before you head to Durango from Mazatlan any time soon.

We rolled in to the historic downtown of Durango, checked into Hostal de la Monja, and proceeded to enjoy being a couple of spoiled tourists out of steamy Mazatlan, now in the higher, cooler elevations. Saw the downtown sights. Dined well, in every place we tried. Good cheeses, and beef dishes are two of Durango's signature offerings, as is "ate" (a firm paste made from any one of a variety of fruits - guava or quince seem to be the most common ones we saw). We spent as much time in one of Durango's fancy food markets as we did in the museums and churches. Bottom line: just like in all the rest of Mexico, no tourist goes hungry.

One final must-see destination in Durango is the Museo Francisco Villa, dedicated to the history of the state of Durango and to the life and times of the man Americans know as Pancho Villa. This museum is very well-curated, its docents are well-informed, and its interpretation of Villa's life presents an interesting and very refreshing contrast to those of the museums north of the border. One might even say, there is so much we Americans are not told.

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Keeping Busy During the Refit

Winters in Mazatlan are generally fairly comfortable. During our November 2015- February 2016 stern-pulpit refit, the daily Fahrenheit highs were in the high 70s-mid 80s and the nightly lows were in the comfortable 60s. Nevertheless, Mazatlan was its typical humid self with the biting insects that just love my delicate skin.

While we waited for the contractor-boys to complete their boat work, I came down with a head cold that developed into a sinus infection that took 3 weeks to resolve. Antibiotics were involved. It presented a perfect opportunity for me to do a series of small sewing projects. GB has always enjoyed having matchy-matchy Sunbrella covers for every exposed object he can find on The Fox, and he enjoys even more having me do the sewing. Because I have no skills. And because he loves watching me work through a challenge.

I successfully sewed a new drawstring-style, hurricane-resistant cozy for our radar dome, hurricane-resistant hatch covers for dry storage, a large hurricane-resistant cozy for the solar panels when in dry storage, and a new cozy for our emergency beacon in its new mount on our new stern pulpit. In my spare time I repaired or replaced the cozies for our entire collection of jerry cans.

By the end of all that, I was beginning to feel well enough for a short road trip....

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The Great Cockpit Refit of 2015-2016

The upgrade of our cockpit included a new and enhanced stainless steel stern pulpit; a stern arch on which to mount our radar dome and a couple of new solar panels; and a brand-spankin'-new dodger and bimini combo platter made out of Stamoid. This entire refit took four months exactly to complete, from late November 2015 to late February 2016. That was fine by us because it gave us plenty of time to work on a variety of repairs and boat projects, as well as plenty of time to hang out with friends and do as much tourism as we wanted. G and J of m/v Shamrock invited us to join them and other friends for their weekly lunch-and-a-movie get-together and other excursions; and we traded occasional dinners on each other's boats. I even substituted as net control for the local morning cruisers' net a few times. We were becoming Mazatlan residents for sure.

Rick of s/v Cape Starr designed and installed the stern arch and pulpit assembly, which needed only a few adjustments to get just right. Mounting the solar panels and radar dome required more tweaks and troubleshooting, as did the installation of new cockpit lights and stern-mounted dinghy davits. There were the typical boatyard-style delays in getting certain specific parts and hardware shipped to Mazatlan from who-knows-where, but Rick and his crew worked steadily to see that everything eventually fell into place. They were also happy to do some side-work at the same time, such as refurbishing our spare alternator and climbing the mast to replace our deck light and our mast-head wind indicator with a new, more bird-resistant spiked version. Thanks for everything, Rick!

Mazatlan - The Return

Warning: many f-bombs in this post.

Late November, 2015. We had driven from New Mexico to Mazatlan per our usual strategy. We rolled into Mazatlan on the afternoon of November 26 and found the city was packed with people. It was difficult to get a decent hotel room at the prices we were willing to pay, but at least we were in the Golden Zone, near enough to Marina Mazatlan, with off-street parking - which with a fully-loaded pickup truck is always appreciated. Another bonus is that Restaurante Panchos was almost directly across the street from our hotel, so fine dining and beverage enhancement were well in hand.

Next morning we drove to Marina Mazatlan where our dear friends G & J aboard m/v Shamrock greeted us warmly.

And then things fell apart.

I was the first one of us to go belowdecks on The Fox.

Roadwise Travel in Mexico

Some cruisers follow the lifestyle of spending half the year (the non-hurricane half) cruising Mexico aboard their boats, and the other half of the year (the hurricane-season half) with their boats safely in wet or dry storage in Mexico and themselves elsewhere, engaged in other pursuits. It's a nice kind of life.

Some of these cruisers live in places in the US or Canada that make it easy to drive their personal vehicles in and out of Mexico as they visit their boats. For us, it's been a snap to load up our 15-year-old pickup truck with boat parts and supplies, drive from New Mexico into Arizona and thence into Mexico to wherever we had The Fox berthed. We preferred either Mazatlan (Sinaloa) or San Carlos (Sonora) as a home port. Our return trips often involved our pickup truck being equally loaded down with not just luggage and boat parts, but cool furniture and art we just happened to stumble upon all of a sudden like. That photo up on the right over there is pretty much what we look like, both coming and going.

Cruising publications periodically post articles with the latest information about driving in Mexico with a US-registered vehicle. This is our own such post about travel along our personal specialty, Mexico's Federal Highway 15. During the three years from 2015 through 2017, we drove back and forth several times from New Mexico to either Mazatlan or San Carlos; once adding in a touristy side-trip from Mazatlan to Durango (Mexico) and back again.

First, the precautions for first-timers:

Mazatlan - The Prep

In 2015 we took an 8-month leave from The Fox after we'd stripped the stern of all gear, to prepare for the installation of a new stern arch. Call it "an extended hurricane-season boat-prep." We wanted the stage set for whenever Rick and his boys scheduled time to do the work.

Over there on the far right, there's The Fox's stern, all empty of gear: ----------------------------------------->

In this pic directly below, we see some of the places where things were stored. Here's the forward V-berth:

Here's the stern cabin, over on the right: -------------------------->

 

 

All the lazarettes looked pretty much the same. Like King Tut's tomb: ----------->

 

In our extended absence, we wanted someone to keep an eye on The Fox and keep the topsides clear of iguanas, gulls, mangrove swallows, and all the detritus they tend to bring aboard. We had only hired a boat-watcher once before, in Brunswick, Georgia; and we had had good results. So for just the second time in 13 years of owning The Fox, we hired Grant, owner of Tony's Boat Management in Marina Mazatlan, to do the job. (#foreshadowing)

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Mazatlan: the March 2015 Punch List

After 13 years of owning The Fox and 12 years living aboard and cruising, it occurred to us that we could improve our tropical sailing experience by having a stainless steel arch installed on the stern, to support a couple of solar panels, a more stable cockpit shade cover, and whatever else we could dream up. And so we began a To-Do list, the following of which we completed within 2 weeks:

• Hire Rick aboard s/v Cape Starr in Marina Mazatlan to design and build the stern arch.
• Remove our KISS wind generator and support pole and struts from the stern to make way for the future stern arch.
• Sell the KISS wind generator.
• Remove and sell the stern's stainless steel radar pole and outboard engine mount.
• Clean the engine following Rick's instructions.
• Hire Rick to perform engine inspection and maintenance, including valve adjustments, injector service, water pump inspection, head torque, heat exchanger cleaning, check manifold intake and head gaskets.
• GB to inspect & tighten engine mounts.
• MS to sell paper charts and cruising guides no longer in use or needed.
• GB to caulk one leaky stanchion.
• MS to sew 6 tote bags and one portfolio with scrap material from former main sail.

Whew.

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Mazatlan: We Have Things To Do

February and March, 2015: the days were just PACKED. Our good friends G&J treated us like royalty. They had lived aboard in Mazatlan for over 10 years and had spent many of those years writing and distributing "Cap'n George's Cruiser's Guide to Mazatlan." They knew all the best places and very generously drove us around to check them all out. We dined well in a wide variety of restaurants...went to movies with other of G&J's large group of friends...ran errands together...made dinners for one another, and generally had a terrific time together after having been apart for five years.

Maz had grown and changed in our absence. The new highway that had been built between Maz and Durango had made it easy for many more nationals to spend their vacations - and their pesos - in Maz; as a result, businesses and services of all kinds had sprouted up around the marina area. Within a 15-minute walk of our boat, we found a new shopping mall with a movie theater, a nearby WalMart, a community college, and a multistory medical clinic. An outstanding seafood restaurant, Dock 7, was next door to the marina office, and further around the marina promenade were 4 other restaurants. As we explored the rest of the city, we saw similar changes everywhere. Maz now had a population of over 500,000. Its economy was booming.