December 17, 2013 Isla Espiritu Santo

In February 2010 Jim and I flew to La Paz, Mexico on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula for a week of exploring by car.  We checked out the cape just north of La Paz and it’s many beaches.  We spotted a sailboat at anchor in a beautiful crystal clear turquoise bay with a white sandy beach and we envisioned ourselves sitting at anchor in such a place.  In February 2011 we took a two day Psychology of Cruising workshop that inspired us to create a mini plan of goals to help us achieve our dream of cruising to Mexico.  Our mini plan listed learning some Spanish, taking a wilderness first aid course, writing boat procedures, visiting cruising friends in Mexico, educating ourselves about cruising away from our local waters and a few more goals.

A couple of weeks ago we anchored in Bahia Frailes at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula about 40 miles east of the zoo called Cabo San Lucas.  There were a few dilapidated shacks on the white sandy beach which locals stayed in while fishing from their pangas. 


Local fishermen with their catch of sharks

Fishing shack on the beach at Los Frailes

There were a dozen shacks, some with satellite dishes even!

Unimaginably turquoise clear blue waters lapped around Falcon with a school of fair sized fish never far away.  A dozen palapas (permanently planted poles with palm frond sun umbrellas erected above them) were evenly spaced along the beach for those who wanted shelter from the hot sun. 

Our faithful dinghy with wheels for taking it onto beaches easily

Jim surveying the amazing surroundings



Bahia Los Frailes, southern end of the Baja Peninsula

A tall cactus covered hill to the east, Cabo Los Frailes, blocked the northerly winds from the bay. The water was so  crystal clear that we could see 20 feet down to the sandy bottom where the anchor was firmly dug in.  A constant warm breeze kept the bugs away and forced us to open all port lights and hatches.  After nearly four years of hard work and planning we felt like we had finally made it to the Mexico we had envisioned.  It was a very happy and gratifying moment for both of us.

We awoke at dawn the next morning, Sunday December 1 to discover our friends Randall and Alison on Tregoning had come in during the night and were anchored beside us.  When I saw them on our foredeck a few minutes later I clambered to our side deck with Jim and we all waved frantically with great big smiles on our faces.  It doesn’t get much better than sharing a bit of paradise with friends!  We spent two days together enjoying Bahia Frailes. 

A barely alive cactus with bright red fruit

Tiny insects left hollow tubes as they ate the thin spreading branches

Various types of cacti everywhere as we climbed up and up and up

During one morning we hiked up the steep terrain to the top of Cabo Los Frailes where we had a spectacular view of Cabo Pulmo and the Sea of Cortez.


We made it to the top - Alison, Randall, Jim and Tricia

The view north looking towards Cabo Pulmo

The view to the southwest towards Los Cabos and Cabo San Lucas

That afternoon we snorkeled along a reef below the cape where we were rewarded for our effort with an array of tropical fish that paid no attention to us as they swam by.  We have no fish identifying books (yet) but we were awestruck by their brilliant colours of blue, yellow, pinks, turquoise, and green.  Some were no longer than our fingers while others were over a foot in length.  School after school of fish were incredibly clear through our masks under the afternoon sun and we all headed back to our boats with big smiles on our faces.

The next day Randall and Alison waved goodbye to us because they had paperwork to complete in La Paz and a deadline to meet.  Jim and I stayed one more day before pushing off north up into the Sea of Cortez. 



Morning sun on our final morning at Los Frailes

We motored to another anchorage a few hours north called Ensenada de Los Muertos where we had lunch at the local beachside restaurant followed by a long walk on a white sandy beach where we were the sole inhabitants.

Los Muertos deserted beach

Sand dunes lined the shore

Sand dunes bordered the beach and a resort stood at the far end.  We walked towards it, amazed to see deck chairs, kayaks, paddle boards and sun umbrellas all laid out along the resort’s frontage…and no one there. 

Where were the guests? Resort at Los Muertos



The cacti were as big as trees!

Ensenada de Los Muertos was originally called the Bay of the Dead but some imaginative real estate developers renamed the Bay of Dreams.  After spending an afternoon wandering around cement roadways that led to empty lot after empty lot after empty lot we thought it would be better named the The Bay of Dead Dreams. 

Cement roadway with dozens of vacant view lots

This natural wall was supplemented with bricks and rocks at
this old warehouse site at Los Muertos

Clearly someone had a vision that included hundreds of cliffiside houses, a golf course and many resorts but the years between 2007 and now reduced the reality to six houses, one lousy restaurant and one deserted resort.  Pretty sad really.

By the next morning we were more than ready to push off north towards La Paz.  The wind increased throughout the morning so we were slamming through breaking waves on our bow until we could put the sails up and head for the narrow San Lorenzo Channel between Isla Epiritos Santos and Punta Arranca Cabello, the most northern cape north of La Paz.  The sailing was great with us averaging 7.2 knots, our normal speed when motoring.  Once through the channel we turned south and found a calm anchorage an hour away in Bahia Pichilingue.  We were anchored alone in another beautiful bay with a white sandy beach and two palm frond covered restaurants side by side.  The only people we saw around us were local fishermen in their pangas.

Early morning fishermen. 
I snuck this picture through the galley port light.

On Saturday we went to shore to check about a reservation for dinner at the smaller of the two establishments.  There was only one local enjoying a beer in the 50 seat restaurant and large patio.  The waiter was overjoyed at our enquiry about coming for dinner at 7:00 p.m.  He assured us they would be open….and they were!  In fact we were the only patrons that whole evening.  1980’s videos played on the big screen tv in the corner and we couldn’t help but watch and chuckle at how dated they were.  Lots of Mexicans seem to like the American 80’s style of music!  During dinner we chatted with the waiter about the restaurant.  He was very positive telling us how popular they were in the summer time with the Italians and how they hoped many American and Canadians would stop by in the winter months.  We found out  from him that they had a regular staff of five who had all stayed to ensure we had a nice dinner.  We had four traditional Mexican dishes, Mexican beer and tequila shooters while our waiter hovered close by.  We felt incredibly guilty because we could have come to shore much earlier, which meant they could have all headed home much earlier.  However, we made it worth their while by leaving a very generous tip for their terrific service.  We waved good night as we headed out the patio doors and into the darkness.  We tugged our reliable dinghy into the warm water and paddled out deep enough to climb in and head back to Falcon for a quiet night.

On Sunday we had a glorious downwind sail right along the well marked channel leading to La Paz.  Once anchored we spotted a few other cruising acquaintances when heading to shore for a run to the large grocery store a 20 minute walk away.  It was extremely well stocked so we took advantage and did a major shop before taking a very inexpensive taxi back to the marina.  The wind had picked up and we had a wet ride back to Falcon with water splashing over the bow of the dinghy as we motored through the darkness towards our home.   On Monday afternoon we motored out of La Paz to explore Isla Espiritu Santo for nine days before our marina reservation took effect on December 18th.

The sunshine was glorious but the north wind grew and grew until we were crashing through 25 knot headwinds.  Fortunately it was only a three hour trip to the anchorage called Ensenada de la Raza, a bay offering plenty of protection against the seasonal northerly winds which blew most days.

Near Ensenada de la Raza - a spectacular view from the beach

Compressed rocks looked like they were cemented into place



Hiking buds Margaret and David from Heart and Soul

The view from the top - the water was amazing - and warm!

Over the next week we had a wonderful time exploring two beautiful anchorages with Margaret and David from Heart and Soul.  We knew them from Victoria and had been in constant contact since leaving Victoria in late August.  We stayed at Ensenada de la Raza for four days enjoying hikes on shore and snorkeling along a reef on Isla Galla, a short dinghy ride away.  Jim and I wore our new wetsuits for the first time, making us more buoyant and allowing us to stay in a little longer than otherwise.

An old fishing camp on Isla Espiritu Santo

The guys doing a little pre-lunch exercise

Jim holding up the wave swept rock overhang

Our hiking boots came in handy!

We stopped for lunch sheltered near this ledge

Drying out at lunchtime after a brief morning shower

Looking down a cliff at large fish in the crystal water below

A shallow bay with inviting reefs everywhere

Falcon VII and Heart and Soul at anchor, Ensenada de la Raza

On Friday, December 13 we both departed and charged our batteries while motoring north to another anchorage called Caleta Partida at the southern end of Isla Partida, directly across the northern tip of Isla Espiritu Santos. The bay was surrounded by high rust coloured hills dotted with intriguing tiny caves, cacti and very rough fishing shacks. 

Brick red cliffs with lots of small caves near the anchorage

This cave entrance was half way up the hill

The whole of Isla Espiritu Santos and Isla Partida are part of the national marine park system.  Boats require permits and almost everything is prohibited except hiking on existing trails and snorkeling along the rugged shorelines.  Other shorelines were eroded away by the constant battering of waves, more like sculptures than nature’s rock face.  Sadly, at Caleda Partida there was quite a bit of discarded plastic along the remote shoreline mixed in with tonnes of white coral and bleached tropical seashells. 

The flat land at the southern tip of Caleda Partida

The shell and skeleton of a long dead turtle

The shallow bay was warm, great when walking the dinghies to deeper water

Our hikes were up into the brick red rocky hills, some pocked with tiny cave entrances.  At times when I looked around me I felt like I was hiking in the Grand Canyon, the canyon walls were so steep and tall around me.  We hiked around huge boulder, clambered over spikey brushes scraping our shins and treaded carefully on loose rocks that tumbled when dislodged.  We always carried a first aid kit in the backpack but, thankfully, never had to use it.

View of the spit between Isla Partida and Isla Espiritu Santo

30 knot winds blew for two days. 
This looks at the northern face of Isla Espiritu Santo

Looking down towards the channel and sand spit dividing the islands

As I write this the wind is howling in the anchorage for the third straight day.  Temperatures have been very comfortable.  Not too hot and not too cold.  Our cockpit has been filled with warmth from the sun so we often sit and read while checking out the views.  We have our wind generator on most of the time, which helps to re-charge the batteries along with the four solar panels pivoted to take advantage of the brilliant sunshine.  We did get to shore yesterday for another hefty hike.  The bay has quite a shoal area so we barely made it through the mile of shallow water only just deep enough for our outboard motor to propel us forward. 



The view from our lunch spot. 

After our three hour hike and lunch with an amazing view of the extremely windy Sea of Cortez followed by a walk along the sandy beaches we were both forced to walk our dinghies about a mile out to deeper water before we could finally float them properly.  It was a great excursion, none-the less, made that much better sharing it with David and Margaret.  We also shared dinners and long conversations almost every evening of the last week, with our final dinner on Falcon last evening.  We waved good bye to Heart and Soul this morning, promising to stay in south.  They are heading across to mainland Mexico and eventually south to Central and South America and the Galapagos Islands before taking Heart and Soul through the Panama Canal and on to Europe.  I waved and waved with tears in my eyes as they motored away, very aware that it may be many years since we see each other again.  Jim has to remind me that such is the life of a cruiser.  We meet wonderful people, often spend extraordinary times together then part company again, often uncertain if our paths will ever cross again or not.

Sunset at Caleda Partida

Tomorrow we head back to La Paz to do a few required projects and we will be boxing up most of the school supplies we’ve been carrying since Newport Beach and taking them to Club Cruisero at Marina de La Paz.  (We’ll keep a few sets to hand out to individual parents where we see the need.)  Club Cruisero is a non-profit organization made up of cruisers who each pay $100 pesos (about $8.00 US) to join with the membership fees going to charities.  Together members do a lot of good work around La Paz’s poorer sectors as well as the central Baja region north of La Paz.  We had listened to them on the VHF radio a week ago making pre-Christmas announcements about gifts needed for poor kids in distant villages.  The leaders of Club Cruisero will know best how to get our boxes of school supplies to poverty stricken coastal communities up the Baja.  This is our Christmas gift to each other.  It was a goal of ours and one we hope to repeat it again and again. 

We’ll enjoy Christmas with other cruisers we have met on our journey south.  Randall and Alison from Tregoning, Randall’s sister, Martha, and Cameron from Roughneck will be with us.  It will be a different Christmas than ever before for both of us and we are looking forward to the new experience.  A warm Christmas – no winter boots or heavy sweaters needed!  After Christmas we will enjoy New Year’s Eve with cruisers from Victoria at ‘the’ party at the Shack Restaurant before a January 1st flight back to BC for our son, Brendan’s wedding on January 4th to a wonderful woman, Char.  Then we’ll be warmly dressed with those heavy sweater and winter boots for sure!!!  We’ll also spend a few days visiting family and friends in Vancouver, Parksville, Nanaimo and Victoria before flying back to La Paz on January 11th.   We’re looking forward to hanging out with Mom and my step sister, Laurie, and our many dear friends in Victoria.  We’re staying in the ‘penthouse’ at Mom’s seniors’ complex so we can spend as much time as possible with her. 

With all this happening it is unlikely that we will be doing any blog updates until late January so….we wish you a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.  We hope that 2014 bring you all that you wish for and the company of great friends and family to share your dreams with.  Until then….Jim and Tricia signing off from Falcon VII.