Arriving in Ensenada

September 27-28, 2022

Before dark, on our last evening out at sea, we raised our quarantine flag.  The quarantine flag is a yellow flag that signifies that one has not yet cleared into a country. 

We raised it before dark as we were going to be crossing into Mexican waters at about 23:00.   

Jason was on watch when we entered Mexican waters and a large drone came and flew over our boat.  After hovering above and watching our boat for some time, and Jason waved up at it, it flew off and performed a continuous grid pattern along the border line.  

As Jason slept, I watched the sky brighten on our first day in Mexico, and then we approached the fog bank.  I could see it in the distance at first light, but it was at around 06:30 that we entered it.  At first it was not too thick, but gradually, as we began to enter Bahia de Todos Santos, the bay that Ensenada is in, we came into the thick of the fog.  We had very little visibility and the amount of moisture in the air was incredible.  Everything, even inside our enclosure, began to drip.  We had water drops hanging from our steering wheel.   

We slowed right down, and while we puttered along, hoping that the fog would clear so that we could have some visibility when entering Ensenada harbour, we prepped the boat to come into dock.  Our dock lines and fenders, which we had not needed since getting fuel at Ahousat on Flores Island, came out from their storage in the back area of our boat.  Our sails and whisker pole got brought down and put away, and we made everything ready to come into our first foreign port.   

Slowly, the fog began to lift slightly, and finally we radioed the marina that we had a slip reserved at, and asked them how the visibility was in the harbour.  Hearing some encouraging info, we made our way into the bay and followed the buoys into the harbour. 

As we were following the line of red and green buoys to the harbour entrance the fog lifted dramatically and we could finally see the breakwater and some ships just inside.   

We made our way into the Ensenada Cruiseport Village Marina, and we were met by one of the staff.  We tied up to the dock at 12:00 on September 27, 2022.  It had been ten days and three hours since we had motored out of Matilda Inlet on Flores Island, and in those ten days we had traveled 1,354 nautical miles, about 2,500 kilometers.  We had traveled through 21 degrees of latitude since leaving Ocean Falls in August.  

In the marina we had to stay on board our boat and wait for the medical-clearance team to come and clear us.  A doctor and his assistant came down to our boat about an hour after we arrived.  They took our temperatures, asked us a bunch of questions, and Jason, as Captain, had to sign a form.  Then we were clear to go ashore, and we also got clearance to remove our quarantine flag and raise our Mexican flag.  Yay!! 

We went up to the marina office where we paid for our moorage and also went through all of our papers with them.  We were told to come back the next morning between 09:00-09:30 and they would take us to complete our immigration and clearance process.   

We were free, for the rest of the day, to relax, and one of the first things on our agenda was to have a shower.  The showers at the marina were amazing, great water pressure, good temperature control, a large shower area, and not busy at all.  I had such a long shower, and it felt amazing.  It was wonderful to stand, completely stable, without having to brace myself or worry about getting thrown around, under a good pressure flow of hot/warm water.  What a treat!   

Back on board our trusty home we relaxed together and relished in the feeling of accomplishment.  We had made it; we were in Mexico, with our boat!!! 

On the morning of the 28th, after our first night's sleep together since leaving Canada, and an uninterrupted sleep at that, we headed up to the marina office with all of our papers in order.  One of the marina staff drove us to the appropriate building where he assisted us with all of our papers.  Really, he pretty much did everything for us and just told us when and where to sign, and when and where to pay.  I felt like a young child on a field trip, following along as all of the logistics were handled for me.  We had to clear immigration, then get our Temporary Import Permit for our boat, then clear customs, and finally get approval and clearance from the Port Captain.  Thanks to our chaperon, who was fully bilingual, it was a very stress-free and smooth event.  This service was completely free, and it seems to be included in the moorage fee of all of the Ensenada marinas.  Anchoring in the Ensenada harbour is no longer permitted, not overnight at least, so the vast majority of people coming into the country by boat would make use of this service.  This was a somewhat new service, and I can imagine that the authorities had gotten tired of clueless gringos trying to stumble through the process alone.  I must say this new system sure made our lives easier.  When we got back to the marina we were fully cleared into Mexico!