Sea of Cortez – La Paz to Santa
Rosalia - October 16 to November 8
We left La Paz three weeks ago with the
boat all cleaned up, checked out and provisioned, heading towards our
goal, Bahia Concepcion, 190 nm to the north. It felt great to be out
on the water again even though winds were mostly too light to sail
the first day.
 |
| On the water again! |
We anchored in now familiar places, meandering from
one to the next: Ensenada Grande, a favorite from last season because
of its beautiful clear turquoise water and a first swim in the warm
October water.
 |
| Swimming at Ensanada Grande |
The sunset was as beautiful as we expected in these islands.
 |
| Sunset on the hills at Ensenada Grande |
Next, Isla San Francisco, just 18 nm beyond, a large
crescent shaped anchorage with a hiking trail to the cliffs above.
The weekend brought a dozen boats from La Paz for beach picnics and
an overnighter.
 |
| Isla San Francisco |
Then, 33 nm on to Puerto Los Gatos. No one was there! As it turned out, we seldom saw another boat out on the water until
we got to Bahia Concepcion. On the way over to Puerto Los Gatos we
reeled in a five pound fish!
 |
| Yet another skipjack... |
We couldn't tell for sure if it was a
Skipjack or a Pacific Bonita so we let it go. The red sandstone shore
at Puerto Los Gatos was striking against the blue water and hills
that are a deep, velvety green from the summer rain. The night sky
was especially brilliant with no other lights from boats nearby.
There was a magical bioluminescence surrounding our boat. It looked
at first like dozens of jellies lit up underwater but with a closer
view we saw a single bright light in each cluster of dimmer lights
spiraling to the outer edges.
By this time we had a morning routine
of jumping into the water, then rinsing off with the fresh water
shower bag on deck to start the day. When we took off for Agua Verde,
18 nm north and around Punta San Pasquel, we finally found some good
wind, put up the sails and tried a different lure on the line with a
larger hook. We had spotted a big fish like a dorado or marlin nearby
and were determined to make an effort to catch something.
 |
| Special lunch - hotdogs with cheese and relish on tortillas! |
There was
just one other sailboat in the distance heading in the opposite
direction. We arrived at the anchorage about 1600 and anchored in 20'
right off the smaller beach with a small house and a couple of
residents on shore.
 |
| Agua Verde, north anchorage |
One other sailboat was there. We deployed the
dinghy to explore the reef and then went over to meet
Dream
Ketcher from Tucson. It was a perfectly beautiful night with cool
breezes. We saw the twinkling bioluminescence again all around our
boat. Mesmerizing! At the same time there was a large school of medium
sized silvery fish swimming and jumping through the water. Enough
taunting! Gregg got out the fishing pole and caught one. It was
silver with yellow horizontal stripes, different from any we had seen
before. We found out the next day from a local fisherman that is was
a “ralla daia” (also raya) meaning striped. It made a very good
sauteed fish dinner the following night.
 |
| Ralla daia for dinner tomorrow! |
Agua Verde seemed like a good place to
spend another busy day. We took the dinghy over to the nearby hills
to hike to the large red rocks at the top.
 |
| 360 degree panorama of Augua Verde |
Exhausted by the heat, we
cooled off by snorkeling around the small reef but it wasn't too
exciting. Agua Verde is a little fishing village with a small tienda,
some houses, a school and a church. We walked through the village,
stopping at Maria's tienda for a couple of cans of Pozole.
Puerto Escondido was our next stop.
This is a protected anchorage with a smaller outer area called The Waiting Room. On shore there is a marina office, showers, laundry and
the infrastructure for a fine town that was never built! We topped
off the fuel and met several of the semi-permanent cruiser-residents
on shore who invited us to join their daily chat circle outside
the small tienda for conversation and news. These folks had good
stories. They had either been through Huricane Odile while out on a mooring
ball in the anchorage or had left a boat there while they were
stateside. Either way, their animated conversations told of a very
rough ride through the night. One unattended sailboat lost its mast
and chainplates. It was described as a bumper car rink with a bit of
neighborly yelling involved as mooring balls dragged through the
waiting room, that smaller, outer anchorage. Most residents have
acquired their own mooring balls in the anchorage but there isn't a
system for how they are spaced from each other. It's all left up to
working it out with your neighbor.
 |
| Puerto Escondido, much greener than it was in May |
We made the short 11 nm sail to Loreto
from Escondido the following day to stop for lunch to meet a friend
of boater friends who lives there part of the year. She suggested
Mediterrano right on the waterfront and it was a great choice. After
lunch, she drove us to the supermarket so we could provision with a
few heavier items, thanks to her car, and then kindly dropped us off
at the dinghy dock. Nice visit with Abby! Without exception, people
have been very hospitable to the boating community.
 |
| Relaxing in Loreto |
On to Punta Pulpito, a long day of
mostly motor-sailing as the wind was directly on our nose. So
disappointing as this was a consistent wind. But with hours to go
before dark, we didn't want to delay so early in the day. We waited
until we were closer to Punta Pulpito, then put up the sails and
enjoyed the end of the afternoon under full sail. The anchorage was
empty on arrival but shortly after we had everything neatly packed up
on deck, another sailboat arrived and anchored nearby. The evening
was calm under a glorious starry, clear night sky.
 |
| Neighbors at Punta Pulpito |
There are no good anchorages between
Punto Pulpito and the point entering into Bahia Concepcion so we had
a long day ahead of us. It felt good to be out on the water well
before sunrise with miles to go that day. It was a beautiful clear
morning.
 |
| Cruising at sunrise |
We started out motoring but within about 20 minutes had
raised the sails. We continued to sail for two hours on a beam reach,
flying at 5 to 6 kts/hr. We didn't pass another recreational boater
the entire day, arriving at Playa Domingo just inside Bahia
Concepcion around 2 PM. A long white sand beach bridges red rocks to
the north and grey green rocks to the south. We motored carefully
around several fishing buoys to check for lines, then anchored in 18'
with a 5' tide gain expected. It's hard to capture the grandeur of
these desert foothills and mountains with the lens of a small
camera...even with the naked eye. But, with binoculars the colors
really come to life.
We spent a quiet day on the water with
only a few pangas in sight during the day. We hung out at Playa
Domingo until early afternoon but didn't even put the dinghy into the
water. When we left for Playa Santispac, just 8 nm across to the other
side of Bahia Concepcion, the wind picked up a little and we sailed
most of the way, jib only at 6.3 kts when the wind picked up to a
steady 20+ kts. Then, hooray! This sea aquarium came to life with
“smiling” bottlenose dolphins that swam with us for several
minutes. Next up were silvery rays jumping every which way out of the
water. On the way to Santispac, we avoided the charted shallow water off the eastern shore of Bahia Concepcion, but found the water rapidly shallowing to 23' towards
the western shore so we scooted back to center. It turns out the charts are wrong about depths in Bahia Concepion! We then entered Playa Santispac between
the point and island with 22 kts coming directly
astern. We anchored easily and were the only boat in the bay.
Picturesque hills surround a beach with a few small houses and a
couple of restaurants dotting the shore, plus a few very nice houses.
Highway 1 can be seen in the distance winding through the hills. We
didn't put the dinghy in the water because the wind had picked up to 24 kts so cooked aboard, but within a short time could hear the music from
Ana's Restaurant on shore. We would go ashore the following day to
explore.
 |
| Swimming with safety line in windy conditions |
Our first full day at Santispac
included a special serendipitous moment! We went to shore to try to
catch a ride to Mulege, 11 miles north. Hitching is the only way to
get there. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and there wasn't much
traffic. We waited in the hot sun for 15 minutes when all of a sudden
a camper truck approached and it was Bob & Deedee from Vancouver,
B.C. whom we had met last year and were now on their way to La Paz to
get back to their boat
Sunshine. What are the chances! We had sent
them a message just a few days ago to check in with them so they
“just had a feeling” when they saw a lone sailboat in the
distance and two people looking for a ride by the side of the road
that it might be us! They pulled over for a short visit before
another vehicle finally did pull over to offer us a ride to Mulege.
 |
| Visiting with Bob and Deedee |
Once in Mulege, we explored all around town checking out the views
from hilltops, the old mission, the Plaza Corona, and then ended up
staying for a late lunch.
 |
| At Las Casitas in Mulege |
We weren't so lucky getting a ride back to
Santispac. Not a single car obliged though to be fair most were
completely full with families. We found a taxi back at the plaza for 220 pesos ($16 USD).
Over the next week, we stayed in each
of the anchorages in Playa Concepcion. There aren't too many. Before
leaving Playa Santispac for Playa Santa Barbara we stopped for a meal at one of
the two well-known restaurants . We wanted to check out Armandos but
it was closed. No surprise because there was absolutely no one else
around except for us. A short walk farther down the beach is Ana's,
mentioned in the guidebook. We met the very friendly and talkative
waiter Carlos, grandson of Ana, who served up a lunch of fish and
beef tacos. Actually, they weren't very good. But Carlos kept up a
lively conversation with us. He told us that last year at this time
the beach was full with RVs and campers.
 |
| At Ana's |
In the afternoon, we pulled
our anchor and moved south to an even quieter anchorage, Playa Santa
Barbara. No one there, only bobos, those annoying little black flies
but at least they don't bite. We didn't stay a second night. We moved
on to Playa Bonaventura, north of Isla Requeson after a short sail of
just 6 nm - no boats here again.
 |
| True North at Playa Buenaventura |
The
afternoon wind kicked up at the usual time, 1530, and remained strong
at 23-27 kts until the early evening. All was calm during the night
and into the morning. It's quite natural when on the water to rise
with the sun, a whole day ahead to explore something new. After
stopping for lunch at the expat restaurant on the beach (get the fish sandwich), we took advantage of the wind and
sailed to the south end of Bahia Concepcion, then looped around to
return to the anchorage on the south side of Isla Requeson for a
leisurely, easy sail against a glorious background.
 |
| Sail up! |
The landscape on
the east side of Bahia Concepcion from a distance is a seemingly
lifeless desert next to the vibrant sea but up close it is
spectacularly colorful with slanting strips of red, pink, mauve and
purple rock above foothills full of light green cacti.
On the next very calm morning, we took
True
Dink to shore to get a closer look at the beach with a few shade
palapas...not much to see there. We motored over to Isla Requeson to
explore the hilltop but the island is quite thick with impenetrable
brush, at least in sandals. Disappointed at not finding anywhere to
walk, we headed back to the boat, pulled the anchor and turned north
towards Playa el Burro. This anchorage looked like there might be
some life onshore, and even two boats!
 |
| Playa el Burro |
There are at least a dozen palapa-style houses
with roofs of palm fronds and open air windows at the waterfront and
Bertha's Restaurant. We cleaned up and took the dinghy ashore to
check out Bertha's. This place has been a local landmark over the
years where the mostly retired expats can meet and play. One has to
appreciate the fun that retirees are having in places like this,
unbound at last from decades of obligations. Everything is a go - mod
hairstyles, tattoos, short shorts, bikinis, and tye-dyed dresses and
T-shirts.
 |
| Dinner at Bertha's |
Another landmark in Playa el Burro is the reliable Geary,
weather man extraordinaire. His is the palapa with all the antennas
on top.
 |
| Geary, author of the Sonrisa Net Sea of Cortez weather forecasts |
In the morning, we hiked the hills from a trail behind
Bertha's to the top for a panoramic view Bahia Coyote, with Playa
el Burro to the north and Playa Coyote to the south.
 |
| 360 degree panorama of Playa Coyote |
We were intending to stay at Playa el Burro for
the night but the big Halloween Party was over in Playa Santispac. On
short notice, we upped the anchor and 15 minutes later were anchored again just offshore Armando's, neon lights guiding the way to the beach.
The local community was in full swing with music, dancing and
costumes, creating an other-worldly experience on this isolated beach
in Baja, Mexico! We spent the party time visiting with a couple of locals with a house at Posada Concepcion. The local talk was that Armando's had taken the
business away from Ana's, which appeared to be closed that night. In
the morning, however, before 0800, Ana's was blaring music from
loudspeakers. We left for the quieter waters of Playa Coyote. We were
planning to walk over in the evening for a quiet dinner at the little
Estrella de la Mar but found instead a grand opening party for the
new owners, a couple of young, welcoming Mexican women. There was
music, more costumes, and many of the same people we had seen the
night before over in Playa el Burro. People were very friendly and
the BBQ chicken was a most welcome change of fare!
 |
| Raising the dinghy wheels at Playa Coyote |
Having made the full rounds once (though
quickly) in Bahia Concepcion, and with an ear to the weather
prediction of a "norther" coming in a few days, we decided to make the
run to Santa Rosalia, our turn-around point to the north. (A "norther" is a period of strong winds sweeping down the Sea of Cortez from the US Southwest. They can be very strong and cause huge steep seas.) We'd spend
the few days during the wild north winds inside that marina and check out the town of Santa Rosalia. So away we went! Along the way,
we anchored at Punta Chivata, 23 nm north, where a beautiful seashell
beach lines the shore. We collected some beauties!
 |
| The sea-shell beach at Punta Chivato |
There was a row of
very nice homes on the waterfront, a small dirt airstrip, and a
fly-in resort on the point which, sadly, had been vacant for a year.
It must have been stunning in its heyday.
 |
| Deserted resort at Punta Chivato |
The neighbors next door to
the resort invited us to sit with them for a cold beer and told us
about the area. It used to be filled with Scuba divers, boaters and
fishermen. John Wayne had been a regular guest at the resort. But
with aging owners and little new marketing, the place closed. There
was more to see along this shore but it would have to wait.
The next
day, Monday, we pushed 27 nm north for Santa Rosalia and tucked inside the
marina just as the dreaded norther was building, bashing into 20-25 kt winds for the last two hours. There were three boats there that had made it through Hurricane Odile, although one had partially sunk, and another had severe damage when the marina docks started to come apart.
 |
| True North in the marina at Santa Rosalia |
By the next day we got to see what a real norther is like - our wind instrument clocked a maximum speed of 55.7 kts Tuesday!
 |
| Max wind speed reading for the norther |
..... STA ROSALIA GOES HERE ....
 |
| French house from copper mining days in Santa Rosalia |
 |
| The ovens at the famous bread bakery in Santa Rosalia |
When we entered the marina at Santa
Rosalia there were just three other boats. We hadn't been able to
reach the marina by radio or email ahead of arriving and had worried
it might be full...then where? Some of the docks are a little skimpy,
very narrow and short. We were relieved to be ushered into a sturdy,
wide slip with a heavy piling at the end. During Odile, one of the
skimpy docks broke loose and took a few boats with it – not far,
but enough to slam around and damage them. The three boats Kashmira,
Apolima and Sun Runner had already formed a small
community among themselves from years in and out of Santa Rosalia and
especially having “participated” in Odile's wrath in some way.
The second night we gathered together for dinner together at the
Chinese restaurant. Both Apolima and Kashmira had spent
years in the South Pacific prior to coming to Baja and echoed what
friends Pam and Ted from Roundabout have said, there's nothing
quite like the cruising life in the So Pacific! By the end of the
week, seven other boats had arrived. The community was growing!
We had driven through Santa Rosalia on
the way to Baja a month earlier and at that time work crews were busy
with massive clean-up projects. The streets were muddy and huge
boulders were strewn every which way. Electricians worked to get
power lines operating. This time round, it was a totally new place
and experience. Everything was looking dry and clean and back to
life. The town is absent of tourist fan-fare – no mariachis or
handicrafts lining the streets – but full of authentic, everyday
life with working people, a town plaza, large, old bakery, plenty of
taco stands and array of good restaurants from traditional Mexican to
pizza to seafood and steak. It was a fun place to hang out for
several days. However, the norther had passed and we wanted to get
out on the water while there was still some wind to fill our sails.
So off we go!
Next, we turn south to eventually meet up with friends in Loreto, and then on to La Paz by December 1st.
Here are some additional photos from this leg of our trip.
 |
| Anchoring at Ensenada Grande |
 |
| Bottlenose dolphins riding our bow wave |
 |
| Anne catching the skipjack |
 |
| Layers of mesas |
 |
| Desert vegetation in the wet season, Agua Verde |
 |
| Agua Verde anchorage |
 |
| Anne hiking above Agua Verde |
 |
| Marina Fonatur, Puerto Escondido |
 |
| "The Windows", Puerto Escondido |
 |
| NY Strip from Loreto, grilled on the boat |
 |
| Our "boom tent" sunshade |
 |
| The mission in Mulege |
 |
| Street scene, Mulege |
 |
| Ana's beach restaurant, Playa Santispac |
 |
| Reading time |
 |
| Nice beach with True North at anchor |
 |
| Sailing to southern end of Bahia Concepcion |
 |
| Red sky at night, sailor's delight |
 |
| Evening skies |
 |
| The beach at Playa Coyote |
 |
| Shells at Punta Chivato |
 |
| Punta Chivato anchorage |
 |
| Plane on taxiway, Punta Chivato |
 |
| Schooner with Odile damage being repaired in Santa Rosalia |
