Mexico, Cayo Norte in Blanco Chinchorro – We found a secret military base inside Mexico’s only Atoll

In the immortally words of song lyrics ‘You don’t know what you got till it’s gone. Found paradise and put up a parking lot’.
The Mexican’s have gone one step further ‘They found paradise and put up a military base’.

We wiggled our way out of Bahia del Espiritu Santo with the rising sun and made good time against the current to Blanco Chinchorro. This is one of only four atolls in the Northern Hemisphere and we felt we had to stop here and witness this incredible living coral reef ring ourselves. We aimed to visit the cay in the north end, Cayo Norte, because it looked the easiest to access with a large break on the east side of the coral ring for access.

All our electronic charts placed the break in the reef and the cay itself well south of the way points in our ‘Raucsher’ cruising guide. For this reason and the usual safety procedures we wanted to arrive with good light to feel our way in using ‘eyeball’ navigation.

With the good progress we made the break in the reef by late afternoon and had good light to clearly see into the water and make out the coral heads in the shallow sandy bottom of the atoll. I will not lie to you. With all the electronic charts telling the humans they were going to crash into a reef they were just a little ‘stressed’ coming in. The light house was in the right charted position, just the electric charts put it on the reef rather than the north end of the cay well inside.

Once inside the humans headed for the Cayo Norte, its conspicuous lighthouse and its lovely looking palm trees and sandy beach. They edged as close as they could and throw the hook down onto a thin layer of sand over coral in 2.5m of water. With the anchor checked and extra chain thrown down, just in case, I started dreaming of a good long run on the Cays sandy shores. The humans started ‘putting the boat to bed’ when I noticed a boat come off the Cays shoreline and make a beeline for us.

We had been greeted by 4 military personal toting M16s. They came aboard, checked our paperwork and wanted to know why we had stopped here. They took photos of the boat, us, and our passports. Of course the humans got a bit nervous and gave the usual ‘engine troubles’ excuse, but all they really wanted to know was if they had any extra beer aboard. I forbade them from sharing their supply because they were refused access ashore. Despite asking to take me for a run, they refused! What kind of people will not let a dog enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

So despite being a lovely protected anchorage inside one of the natural wonders of the world, the military have spoilt it. The Cay looks lovely, white sandy beaches and palm trees, and the cruise guide says that the snorkelling and diving here is very good. I am going to let the humans do some snorkelling in the morning, but if I am not allowed ashore, I will prompt them to head off in the afternoon for the 100nm to Lighthouse Atoll in Belize.

They better let me ashore here!