Back Safely

April 10 Back in contact

Thanks for bearing with our lack of posts, emails, etc for the last two weeks.  We've had no internet except for about 15 minutes while grabbing fuel at Puerto Escondido.

We expected to be back in internet range long before this, but the weather had other plans.  Haha, that's cruising: you can pick the time with certainty, but not both.

We should be in Santa Rosalia for the next 24 hours (Until 8am, April 11), but will likely be out of contact again for at least 3-4 days as we head north.

Thanks for bearing with us!

April 4-9 Waiting out a Norther, San Juanico Cove

Hanging around San Juanico

We got an early start out of Bahia Salinas hoping to take advantage of calm seas. Unfortunately, there were still fairly rough seas from the wind the previous days. However, it did calm down the next few hours and the motor to San Juanico was fairly uneventful. We did hook a fish, but it cut the leader, taking our lure with it. Upon pulling in the meat hook, the same had happened! We must have hooked something with wicked sharp teeth! 

We arrived in the afternoon an anchored next to our friends on Brizo. Being Patrick’s birthday, he headed into the water to do some spearing. Got a few nice fish for dinner. We had a bonfire on the beach with the Brizo folk and a guitar was brought along for entertainment. We cooked our fish in the fire like hobo stew, with cut up veggies and spices wrapped in a few layers of foil. Yum-my! Played some tunes while watching the fire and Joe from Brizo displayed his music skills as well. Patrick enjoyed his bday gift from David, a bottle of tequila and was surprised that Brizo had baked a little cake for Patrick! How sweet! It was darn tasty too! Chocolate covered with coconut flakes. Despite the early start, it was a good mellow birthday.

"Lebanese" horseshoe at San Juanico

Flying a kite on the beach

The next few days we were holed up in the anchorage while it blew hard from the north outside on the sea. We did our share of snorkeling, games on the beach, reading, and other diversions. It was fun to have Brizo for company. We spent a few afternoons spearfishing together and just straight chillin’. One evening we went night spearfishing. Warmed by some McNaughton whiskey, we suited up and headed for the point. It was a nice warm evening and the snorkeling was cool. We had borrowed a really bright dive light from Brizo, so we could see quite well. We were hoping to find parrotfish in their mucus bubble and play with them in their knocked out phase, but were unable to find any. The highlight of the night was the octopus we saw. It was moving around quite a bit and then once we shone our light on it, it took on a rock like appearance, camouflaging itself. We managed to get a couple clown hawkfish, pretty fish that seemed to be very active at night.

One afternoon Patrick was spearing again( notice a pattern here?) and saw a familiar boat come in, Purusha. We had met Purusha a month previously in Santa Rosalia and were a little puzzled in trying to figure out the structure of their crew. There was an older hippie with 4 young women. Not sure if we were witnessing some sort of harem, but we got the story out. Turns out a few families own the boat and they have a hired captain (the hippie David). They were lots of fun to hang out with in Santa Rosalia and we were happy to meet them again. The next day we planned a beach game olympics with all the young’ns. 

The Brizo crew during one of our joint fish-cooking sessions

Games were quite fun. We had a kite, ‘Rock’ci (our version of bocci), Koob(last played on the very same beach, and Portugese horse shoes. All were a blast and we had a nice afternoon onshore. After the games we had a bonfire on the beach with everyone and cooked dinner over the fire. Dinner for was was once again, grilled fish. This time it included a parrot fish though. Tasty! As the alcohol flowed and the fire burned down we pulled out some instruments: a guitar and a banjo. There were a few people proficient at guitar and it was a blast singing and sharing different genres of music. Having a banjo accompaniment makes it twang in a fun way. We sang sons such as “Ms. Ohio” and “Wagon Wheel” as well as some Mason Jennings songs provided by Patrick. A great evening of friendship and music.

Patrick emerging from night spearfishing

 

We had one more day to wait out a Norther before sneaking north. Patrick took a kid from another boat spearfishing. He had a gun received as a birthday present but was unable to spear anything. His gun was a little too weak to puncture a fish, but Patrick traded guns with him and he speared his first fish! He was ecstatic and it was fun to share the moment with him. 

With a planned departure the next morning, we said goodbye to Brizo and Purusha and prepped for an overnight motor to Santa Rosalia the next day. While we lost some time to explore the Northern Sea, it was an enjoyable time buddy boating with other young cruisers.

Apr 1-3: Bahia Salinas - Preservation, and Bighorn

Hauling the dingy up the beach

Once again I am struck by how much Baja resembles the American west.

In this case, we have come across a ghost town rusting equipment and old mines.  This ghost town is on the edge of a bighorn sheep breeding preserve.  Sounds like a bunch of places in the US, right?

The difference here derives from the location: a beautiful sand beach on a large, largely deserted, desert island. 

Bahia Salinas is so named because it was once a salt company town.  The large flat area of the island behind the old town was used as a salt pond, and the salt was mined and shipped all over.

Abanoned waterfront of Bahia Salinas

Today remain only a few buildings, a collapsed pier, and much rusty equipment.  When we first started walking through the area it seemed abandoned. 

But small snippets of habitation and visitation soon emerge.  A sparse but cleanly maintained chapel. A recently built wooden doghouse.  Some modern plastic water tanks.  As we walk down a back street and see an occupied house it is clear that caretakers still live here.

Then we return towards our dinghy, strolling along the beachfront homes.  These have been refurbished into a swanky hunting lodge.  People boat or fly in to the private airport to hunt bighorn sheep. 

The small chapel at Bahia Salinas

Although the island is used as a breeding ground for the sheep to repopulate the Baja Peninsula, hunting is apparently permitted.  So luxury tourism is born, evident even in the artistic flair with which nearby abandoned equipment is decorated.

As if to emphasize the point, a National Geographic cruise ship arrives and drops anchor, enabling its guest explorers to head ashore and observe the facilities. A week aboard one of these ships for four people can cost more than blue eyes did, it's now quite a genteel crowd in the anchorage…

Artistic re-use of the abandoned machinery (note the drivers)

Well, that won't stop Patrick from taking the dinghy to the wrecked Tuna boat in the bay, and catching more triggerfish than he can count (and releasing almost all).

Although we've been stuck here for a couple of days, we should have ok conditions tomorrow, and we hope to arrive at San Juanico in time for Patrick's birthday evening.  Brizo's been here with us, and it sounds like they may head to San Juanico as well.  What fun that could be!

Mar 31-Apr 1: Honeymoon cove - and young cruisers!

One of the coves of "Honeymoon Cove" at Danzante island

We're making our way north again.  After leaving Los Gatos, we stopped by Puerto EsconGRINGO (Escondido) to top up on gas, water and beer.  We then headed a few miles away to an dreamlike spot known as Honeymoon cove.

Once again, this place has it all.  Small secluded coves, good fishing, clear waters, and even nicely maintained hiking trails.  We spent the next day lounging, and recreating around the anchorage.

Then that afternoon a boat pulled in, we were no longer alone.  But when we got a better look it was ok, the other boat had four people aboard - all of them twenty-somethings!

Naturally we had to invite them over for drinks, and then they invited us over to make fish tacos.  Turns out they were two couples cruising for a couple of months together.  Familiar story, reminding us of Sound Discovery and Emma Belle.

Then they started recounting stories that they'd heard from other young cruisers, for instance one that about a couple of guys who bought a possibly haunted Junk off an old Nazi's estate in La Paz.  They got it cheap because he passed away while aboard.

Overview of the anchorage at honeymoon cove
with Blue Eyes in the background

This story sounded familiar, and we realize that those guys had crewed down to La Paz with Pam and Eric aboard Emma Belle.  We'd heard the same story from them! 

As the evening progressed, we realized that we had met all the same young cruisers: the aforementioned couples as well as the ladies aboard Purusha in Santa Rosalia.

There are so few of us young'uns down here that we can't help but meet each other.  We certainly have a natural affinity for each other.

Tomorrow we head to Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen.   So do they, looks like we might buddy-boat for a little while, how social!

Sunrise aboard Blue Eyes at Honeymoon Cove

March 28-March 31 Heading North Once Again

Heading ashore for sunset cocktails on Isla Espiritu Santo

We left La Paz friday afternoon (March 28th) in the afternoon, amazing how long it takes to scrape ourselves off the dock. We hoped to get to Isla Espiritu Santo, but due to a stronger than anticipated Northerly wind we had to tuck into Bahia Falsa, barely 3 miles out side of the entrance to the channel of La Paz. We passed the rest of the afternoon lazing around, not enticed by the water. 

The next morning saw us up early and heading to Espiritu Santo. A favorable west wind allowed us to put up our sails and test out the newly repaired genoa. Mainsail alone saw us doing 1.5 knots and the genoa bumped us up to 4.5 in a 10 knot breeze! Pretty nice to have large sail area…until it starts to blow too much. Within a couple hours we had reached the island and the wind picked up to upper teens. We had too much canvas up and needed to reduce sail area.

However we had a couple fishing pangas to leeward and a point of the island that we couldn’t quite weather. So with a snap decision we tried to drop the genoa rather than bear away and dodge boats. It didn’t go smoothly. It flogged itself and tore a new hole in the leach, however it was repairable. After diffusing the situation we motored the rest of the way to our anchorage and dropped the hook and took a deep breath. A quick reflection discussed what happened and how to improve for next time.

Puffer fish skeleton on shore

After business was finished Justen and Patrick went for a swim to experience the near tropical waters and clear visibility. The aqua blue of the water was mesmerizing and the rocks were covered with coral. There were lots of tropical fish too, surgeon fish, parrot fish, and wrasses swimming around. The geography of the island is fascinating. There is a probably 15 degree angle of tectonic pieces going upwards from west to east. These layers were split open at sharp angles, lending to the bays we anchored in and beautiful cracks and colors on the cliffs, reminiscent of the south west US.

Early start the next day wit the goal of making up ground. We motored all day with a couple interruptions to haul sails and take advantage of a south wind. While nearing Bahia Agua Verde, we hooked a fish that proceeded to leap out of the water and show itself, proving to be a Dorado. Unfortunately, the leap and head shake pulled the hook from his mouth. It turned out this was the exact same location we had hooked a Dorado on the way down, but with the same result. No dorado for us :(  We did manage to bring in a nice needle fish, probably about 2.5 ft long. These guys supposedly can get up to 5 ft long and have wicked teeth. Yikes!

We arrived at our anchorage, Puerto Los Gatos right around sunset. The warm sunlight on the red rock cliffs was beautiful, reminding us of a sunset in Zion national park.  As soon as we dropped the hook we were offered lobster from a local panguero, but politely declined, as we had lots of fish from spearing the previous day. We had made good headway, roughly 50 miles north in one chunk. Tomorrow, Puerto Escon”gringo”.

March 25-28: La Paz at Last!

Today we reached La Paz, our southern most destination. Getting in to the port was an interesting experience though… There is a long(about 6 miles), narrow entrance channel that is dredged to make passage to the downtown area of La Paz. We stayed at a Marina right downtown and on the Malecon to experience the city life. Getting into our side-tie slip was interesting, as we  basically had to parallel park the boat! David did a nice job getting us in safely.

The Malecon

Our first afternoon in town was sweltering. With no water to swim in, we walked around in 90 degree heat, but thankfully we found some convenient paleta shops, allowing us to cool down and Patrick to try out more ideas for his popsicle business.

Posted due to the numerous dogs the cruisers have

The next morning we woke up to the local cruisers net. It is basically a way for the community of cruisers to stay in touch and hear the weather and other announcements. We used it to find Sea Otter Jimmy, a guy who sailed down on a trimaran 30 years ago and fell in love with a local girl who worked at a ice cream store! So he stayed down here and happens to be a highly recommended outboard mechanic, so we paid him to service our Honda. After the net is over, many cruisers head over to Club Cruceros, a little building near our marina that has a library and social area for the cruisers. It is amazing how many retired gringos are living the cruising life in La Paz, but it makes sense. They have a social life right on shore, easy to access with bocce ball, yoga, volleyball, line dancing and more activities nearly every day. Club Cruceros is like a retirement home for gringos in Mexico. Patrick bought a “pink” shirt, or officially apricot ice color for the upcoming Bay Fest, a weekend full of fun activities.

Our neighbor mother hummingbird

La Paz seems like a pleasant little town. At night the Malecon wakes up and is full of Pacenos(what people from La Paz are called) exercising or strolling with their lover and ice cream. It is really great to have a couple mile long walk that is totally protected from cars!

The famous Pearl of La Paz

After a few days in La Paz, we started to get restless for the sea. It was just too darn hot and our area was full of old cruisers, not people we were stoked to hang out with. Finally, with a few scrapes of the dock on our way out, we were heading back north.

Vicious locals (Free tire puncturing if you park there!)