Tidings of Joy: March 2023

I've learned in our boat travels that I really enjoy reading books about the area we're in. I'm not talking about your typical guidebooks advising you on what to see and do but literature about the area from or about people from there either fiction or nonfiction so I learn something while being in that same place. For example when we were in Seattle I read Kirk Cobain's biography and Delancey about a local writer who opened a pizza shop with her then husband. I read Kerouac's Desolation Angels as we made our way through Canada and timed reading John's Muir's Travels in Alaska for when we were in Glacier Bay sometimes at the same location in the Bay as he wrote about along with countless others by local Alaskan writers so nicely suggested by our friends Bill and Lucy. For me this really enhances my experience of being in a new place and can help me see things from a local or experienced perspective. Things haven't changed much and now that we were in the Sea of Cortez I'm reading Steinbeck's, Log From the Sea of Cortez and again have found ourselves in the same location on the exact same date that he writes about. As we make our way north I'm guided by Steinbeck and his team of scientist and seaman exploring the region from both a navigational and biological perspective. While I don't think we will be experiencing the Sea in quiet the same scientific way it's really amazing to learn about the marine biology we are surrounded by.

With Isla Espiritu Santo in the rear view we made our way north to Isla San Francisco on March 14th at 12:30pm. The 20 mile cruise was sunny with mild 1-3 foot waves and we experienced many manarays jumping in the air making huge splashes as they landed. They are so fast that all you see is a flat white surface pounding the water and then a two foot splash. It's quiet a site. I had read that Isla San Francisco was a popular anchorage but for some reason the 14 other boats that were there when we arrived was still a bit shocking. No where on Espiritu were there so many boats. The anchorage was large and there was ample room for all. Once we got the hook down we just relaxed the rest of the day not leaving the boat.

Map of the Sea of Cortez

Entering Isla San Francisco

After a restful evening onboard and with much entertainment watching all the boats come and go we decided to hit the shore for some exercise. Close to the beach there is a mountain range that has hiking trails on multiple sides. We noticed some people walking up the front side and decided to follow. The rocky path was steep and we found ourselves taking several breaks to catch our breath. Fat and out of shape we somehow made it to the top of the first hill and decided to just take the paths around and to not climb any boulders to the very top. The view of the anchorage was gorgeous and we felt good sweating a bit. By the time we got back to the boat we were soaked and quickly launched ourselves into the water. The shock if the 69 degree water was just what we needed after a hot hike. One plunge and done did the trick. The rest of the afternoon we read and relaxed and took one more dingy ride to tour the anchorage and say hi to a boat we knew called Talisman.

Struggling Up the Hill

View from Hike

The Top

Tidings of Joy at Isla San Francisco

The Anchorage

Hiking Back Down

Interesting Red Plant on Hike

Walking Back to the Dink

Sunset

The next day is what we would call a twofer. The plan was to cruise to Bahia Amortajada and anchor, dingy the the cut and see the mangroves, have lunch then move onto our overnight anchorage at Punta Salinas. Well that was a bust. Due to a negative low tide the cut to the man groves was dry and we couldn't find a path through so we up-anchored and made our way onward. We were the only boat when we arrived at Punta Salinas and due to lots of eel grass we dragged and had to re-anchor a second time. Finally feeling secure and set we hopped in the dink to explore the salt ponds and old mining operation on shore. The whole experience was quiet interesting. I felt like we were in a ghost town. Not only was it abandoned and old relics left behind but we were the only boat and people there so it felt a little strange. The ponds reminded me of frozen ponds we used to ice skate on as kids the salt looked like a frozen ice and we walked on it wearily as if we might fall through. The walk was nice also until we came along a dead sea turtle's shell on shore which made us wonder how it even got here. As the evening grew closer to sunset we made our way back to the dink and then safely back on board the mothership.

The Mangroves at Bahia Amortajada

Heading into Punta Salinas

Dink at Punta Salinas

Inside of Abandoned Salt Mine Building - Lot of Shoes

Old Salt Mines

Salt

Dead Turtle

Salt Ponds

Our next anchorage San Everisto we could see from where we were. The short 4.3 mile hop across the Canal de San Jose was short and uneventful and at 11:28a.m on March 17th we had the hook down and the cove all to ourselves. We had read there was a cantina here and a store so we hopped in the dink in search of lunch and a walk. The beach was nicely packed and we beached the dink along side a few local pangas and walked along the shore passing lots of fish carcasses and noticing all the houses along the shore. Finally we looped back around and headed to Lupe Sierra & Maggi Mae's restaurant. A group of kayakers who were on a 10 day trip were just finishing up and paying their bill. We had a couple of beers and Jeff some fish and me chiliquilles and we were happy. It was fun to be at a restaurant again. Full bellies and in need of a siesta we made our way back to the boat.

Cruising into San Everisto

Town of San Everisto

Shore

Beach Walk

Lunch

View From Restaurant

Lupe & Maggi's Restaurant

Enjoying our quiet cove so much we decided to stay a second day at San Eversito and once again we dingied into Lupe & Maggi's for lunch. I had also read that there was a fresh foods market so using his best Spanish Jeff asked Maggi for directions. She said it was close by and to just walk behind the restaurant and we would find it. Sometimes it's hard to find stores here because there are no store fronts and a lot of times it's in someone home or just a shed and this was the case today. We walked back and forth and then Jeff noticed someone with a plastic bag inside this shed on someone property and then we knew we found it. The inside wasn't much but we were able to get lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, avocado, onion and an orange all locally grown for only 6 dollars. Once again Jeff inquired about the mini marcado we had seen a sign for and the nice man working at the fresh food store gave us directions. Again we weren't sure we were at the right place when we saw three teenagers standing in front of what looked like a house then we saw a sticker on the window indicating it was a store. This market was all dry goods, mostly chips and crackers and cookies. Jeff managed to get a couple packs of cookies, some hot sauce and some tostadas. The teenage girl behind the register seemed annoyed with us and we couldn't figure out why. We took our bag and made our way back to the dink.

Anchored with the Pangas

San Everisto

Fresh Foods Store

Jeff Outside Fresh Foods Store

Walking Thru Town

Jeff in Front of Mini Marcado

Sunset

Sadly our time at San Everisto was over and with some weather and winds coming up we had to get going. We made what felt like the long 31 mile run to Los Gatos. The four plus hour cruise was our longest in awhile and we went back to shifts at the helm and lunch breaks. When we arrived the copper colored cliffs next to the beach were stunning. Shortly after dropping the hook with two other sailboats a panga from shore cruised out and asked Jeff if he wanted to buy some fish. He of course did and 10 dollars and one beer later he had a nicely filleted fish in the fridge ready for bbqing. After lunch we took the dink to shore and walked all around the reef since it was low tide. We walked up the valley of copper rocks as far as we could get without having to scale anything and finally a leisurely stroll along the beach where we met a nice couple from Olympia who were here on their sailboat. It was a great day of boating and exploring like we both love.