Los Gatos

Our next anchorage was in Bahia Los Gatos (the Cats), where we snorkeled the southern reef and hiked up onto the sandstone formations on the north end of the bay. Sculpted by wind and weather, these rocks are creations beyond belief!

Timbabiche

We have anchored every season at Timbabiche, sometimes several times, but never gone ashore. With Cathie and Terry along, we took the plunge: the first night, they kayaked over to the mangrove lagoon on the northeast side of the anchorage, portaged the kayaks across a sand bar and spent a couple of hours enjoying the exercise and the diversity of bird life.

The next morning we dinghied into the beach and walked back into the brush where we visited a small village, distinguished by its brand new school, its evidence that residents respect Semana Santa and Pascua (Easter), its rustic cattle ranch flavor, and its curious children.

There is a story behind this settlement...apparently a fisherman/diver in a local family discovered a pearl of great value and built a house worthy of a rich man. After he died, the story goes, his children fell to quarreling and the house was left to fall to ruin...a vestige of what once was...and a lesson for the future.
(If you haven't already done so, read John Steinbeck's The Pearl. If you read it when you were young, read it again)

We have a policy of not taking shells from the beach...instead, we admire them, compare, remark on how unique they are, (maybe) photograph them, leave them for others to enjoy, and for the earth to incorporate as nature requires.

Kayaking anyone?

Our trip took us north, from La Paz to Puerto Escondido, a 6 day outing, where we anchored in small bays along the way. We stopped at Nopolo Sur, to visit our friends, the Leon family. But they were not at home...this is Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and families take vacation, visiting relatives in other places, going to camp on a beach, finding a hotel in a different city. Mexicans make for great tourists, traveling far and wide across the country! The Leons had gone to La Paz!

Cathie and I kayaked into shore, explored a bit, and left a message for the family.

Bahia Los Lobos

Our next guests didn't arrive until April 19th, and they proceeded to keep us on our toes. Terry Dolan and Cathie Blosser took a bus from Cabo San Jose, via Todos Santos and arrived at our boat just as we were finishing cleaning. :)

We still had some provisioning to do, so hopped in the car and went downtown to the market, bought some fresh bread, veggies and fruit, and were back at the boat by 3:00 PM. The sun doesn't set until nearly 8:00 PM, so we left the dock and headed to a nearby anchorage in Bahia Los Lobos, bay of the sea lions.

Yep, that's Terry and Ardy running up the hill...he challenged her, she took him up on it...but, energetic as they are, they were both walking by the time they got to the top! Marv and Cathie followed at a more sedate pace.

The ridge-top gave a stunning view of Balandra Bay. We've been there often on day trips (Dave and Suzanne snorkeled and kayaked there), but this was the first time we've seen it with water covering the sand. The tide was definitely in!

As an indicator of just how exercise-filled their visit was going to be, Terry led us back to the bay where we had tied our dinghy to a mangrove bush just after the sun set...getting dark! And we were pleasantly tired by the adventure.

Just another day on the Sea of Cortez

There have been fewer whales this year than last, but Dottie and Pauline enjoyed the sea life we did see---dolphin, sea lions, and the ubiquitous manta rays...you know, the ones that leap into the air, do flips that they'd earn a rating of 10 at the Olympics, and slap back down into the water. Can anyone explain just what they are doing? And why sometimes they are flying solo and sometimes there are dozens of rays all around?

The frigate birds are just beginning to hatch their young at the rookery in the mangroves at Bahia San Gabriel...we drifted by in the dinghy and watched them...cute little white balls (actually about the size of a small volleyball!) of fluff!

Calm weather and smooth seas made for a fine week away from the marina. The winds were consistent, allowing for some nice sailing. Out on the sea, motor off, it is amazingly tranquil.

Pauline and Dottie

Bougainvillea beauties!

Two years ago, Pauline Flynn and Dottie Eberly joined us in Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta) for a week or so sailing on Odyssey. They were wonderful guests!

This year we were happy to have them back for another week in La Paz on the Baja peninsula. We much prefer the Baja to the mainland (the water is cleaner, towns are less crowded, the air is cooler and less humid, there are fewer bugs [no crocodiles], and snorkeling is spectacular). La Paz is a favorite city, so we based ourselves here for the winter, looking forward to showing guests "the islands" to the north.

Dottie at the helm, on our way to Isla Partida and Isla Espiritu Santo. We anchored in Bahia San Gabriel, took the dinghy past the frigate bird rookery, tried to snorkel the coral reef (Pauline scratched her knees badly), and spent a couple of hours just walking the beach...the pace was slow enough for us to notice the tiny snails and olives making their way through the sand at low tide.

The thing you need to know about these two women is that they are exceptional conversationalists...we talked and talked...about so many fascinating things. Thanks for the wonderful memories, Dottie and Pauline!

Fish and seafood (mariscos) for sale at the local super market. This display is a far cry from the fish stalls at the open market downtown. Both have their charm...and both have great fish!

Banderas Bay Regatta

Marv went to Banderas Bay on Talion, joining Patsy Verhoeven for the fourth year as crew during the Banderas Bay Regatta. They had good wind, good weather, and (as usual) were the best looking boat on the water. Here Patsy is flying one of her many spinnakers...yellow, green and red...

Another year (the 4th) racing on Talion at the Banderas Bay Regatta.

Ardy held down the boat in La Paz.