The crumbling beauty of Guaymas…

After San Pedro we sailed to Guaymas where we anchored in the outer harbor behind tiny Pajaros Island.  We still had three days before out haul-out date and Bev suggested that we try to get into Marina Fonatur so we could jumpstart on dry storage preparations, not to mention showers and WIFI.  One phone call later and Bev had us set up to head in then next morning.  

To say that the marina is a little rough is a polite understatement but as sailors like to say; "any port in a storm” and Fonatur happened to be the only game in town.  



After a long day of boat projects we took the next morning off to see a bit of the town and pick up a few things that we needed.  Guaymas was once a beautiful city.  How many decades ago I don’t know.  What I do know, what I can see and is readily apparent is that it’s growing long in the tooth, gray in the hair and even haggard.  

One can tell by looking at what is left that Guyamas was once beautiful, proud and probably much loved by it’s inhabitance.  Now days Guaymas is a port city and large ships from all over the wold call here.  It’s also a major port for the Mexican Navy.  In the industrial zone they produce machined parts, electrical and mechanical components, medical devices, and plastic injection moldings.  



Indigenous people lived here undisturbed until 1539 when the Spanish moved in and quickly claimed it for it’s value as a port, they liked it so much that they called it “the port of ports.”  So basically modern Guaymas is almost five centerys old.  It was briefly held in U.S. hands from 1847 to 1848 during the Mexican American War.  

Modern Guaymas even has a space tracking station.  It is operated by the Mexican Space Agency.  Sadly I hadn’t even realized that Mexico has a space agency.  But they do and they played a key role in tracking the American manned space flights: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

Aside from space, how does a city grow?  How does it age, become wise, beautiful, settled and then old and decrepit?  Probably much like the people that created it, in stages, slowly at first then later more quickly.  I guess that the more important question is will it come back?  I hope so.  It’s geographic location is spectacular.  And then there are the people.  Everyone we met was super nice.  

And despite being old and run down, it’s still gorgeous in it’s crumbling own way…