Sea Horse

"You'll never get a picture," he said. "The light is bad and the water is too ripply."

"I know," she answered. "But it's a digital camera, and you can never have too many pictures of water."

In Company with Talion

Isn't she beautiful?!

Leaving San Francisco, we sailed north with Talion to anchor in Nopolo Sur, another favorite spot. The southerly winds gave us the opportunity to "fly the chute," that colorful expanse of sail at the front of the boat. Patsy's is spectacular!


p.s. Stay tuned for more pictures from Nopolo Sur! Fishing at its strangest?

Isla Pardito

All the charts call this tiny islet "Isla Coyote" but to the locals it is actually Isla Pardito. We visited here last year in company with Jack and Joanne from Corazon...Marv was enthralled with the clams on the half-shell, diced and marinated all of two minutes in lime juice and salsa. This year we brought our friends from Talion, Patsy and her two guests, Alison and Laurie. There were no clams, but the same warm welcome from fishermen who have lived here for five generations.

Isla San Francisco

We found the cache, Rani and Chris! Tamales on us the next time we get together!



Our trip north this spring took us first to Isla San Francicso, a favorite anchorage, a spot with clear, calm water, a shell-filled beach, salt flats just past the sand dune on the beach, and a wealth of hiking trails that take you up to enjoy a fine view of the sea below.

Balandra

Our last day with Rozanne and Madison was spent driving to Playa Tecolote and Playa Balandra, two beautiful beaches just north of La Paz. Tecolote is exposed to the San Lorenzo Channel and was quite windy, though still packed with visitors from the cruise ship that was in port.

We have anchored in Balandra Bay, so it was interesting to see it from a different perspective. Marv hiked to the top of a ridge between the two beaches to discover a geocache; the rest of us stretched out on the beach to enjoy the hot sun. At Balandra, we waded through a quarter mile of shallows to see the famous balancing rock. We went with a watchful eye for sting rays (saw a couple swim away as we approached), and benefited from the good exercise for the legs!

Caleta Partida -- Portland Boats

The fleet participating in the Sea of Cortez Race Week 2010 arrived in Caleta Partida the day after we did, and the neighborhood picked up significantly when Talion (Patsy Verhoeven) and Adios (Craig Shaw) anchored next to us in the bay. It was a calm, quiet night, with just enough wind to sail off the hook next morning as we headed back to La Paz.

Espiritu Santo

So, we made it to La Paz without incident...the seas were calm...there was a little wind, but also a good bit of motoring to get across the Sea in the time we had alloted. We needed to be in town by the time our friends, Rozanne and Madison Junker, arrived from San Francisco for a week-long visit. We met them at the bus station (they had a flight into Cabo San Jose and took the bus to La Paz) and walked back to Marina de La Paz along the malecon.

The next morning, after swimming with the whale sharks off the mogote, we headed northeast to Isla Espiritu Santo, where we anchored in San Gabriel Bay (see our posting from January 27, 2010). It was late in the day when we arrived, so we spent an hour in our dinghy along the mangrove-covered shore where a number of frigate birds had established a small rookery. Then turned in for the night.


The following morning we set out across the flat arroyo to Bonanza Beach, in company with Mike Godsil (Trig), where we enjoyed a truly refreshing dip in the cool, crystal clear water. The colors are amazing!




It seemed most appropriate to celebrate Easter Sunday on Isla Espiritu Santo!