Today’s scheduled hike for 8:00am was postponed due to cooler weather and the desire for a mellow start to the day. After breakfast I took on the preparations for our crossing, topping off the diesel tanks – which was made difficult due to the wind, checking the engines, and reviewing the latest weather forecast. Before heading to shore I started up the watermaker as we bled down the tank yesterday washing off the salt water coating from the trip from La Paz.
On the beach we donned our shoes and begin our warm up, a one mile beach walk. Then the bushwhacking began. I had made this hike twice before so I had a good idea on the path. Modification was required due to stumbling across a flooded area, last week’s rains visible still. Jean wore here GPS watch so it was nice to know how far we had hiked and we took our first break on the second hill overlooking the beach. The view was good but we had much better coming so it was just a short break. The rock climb began shortly afterwards and this slowed our pace considerably but we didn’t come across any snake and no one fell. One more stop for rest before the final push to the top.
The last bit is the steepest but the larger rocks made it straightforward and soon we were on the top. I headed downhill to a better vantage point to check out Bahia Gabriel and the ten boats anchored there. Folks seem to prefer the west side of Espiritu but I’m a huge fan of Bonanza. Happily I have never shared our anchorage with more than one boat. Checked that off the list it was time to reach the peak. So uphill we went for the short hike. The view was worth the work and as an added bonus we had cell coverage for a few last text messages before our jump to the Mainland.
Safety required the hike down to be at a slower pace. Working our way down I caught sight of a jackrabbit twice. Each time he jumped away before Jean or Vicki could catch a glimpse. But the biggest surprise was coming across a snake. It was about a meter long and black, I’ll need to look up what kind but thankfully he bolted before I got very close. I had been looking out for snakes for just this reason. The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful and we made it to the beach where the ladies cooled their feet in the ocean as we finished our hike along the beach. All told we took three hours and forty-five minutes and hiked 4.7 miles. A great way to spend the day!
Back aboard it a late lunch followed by a rotation of showers. Then siesta time, just a short nap today but a great recharge after our exercise.
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