January 26, 2014  Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido is a very well protected anchorage with two small marinas nestled in the inner bay. 

Dawn at Puerto Escondido

They call this view of Puerto Escondido
 "The Windows" facing north

Puerto Escondido is nestled under the watchful
eye of Sierra de la Gigianta

Our guide books spoke of a pool and shore facilities, hotels, restaurants, etc. but once again the promotional information was much more than reality.  Government built, Marina Fontaur sits in the middle of a flat, dry region with extremely wide unused roadways lined with palm trees and lighting running along it up to the main road. 

The main road, guarded 24/7, from the marina to
the main road, then 20 minutes to the right to
reach the Highway 1 intersection

Cinderblock townhouses crumbling away
next to the marina.  Dozens of vacant lots nearby.

Appearance is everything, even if the toilets leak!

To the left and right of the roadways are watered plants but beyond those plants there’s nothing but scrub and cacti.  The townhouse and housing development dreamed up to entice tourists to come to Puerto Escondido never got built.  Some cinderblock townhouses were started and are now crumbling slowly away, as is the infrastructure at the marina where maintenance has been sketchy at best.  Having said that, the staff are friendly and the rooftop restaurant overlooking the water makes great limonada.  As I write this there is a scurry of activity from about 20 workers who are playing catch up on outdoor maintenance and fixing the leaky ceilings in the showers, washrooms, etc. because the ‘boss’ is coming in a week.

On Thursday the four of us decided to explore the town of Loreto by road instead of by boat.  We had to walk 30 minutes to the main road then wait 45 minutes for the north bound bus.  We were glad this was not a super hot day! 

Waiting for the north-bound bus to Loreto

Only Highway 1 goes north and south on the Baja

Loreto was a sleepy little town where most of the businesses were tourist related…but there were few tourists that we could see.  There was a lovely walking tree lined walk that meandered down towards the malacon and small harbour.  

Dozens of stores lined the tourist area, all hoping the
few tourists will stop into their shop and buy something

The small boat harbour pangas at Loreto

Except for a large completed development a couple of miles out of town everything looked old and worn. 

Old town Loreto where you never see touristas

Old deserted building made of straw, mud ad
palm nuts mashed together

We ate lunch in town and walked form end to end before our evening bus took us back to the intersection for Puerto Escondido where we had our half hour walk back to Falcon.

The next day we went across to Honeymoon Bay on Isla Dezante and hiked to the top of the mountain for a birds eye view of the islands.

View north of Isla Dazante

Jim and Jim at the top of the mountain

Great view from the top! Carol hiked lower trails.

The wind was blowing 30 knots at the top

Carol and Jim will be leaving tomorrow, heading back to La Paz by bus where they will continue their Mexican adventure via ferry to Mazatlan then make their way south from there. 

Great view from the top of this mountain

Falcon alone in Honeymoon Bay sheltered from the wind

30 knots of wind buffeted the shoreline

We have enjoyed sharing Falcon VII with them and exploring this part of the Sea of Cortez.  They showered us with little thank you presents, dinner out and washed the salt off of Falcon for us.  Very generous indeed and appreciated.  While they washed the boat Jim and I walked to a little tienda for an unusual ice cream treat.  En route back we saw a huge 4” tarantula walking beside the road!   I’m not fond of spiders and kept my distance while Jim approached and had a closer look at the furry creature.  Hope that’s the only one we see!!!

As we don’t need to be to Puerto Vallarta until June we have a couple more months to explore this area in more detail before working our way southward.  We’re looking forward to letting the wind guide our direction.  After provisioning in Loreto then spend 2 – 3 weeks getting to know some of these anchorages getter, especially if we can snorkel as well!  We’ll let you know how it goes when we do another update in a few weeks. 

January 25, 2014  Islands in the Sea of Cortez

Happy New Year!  I can’t believe that Christmas was one month ago today!  We have had such a busy time since then that it’s hard to keep it all straight.  We have been back from Canada for just over two weeks now and feel like we’ve been on the go non-stop.

Our trip back to Canada went by very quickly.  Our son, Brendan, and his beautiful bride, Charlene, tied the knot on January 4th in Vancouver.  The afternoon wedding and dinner were enjoyed by about 150 friends and family all wishing them well as they officially start their life together.  Jim and I have now been welcomed into Char’s family with open arms, which is an unexpected bonus of this happy union.

Mr. and Mrs. Brendan Bowen

Mr. and Mrs. Bowen - all cleaned up for the wedding

As I write this Char and Brendan are returning from their three week honeymoon to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and we look forward to hearing about their adventures.  We also had time to spend with a couple of very close friends,my Mom, Olive, my niece Taralee and Davey and my sister, Laurie.  I enjoyed spending many hours with Mom, out for lunches and sometimes as she accompanied me on errands.  I’ll have more time to spend with her this coming summer when we return again.

While we were in BC our friends, Edie and Adam, boat sat Falcon in La Paz and had a great time enjoying the city and visiting with other cruising friends.   We used their truck while in BC so it was a win win all the way around.  

The Malacon, La Paz.  Hundreds of people
walk it in the evening, nicely lit too.

Heading back towards Marina de La Paz

During the few days we were together we did get a quick trip over to Isla Espiritu Santo for a night to give them a chance to see the islands.  Unfortunately the winds were very strong and we couldn’t even take the dinghy to shore but it was nice to be away from the docks.  While in La Paz they had access to the marina facilities and use of our dinghy if they wanted it.  They are great walkers and put on many miles by foot.   We were very appreciative of their conscientious efforts and knew Falcon was in good hands while we were away.   Just after Edie and Adam left for BC we welcomed other cruising friends, Jim and Carol, to Falcon for 10 days of cruising north to the community of Loreto.  They lucked out weather-wise because the constant north winds receded for a number of days, allowing us to put the miles on without slamming into headwinds.

Jim and Carol Shohet on Isla San Jose

Cruisers were swimming with sea lion pups at this tiny island

The four of us left La Paz last Friday, January 17th and headed back to Espiritu Santo for the night.  Our friends, Alison and Randall, were also anchored on the island and the six of us enjoyed a great evening together, sharing food and swapping stories.  In the morning we pushed off for Isla San Francisco, a beautiful anchorage at the southern tip of that island.  We sailed off and on all day then anchored in the protected southern bay where we enjoyed a leisurely evening watching the masses of brilliant stars lighting up the clear sky.  For a change we were not alone, sharing the anchorage with five other boats. 

Sierra de la Giganta mountain range

Sunrise at Isla San Fransisco

On Sunday morning we were treated to an amazing sunrise just before leaving to stop in at Isla San Jose for a dinghy trip through a lagoon and into a mangrove forest.   We all piled in the dinghy and explored narrow passages surrounded by lush green mangroves that sprouted long roots somehow down into the salty water to secure themselves in the sand below.

Dinghy ride into the mangrove forest

Spectacular scenery in the lagoon, Isla San Jose

To the south of the lagoon sat a tiny island called Isla Coyote, which was inhabited by a few tenacious fishers. 

Isla Coyote's small fishing village

Hard to believe that a community could survive in such a small place.  Obviously they spent a lot of time fishing and bringing in all supplies from elsewhere. 

By noon we pulled up anchor and motored in flat calm conditions – very unusual – to the village of San Evaristo on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez.  We explored by dinghy before taking a hike to ‘town’ then over the hill to the salt evaporation ponds.  It was a very impoverished community but the locals were all happy and smiling when we greeted them.

Shrine beside the gravel road, San Evaristo

Looking north towards the salt ponds

As the weather was very stable we put the miles on the next day and headed 45 miles north to Bahia Aqua Verde where we anchored for a couple of nights.  We were able to snorkel in the protected anchorage where we spotted dozens of colourful tropical fish.  The following morning we took the dinghy to the beach then hiked around the rocky cliffs to the friendly little village. 

Tiny plants attached to cracks in the shoreline rocks

Looks like jellyfish tentacles

Jim holding up the shoreline, Bahia Aqua Verde

We saw a ‘restaurant’ sign outside a house where the inhabitants were sitting around an old blue vinyl covered table.  They quickly vacated, cleaned it off and offered us the plastic chairs.  The house / restaurant was abuzz with activity since we ‘gringo’s’ were happy to let the missus cook us chicken quesadillas.  The meal was a little pricey, but we were happy to contribute to their household none-the-less.  The man of the house had to go to the local tienda to purchase the fresh ingredients and four beer.  We couldn’t complain about our meal not being fresh, that’s for sure! 

Village at Bahia Aqua Verde, about 30 homes in all

Winding our way around the hill to our anchorage

Luxurious shrubs fed by a natural spring coming
out of the highest hill in the area, which also
provided water for the community.

After lunch Jim and I hiked up the dusty red rock road and around a hill to get back to the dinghy while Jim and Carol hiked back along the water.  We had spectacular views of the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range and the anchorage below. 

Rugged rock outcroppings near our anchorage

View from the gravel road leading to the anchorage
at Bahia Aqua Verde where we were not alone!

Graceful pelican departing his perch on a panga

Carol and Jim enjoying Bahia Aqua Verde

We’ve never been to the Grand Canyon but can imagine it looking much like the landscape in this part of the Baja Peninsula.   By late afternoon we were all ready for a relaxing evening before pushing off for Puerto Escondito in the morning. Follow along to Puerto Escondito on our next update...