December 5, 2017
We heard horror stories about the jejenes (little biting bugs) so while in Mazatlán we bought some black veil material and Vicki slaved over needle and thread to fashion us bug screens for the large saloon windows. And yes we absolutely needed them. But let me back up a bit. Matanchén beach from Strikhedonia We arrived in the afternoon from…
December 4, 2017
We departed Mazatlán around 6:30pm for our 100nm overnight passage to Isla Isabel, which has been called the Galapagos of Mexico. The passage was mostly motorsailing, which isn’t a bad thing since visiting Isla Isabel is only suitable in calm weather due to poor holding over a rocking bottom with patches of sand. We did manage a few hours with…
December 2, 2017
There is something meditative about climbing up a hill for me. So every place we stop, I look for places to go hiking. The lighthouse (Faro) in Mazatlán is a famous spot to capture pictures of the city from above. Easy to access from the centro district, it takes maybe twenty minutes to walk to the base of the hill.…
November 20, 2017
First we had to get to Isla San Francisco from Los Gatos, just a 38 mile run. With the majority of the trip in the channel between Isla San Jose and the Baja, I knew the winds can blow through here and we happily accepted that they did! We saw our fastest speeds of the trip with the GPS recording…
November 15, 2017
Two days in Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen was just not enough time to fully enjoy this former salt mine. At one time I’d call it a town but its current state of decay moves it down to simply a hunting lodge – however the small church is still immaculate. We had heard that it was best to ask permission…
November 13, 2017
Leaving Santa Domingo for San Juanico we realized that the quiet anchorages we had been enjoying the past few weeks was likely coming to an end. But San Juanico is well worth more crowds and definitely ranks in our top 5 places in the Sea of Cortez. This fifty mile hop was more downwind double headsail cruising – I live…
November 5, 2017
We really enjoyed San Francisquito. I mean really what isn’t to enjoy? Great fishing, check! Great snorkeling, check! Good hiking, check! Dolphins, check! Anchorage slot at San Francisquito There is a narrow slot in the bay of San Francisquito, which is a perfect place to wait out strong winds. Lucky for us the weather was calm since the slot was…
April 4, 2017
Just a short hop from La Paz on the Southern end of Isla Espirito Santos is Bahia San Gabriel. A large bay that in years past produced black pearls. Stumbling around the channels and piles of discard shells it was an interesting place to explore and picture the enormous number of hours it took to construct the infrastructure. Looks like…
March 28, 2017
Our guide book mentioned hiking in the hills surrounding San Evaristo along with a lack of established trails. I took this as a fun challenge to bushwack up to the various peaks 750 feet above the bay. Starting from the beach up the dirt road to the school where I veered off towards a promising looking gully that had hike-able…
February 12, 2017
There is something special about pulling into an empty anchorage. One so beautiful as Los Gatos and it is truly a magical experience. Further from the beach than normal due to the shallow sloping shore but it was nice to be anchored in only ten feet of water, a far cry from our typical 20-25 feet. Jean was looking for…
February 5, 2017
We ended up extending our visit at Agua Verde to four nights, enjoying the peaceful fishing village and hiking opportunities. This is a popular destination, and one night we had 11 neighbors in the anchorage. Beautiful sunrise each morning The guide book mentioned a restaurant in the village. While we did see this restaurant (which is located in the “town”)…
February 1, 2017
With the calm winds and waves we departed La Paz. After twelve weeks in La Paz, it was a bit of a shakedown cruise to Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida. Motoring out of the La Paz channel We were the first boat to pull into the anchorage but before long we were joined by four other boats. A bit of…