Geocaching in San Carlos

When you are at a marina for several weeks, there is usually plenty of time to explore the nearby area. Today we hiked the trail to the saddle between the two peaks of Tetakawi, the mountain peaks marking the entrance to San Carlos harbor. The trail starts at Km 15, with a meander through grass along the roadside until you settle on the one that will get you to the top. Then it’s a dry, dusty hike up in a stair-step fashion for half an hour or so, palo verde and cactus abound. The last one-third of the trail is steep and rugged (some Class 3 rock) and you would need equipment to climb the peaks themselves, so we settled for standing on the edge, feeling the exposure of a thousand foot drop to the sea below.




Our hiking companion, Chris from Nada Mas, had a car, so after our quadriceps-jarring descent, he drove us part way into the valley in search of the Cañon de Nacapule. We walked the last kilometer, finding two geocaches on the way, and entered the canyon about mid-afternoon. This time of year, the creek bed that flows through Nacapule is dry, but that only means the rock formations carved by rushing water in the wet season are more visible—and breathtaking. The whole canyon is exquisite—at the entrance, orange rock walls loom on both sides, patterned with swirls of rocks, niches and caves left by the volcanic activity centuries ago. We had no idea what the rocks all meant (where is Kat when you need her!?) but they were amazing. As we walked up the canyon, it became greener, narrower, wetter, and cooler. When it looked like there was no going further, we noticed a knotted rope snaked down a wet wall on our right and Ardy pulled herself up, hand-over-hand, to find that the trail went on, curving off to the left for another half mile or so and balancing itself precariously on ledges above deep, dark pools of water 20 feet below.




The search for our last geocache of the day took us back into San Carlos (we hitched a ride for a couple of miles, walked a couple more) and out past the San Carlos Country Club (yes, there is one, golf course included) to a new development tract and (finally!) Paco’s Hill. This was an open country hike, catching cholla spines on our shoes and carrying grass seed from one spot to another, until we found it on the ridge above the development. By the time we had walked the two miles back to the intersection that would take us to Marina Real, we were ready for a lift, quickly accommodated by a local driver who delivered us directly to our dock.

Hiking in the Gorge

Portland was beautiful. The hike in the Gorge challenging—the Gorge is one of the natural wonders of the world and should be on everyone’s list of “things to do…”



Miles (Grandson #1), here sporting Uncle Malcolm’s hand-knit strawberry cap, charmed everyone, as expected.

Thanksgiving in Portland

Traditions are important parts of the good life. For over thirty years, we have been getting together with friends from Seattle and San Francisco for a long weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. Each year we would rotate to a different city—Seattle, then Portland, then SF, and back to Seattle. Once, in 1975, we broke bread in Walla Walla, WA. As we have moved around in the past 8 years, the location has changed again, with two years running in the Bay Area, Berkeley included in the mix. New people have joined the group, sometimes a large gathering of many friends who are local, sometimes two or three who come from farther away. Tom Bouye has become part of the family…Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without his warm smile and wry humor…not to mention his Scrabble acumen. This year we were fortunate to be welcomed by Dennis Mulvihill and Olivia Clark to their home in Portland. They live in a retro-early 60’s home with space and light that is perfect for a large gathering.




There is a life-cycle to the get-together, with people arriving (Malcolm picks up Philip, Liz, and Miles from the airport; Paul, Linda, and Nick unfold from the car and stretch after their 3 and a half hour drive from Seattle; Megan waits outside the Portland train station after her trip down from Seattle; Marv and Ardy take the MAX in from the airport and the bus down from Lloyd Center to the old Sellwood neighborhood; John and Leslie fly in from SF and settle in downtown); the day’s food preparation (Megan’s cranberry sauce and green beans, Paul’s kugel, Ardy and Malcolm’s pies, Leslie’s dolmas, Tom’s wine, Linda on the gravy and mashed potatoes, and Dennis and Olivia sorting it all out, coordinating work with full grace and hospitality). After dinner, the conversation continues over clean-up, board games, and computers, and computers, and computers.



Friday and Saturday are dedicated to hiking, walking, more games, more eating, more computers, reading and continued conversation. Maybe one or two football games find a place in there, too. People move from one conversation to another, stop to read, take time for a snack, there is lots of catching up to do. Sunday is the day people leave…carrying good wishes, excess calories, and promises to see each other soon—at the very latest, next Thanksgiving.

Under Spinnaker

The winds have been better this fall than last spring...and we have been able to sail more than we did in May and June. Going north from San Carlos, we had 10-15 knots north-northwest winds so we could reach west, then tack back east and keep our boat speed over 5 knots. When we came back to San Carlos, we had a bit lighter north-northwest winds (8-10 knots) and a fine spinnaker run into Bahia Algodones.



Now we are on our way to Portland, Oregon, to spend a week with friends and family for Thanksgiving. The reports of a major cold wave coming down from Alaska and punching a left hook into Northern Oregon and Southern Washington are intimidating, especially since we have little in the way of winter gear with us! We may be spending a good deal of time indoors!

Poso Moreno

“Keep this beach clean. This sea is for everyone. Care for it. We are already living, but the vast majority of people have not even been born yet.”




We put into a little cove, Pozo Moreno (dark well), after a morning of clear skies, calm seas and northwest winds that filled our sails beautifully. We rowed our dinghy in, past a reef lined with pelicans on parade review and onto a shingled shore. Two fishermen were there, working on the motor for their panga (a small, open fishing boat common on the Sea). We asked about places to take a walk. One directed us south, “The road doesn’t go through, you’ll have to come back the same way, but it’s a good walk.”

The road undulated over the hills, graded at some point, but steep enough in spots to be a challenge to any vehicle. The small boulders and scraped rock faces on the inclines would prevent all but those with high suspension and four-wheel drive from getting over. On foot, it was no problem and we had spectacular views of the Sea of Cortez spread out before us, rugged coves below; dusty, cactus-dotted slopes and stark, craggy peaks behind. We passed middens of murex shells. A covey of quail scurried across our path then erupted in a burst of small thunder before resettling in the brush. Far below, just at tide’s edge, the remains of a 60-foot beached whale gave evidence of the Sea’s majestic cycle of life and death.

Bahia San Pedro

We sailed north of Bahia Algodones, enjoying 10 to 15 knot winds from the NNW. Four hours later, we tucked into the little cove of San Pedro, anchoring just inside a shrimp-fishing boat, between the shrimper and shore. It was our first time in Bahia San Pedro, and we had heard stories of insecure holding and anchors dragging. So when the weather forecast said there would be 25+ knot NNW winds during the night, we were on alert.

There was a full moon and it was easy to see the rock wall just to our west, looming very near (it definitely looked nearer at 3:00 AM than it had been at midnight! Do you realize how much BIGGER rock walls look under a full moon than in the light of day!?)

Marv set the anchor alarm to go off if we strayed more than about 200 feet from where we first anchored. With the wind and the boat action, the bridle (a rope attachment that takes pressure off the anchor chain) came loose and we had to let out another 20 feet of chain as we readjusted it. The alarm went off shortly after that, but the wind had shifted to the east and we were now stretched out on our anchor chain in the opposite direction from our original position. We clearly were not dragging anchor, but the rocks WERE closer (our swing took us closer to them) and it was still a bit nerve-wracking.

Bahia Algodones

The beach in Bahia Algodones (Cotton Bay) is named for Catch-22, the 1970 movie based on Joseph Heller’s book of the same title, which was filmed here. Remnants of the structures on the set can be found just off the highway north of Marina Real.


There can be a good bit of surf on Catch-22 Beach and it is easy to get soaked through when coming into shore in the dinghy. That may be why they named the palapa here "The Soggy Peso"?