Loreto to La Paz: November 21 - December 1
The final leg of the Fall season found
us gradually making our way farther south from Loreto to La Paz. We picked up enthusiastic and skilled boater pals Ginger and Gary in Loreto, motored
on to Puerto Escondido for a couple of nights and then Agua Verde
where we waited out our third Norther for three full days and nights. After a first rolly night, we moved our boat a little farther north in the anchorage and off the smaller beach
which provided opportunities for shore excursions, even as the wind
howled and waves were building in the sea beyond the anchorage.
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| Gary and Ginger flank The Skipper (that's a radome behind me, not earmuffs!) |
During the calmer mornings we took the
dinghy ashore to stretch and explore.There is one small house on this beach inhabited by a most cordial, friendly faced man, Jose.
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| Jose sports the SSAPS Burgee |
When we
asked for directions to the cave paintings he drew a map in the sand
of our destination, about 40 minutes away. We followed the trail to a
small, ramshackle cemetery with age-old dates.
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| Cemetery at Agua Verde |
Farther along, we hiked through a dried arroyo full of large old crooked palms that looked as if it
had been ravaged by many flash floods, in search of cave paintings.
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| Hiking in the Palm Arroyo |
Somewhere we lost the trail and gave up. Over the course
of our three days a couple of camper families shared the beach with
Jose. They had to brave a long, steep, narrow rocky road full of deep
potholes to get to the beach and watching them from the water
confirmed that we would rather travel to this place by boat.
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| Agua Verde - a good place to wait out a Norther |
On the morning of our fourth day in
Agua Verde, feeling certain the Norther was well on its way out and
with reassurance from the daily weather report we headed out to sea
to check it out for ourselves. We were ready to move on. We expected
confused seas in the aftermath of the Norther and we sure got them,
along with big rollers.
With wind astern, we put up the sails for a
very rolly sail 18 nm south to Los Gatos. Consensus of the crew was that the waves topped out about 10', and steep, not to mention confused - the infamous Sea of Cortez "herd of white buffalos"! We
arrived tat Los Gatos o find a group of kayakers camped on the beach, dropped the
anchor in gusty wind but found it way too rolly. We pulled the anchor
to continue just 3 nm around the point to Timbabiche for the night
where the anchorage was much calmer. One lone panga was nearby with two fishermen setting their nets in the fading light of sunset.
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| Pangueros fishing at Timbabiche |
They stopped by to ask if
we'd like to buy fish...definitely! We certainly weren't catching any. We gave them our request for one kilo of red snapper and that is what
Roberto and Santos brought the next morning at 7 am, filleted and
ready to cook later that night for Thanksgiving dinner.
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| Bringing the red snapper aboard |
With fish in the fridge, we left for Isla San Francisco, finding the seas much calmer than
the day before. The jib was deployed with the reaching pole (note to self: no shortcuts with the pole!) for a
smooth but fast downwind sail, arriving at the anchorage 35 nm south late in the afternoon.
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| Lazy, fun sailing - pole out, no mainsail, smooth seas, 6+ kts! |
The dinghy was launched for a leisurely shore walk in the evening light.
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| Isla San Francisco in evening light |
The shore excursion was followed by a most superb Thanksgiving dinner - fresh from the sea that
morning!
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| A very happy Thanksgiving! |
Next day we hiked the high hill and red
rocks above the bay for expansive views of the anchorage below. It
was Gregg's birthday!
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| Near the summit of Gregg's birthday hike |
He was reminded of it first thing in the morning by a chorus of “Happy
Birthday” initiated by Ginger and Gary. He and Ginger added
snorkeling to the day's activities, returning with colorful photos of a
surprising variety of sea life that is almost unimaginable from
above water. Later we cooked the
real chicken for the birthday
dinner plus a freshly baked apple cake.
After two nights at Isla San Francisco
we motored all the way to Isla Los Islotes with the wind on our nose, although the wind died steadily as we proceeded. It was 17
nm across the sea where there is a sea lion colony. It is a deep
anchorage and crowded with boats and snorkelers but was calm enough
for Ginger and me to swim with the sea lions while Gregg
and Gary stayed aboard circling the anchorage. The big ones are huge
and they swim swiftly around snorkelers; the little ones are even cute!
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| Ginger and Anne snorkeling at Los Islotes |
From there we
motored on to Ensenada Grande to our anchorage for the night. This is
one beautiful cove! Red rock bluffs line the head with two sandy
beaches on each side of the bluffs. We took off in the dinghy to the
larger beach where Fun Baja was packing up from a day's beach picnic.
They had a large gas powered refrigerator on the beach so we naturally checked
to see if we might purchase a
cerveza fria but they had none.
Then my eye spotted a piece of the
creamiest looking chocolate cake that one of the guides was eating. A
piece for us, too? They had no plates so placed a big slice in my
hand for us to share. We hiked a short trail and on returning
to the beach were presented with the rest of the cake to take with
us!
Postre muy fino!
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| Anne takes possession of the precious chocolate cake! |
We spent a leisurely morning soaking in
the beauty of Ensenada Grande with its pristine beaches and inviting
clear water.
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| Ensenada Grande |
It was only 3 nm miles to our next stop Ensenada del Candelaro, another favorite anchorage because of the colorful reef
fish surrounding the large Roco Monumento at the entrance. We
anchored, lunched, and took the dinghy over to snorkel around the
rock.
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| Snorkel site on Roca Monumento |
There were many kinds of smaller brightly colored reef fish but
we also spotted several crown of thorns eating away at the coral. It was alarming to see them there because they can destroy entire brilliant reefs leaving behind dead gray
coral. Then the fish disappear.
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| Sea star eating its way through coral |
Later we took the dinghy to shore to
check out the two beaches, one with a row of white canvas tents, the
other with a crowd of noisy pelicans. The evening light on the red rocks
was brilliant! The rocks were full with gulls, pelicans, and a few
blue footed boobies. A band of high rocks separate the two beaches
and Gregg and I climbed through an opening to get to the tent beach
to see what might be going on over there. A group of
Mexican outdoor adventure tour guides from Todo Santos were in training
for the coming season and among them, Belinda from REI adventure
travel in Seattle. We made easy conversation talking Baja
adventures. Meanwhile one of the trainers scooted up to us with a big smile and two Margaritas...in real stem glasses with the blue rim...right out there
on the beach! Great karma! Chocolate cake procured from last night's
beach stop and Margaritas tonight.
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| Roca Monument and True North at sunset |
This was a last serene night on the
water before returning to La Paz the next day, sailing with a super brisk wind and one grand grey whale spy-hopping along the way. In the background the dramatic sailing vessel M5, largest sailing sloop in the world at 246', was clocking 16 kts under full sail.
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| Cruising on in to Marina Costabaja in La Paz |
We savor the moments that sailing in these beautiful waters brings - the camaraderie, the
serenity and spirit of adventure. This
time was no different. Until next Spring...
adios!
