Tidings of Joy: Will It Go 'Round In Circles?

Isla Carmen is the playground for boats based in Puerto Escondido being only a short 18 miles to the most popular anchorage Puerto Ballandra it's what Catalina Island is for boaters in Los Angles and Long Beach. After completing provisioning and dropping off our rental car we said our goodbyes to the nice people at Puerto Escondido and threw lines at 13:40. The cruise was a bit choppy after the blow the last few days but not a problem. We were both just so thrilled to be cruising and off the dock after a week in port. When we arrived we could see why the guidebooks called it a favorite anchorage and dropped the hook with 7 other boats. The bay is large and there was ample room for all and by 4:45 we were in the cockpit taking in our new surroundings. San Diego State happened to be in the final four basketball tournament that afternoon and we learned from our neighbors enthusiastic cheers and screams that they were doing well. Like us they hailed from San Diego but unlike us cared about college basketball. Fortunately SDSU won and the game was over shortly after we settled in and the cheers subsided. That evening we were treated to a spectacular sunset and felt great to be back on the hook again.

Goodbye Puerto Escondido

Heading into Puerto Ballandra Anchorage

Neighbors in Ballandra

Shore

Sunset Begins

Ring Around the Moon

The next morning April 2nd we went slowly enjoying coffee and pjs and taking in the anchorage in the morning time. At some point we got dressed and took the dink into shore to explore and walked into the interior of the island exploring the lagoons and walked all along the nice paths that lead to and from the beach. We took a long slow stroll along the beach as well traversing from one side to the other. It was a great way to stretch our legs and explore at the same time.

Bones and Shell Display on Shore

Dink Anchored on Shore

Walking to the Lagoons

Shore Walk

Beach

Vultures Eating Fish Carcass

Sunset

As boaters we are always paying attention to weather, winds mostly but also things like wave height, barometric pressure and temperature. So as we always do we woke up and checked the winds. And much to our shock another big blow was coming our way. This time calling for gusts up to 35mph. Our plan (or so we thought) was to take our time and circumnavigate all of Isla Carmen before making our way north. The weather had other ideas for us. This was a Monday morning and by Tuesday early morning it was going to be howling. We went back and forth with a couple of ideas one being head 4 hours north to a protected anchorage then come back south and finish Carmen at our leisure but that didn't make sense to us to head north to head south again. Finally Jeff devised a plan that made the most sense we would have a long leisurely cruise around all of Carmen in one day stopping and seeing several of the sights we wanted to explore and then by evening head back into Puerto Escondido where we would tie up to our same slip and ride out the blow. It sounded like a good compromise and better then going north to head south even though we be going around in circles at least it was somewhat linear and sensical.

So at 0824 we pulled anchor and set out to circumnavigate Isla Carmen. It was sunny and gorgeous and by the looks of it you would have no idea any weather was coming. We started our route around the north west corner of the island heading north then rounding the northern tip of the island cruising down the east side to the south then around back to Puerto Escondido. Our first bit of sight-seaing (get it?) took us pasted painted cliffs which is a quiet remote anchorage on the east side of the island were only one sailboat was anchored peacefully. As we cruised by I wondered how it would feel to be there alone and quiet. Bahia Cobre was next door but out of site of painted cliffs with not a soul in sight. We gazed and wondered and thought about how rough it was going to be there in the next coming days. As we left I felt a little sad not to experience the anchorage ourselves. A little further down on the east side was our lunch stop Bahia Salinas where we were the only boat there. We dropped the hook and tried to avoid the patches of eel grass on the bottom. We had some lunch and let the boat settled a bit before we hopped in the dingy to explore. The guidebooks talk about a sunken ship right in the anchorage which is to be avoided but makes for a good dive and snorkel spot. We set out to find it. And boy did we ever. I sat perched on the bow looking for anything as the wind waves blew over the water when all of a sudden a rusty pole shot up from the water and I shouted to Jeff to turn immediately. Luckily he was able to react quickly because another few feet and we would have smacked right into the sunken ship. As we looked over the starboard side of the dink more and more of the ship appeared and this long rusty wall appeared just below the water. We both were super freaked out and high tailed it to shore. Still a little nervous the old abandoned ghost town mining operation didn't do much to ease our nerves. We saw a lone fisherman on shore and said hola. The buildings were all blown out but a lot of their structure was in tact. Further inland beautiful abandoned salt ponds covered the ground. They were blue and crystal clear and looked like ice and snow on top of water. We tried to imagine what the operation looked like when it was up and running. After a nice leg stretch it was time to up-anchor and continue our exploration of Carmen. Our final stop on the circumnavigation was Punta Colorada located at the south eastern tip. This anchorage was large and beautiful and Jeff even admitted nicer then he expected. By now the sun was getting lower in the sky and it felt like it was time to head back into Punta Escondido and secure ourselves for the blow. The day felt perfect- narrated by mellow music, sunny skies and a light breeze and even if we were going around in circles and would be back in port yet again the day couldn't have been more ideal.