WHERE HAVE WE BEEN THE LAST FEW WEEKS???
To recap: we told you about having sailed past the Painted Cliffs of Isla Carmen and anchoring at five fathoms of water on a sandy bottom at Bahia Salinas. We made our way to Puerto Escondido where we shared with you our "God-thing"!!! Remember the "whirl wind" experience we had in the harbor returning to our boat just in time? A few days and a pot luck later we departed at a respectful hour of 8:45 am from the hidden port and made our way to the Hot Springs at Punta El Carrizalita. Just north of San Cosme, where two small islands lie north of the point the amazing phenomena of water –hot water gushing out into the sea. It was a beautiful day and as we anchored for the afternoon just off the point to dingy into the springs we remarked as to how peaceful it was! As you can see from our pictures we were successful in finding the springs. Claes found it on a rocky reef connecting a very small island to mainland Baja just south of the Punta. We walked around and got wet as the temperatures are starting to get higher. We were not inspired to have a bath even though the water was very, very hot……just barely allowing us to dip our feet in it! The water being rather shallow was not that inviting as it appeared rather scummy. It was amazing to see water bubbling up right out of the ground which would shortly be engulfed when the tide came in. We did enjoy our swim in the little bay. It was incredibly warm and the fish we saw were brilliant colors and numerous. Claes spotted an Osprey nest on top of the rocks so had to hike around to see if there was a way up! He sure wanted to inspect that at close range. Reluctantly he made our way back to board the White Shell. By 14:00 we were away arriving in Aqua Verdi after a couple of hours of nice sailing!!! Yes, we are finally sailing as we are heading south and the North winds continue to blow at our stern!!!!
It was a nice surprise to see the s/v Mandalaya anchored at Bahia Agua Verde and we spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with Tony and getting to know his beautiful lady friend, Bonita. Anthony is the gentlemen we shared our Christmas Eve with. We have been anxious to meet his fine lady and we look forward to getting to know her better when she comes to visit us in Canada…………she lives in Vancouver East End. The next few days were spent showing them around as we had previously been here…..it felt good to be the tour guide. We also met Judy and Hugh on the S/V Sailing Bird. Hailing from Oregon they are hoping to make their way down to Panama next year as well so we had a lot to chat about! We shared a fantastic and authentic Italian feast on board the Mandalaya and knit yet more friendships. As they motored northward in the morning our prayers followed them out of the bay past Roca Solitaria.
At 9:15 we also weighed anchor and were away towards Puerto Los Gatos. Now in Spanish that means The Cats. (watch for more of a story to that!) The day was enjoyable with comfortable sailing as a small amount of swell and favorable winds were coming from the north; we made our way south and arrived at 13:00. Puerto los Gatos is famous for its rock formations and rainbow of colors and yes it was breathtaking! Be sure to check out the pictures we took! The one here is a sample! Who is that movie starlette?????The large smooth rocks that rise from the water have a brilliant red hue and reminded me of huge mocha chocolate mounds! Many years of the wind and surf thrashing and splashing on them has left an incredible soft texture to The next day we explored the mounds and mounds of rocks and reef. Claes discovered a beautiful expanse of green meadow like area , which I was grateful to see-- as you know---I do miss the green!!! . Our leisurely stroll was great as we limbered our legs to see more and more shades of green as the season of spring is so apparent in the production of the cacti barely in bloom and the bushes turning a lush green. Saw lots of cow dung---but no cows. Part of me prays for rain as I know it would just explode with vibrant color even if for just a short time.
Later that evening we were entertained by the longboats that were anchored and practicing procedures in the bay. There were five teams. Once on line I will
We also left , shortly after lunch and made a long trip to Timabiche, which is three nautical miles away in the Bahia San Carlos!! Miles and miles of sandy beach and the beautiful backdrop of the striated Sierra de la Giganta range was our view for the rest of the day. We paddled to shore and walked to see the famous Casa Grande or Large House. The story goes that in the 1920's a boat less local fisherman harvested a large pearl, reported to be a t least 5 carets. Even after receiving a less than fair offer from the pearl merchants in La Paz the money was enough to finance a fleet of fishing boats as well as building the Grand House. . After his death the heirs could not decide what to do with it! It is very sad to see that it has been left to ruin. Local fisherman make their camps on the water's edge and some locals have built homes surrounding the Casa and appear to be cattle people! These homes seem to be built from cement. Again look at the pictures of the school ( I did not take many pictures here as the folks were rather poverty stricken and I just did not feel comfortable impinging upon their privacy.)
On our way back to the beach we came upon a little ranch. The entire yard was fenced and at the far east portion incased a small barn like structure that at the moment was guarded by huge black bull. The lady of the house came out a her wagon filled with hand embroidery of pillows and table runners. Tagging along behind her was her son, Jesus( Hayzus) who was probably five and his little sister Michale, who was eventually sitting in the dirt. Her big brown eyes starred up at me and I asked if I could hold her. She was so tiny and light!!! She hung on to me and I was mesmerized! Once an abuella (grandma) always an abuella- and in my case a very lonely one I began to sing to her and danced a little jig! Her mom said she could not hear and therefore was not talking. After a few kisses on her cheek I noticed that she was rather taken by Claes. She was rather comfortable tucked into my arms. I prompted him to take his hat and glasses off and reluctantly she gave him a very wee smile with her eyes. Oh, those eyes, so dark and so questioning! Her brother Jesus, still leary just stood a few feet away and starred at us. The two were well dressed and clean but so quite. The mom was rather talkative and really wanted to sell us her wares. (It was unfortunate that we had left our pesos on the boat—perhaps a blessing as it is always so difficult to say no!) As I looked around though, you could tell they were pretty well fixed up. The rather large court yard in front of the little house was outlined with yet another fence and you could see tall bushes and flowers standing as a wind breaker. There was an outdoor cooking area and a brightly laden table . The little Toyota truck under the lean-to reminded me of my one from Canada. T he family dog barked to let us know he was doing his job of protecting his family but was being silenced by the women who was desperately attempting to get our attention back to her wagon.
In my heart I was wishing that Claes would take a picture but instead, when she said again that Michale could not hear me when I sang to her, I put my hands together to signify prayer then touched her right ear and prayed for God to heal her. I kissed her a few times on the cheek-she was so lovely!!! The mother thanked us and with the little one back on the ground we said adios! They were such gentle folks and as I tore myself away to walk back to the boat my heart was sad! I kinda wondered what had just happened back there???
On our way back at the boat we met Jimmy and his buddy in a older but in good shape Ford pickup. They asked us we wanted some lagosta and we said yes yes. We have been looking for lobster since we got to the Baja and finally made contact. He made his delivery bright and early the next morning which enabled us to take leave. We set a course for Isla San Jose hoping to spend the night at Mangle Solo which is on the western side of the island about seven miles across from San Evaristo. As we approached the bay we saw a few dolphins and lots of jumping fish!!! There was a fish camp on the beach and upon assessment The Captain opted to continue on as the forecast was for more and stronger NNW winds and this spot would not provide appropriate protection. So we crossed over to the little fishing village San Evaristo, which was where a month or so ago we had spend the morning at the school………remember? We have gone full circle. Supper that tonight was a galley set up and fit to dine with the elite!!!! Lagousta and fresh avocado and tomato salad and roasted potatoes!!!! Hmmm. Hmmmm. Check out the pictures that the Captain took of that! The Captain had challenged me to another game of Gin Rummy……………..oh, what a sucker for punishment I am. He beat me bad the previous night…………….severely. My thought was to best try to make better of it. We were hopeful that we would be comfortable along with the twelve other vessels in the bay as we have had to anchor in nearly 55 feet of water. This is a lot deeper than we have been anchoring . This is reminiscent of how we do in Canada. The wind was suppose to come from the NNW and it has for the last three days. Times it gust well over 30 miles an hour. The first night was the worst with the Captain doing the anchor watch most of the night! All went well and by Sunday we were suffering from cabin fever………….so struggle that it was with the wind we launched the dingy and went to shore. After a walk about we found the little Tienda open and selected a few minimal provisions to make our way back to the boat. We did get a little wet!!!!!
Back to the Gin Rummy ; I must admit I have been getting beat bad. That is usually not the way it goes so The Captain finally had to be put in his place last night as I beat him by 50 whole points!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess there will be another game to see who really is the Champion!!!!
The wind has begun to lay down and we hope to move on tomorrow. Mean while Claes has finished re varnishing the exterior teak toe rails and I treated the cabin doors and interior wood work. The oven and I were busy as we made a great loaf of bread as well as some Johnny cake . Both Claes and I have books that we are engrossed in so the day will run its course as we sit in the wheel house basking in the Mexican sun………….suppose to be 87 degrees today. Every day we subconsciously count the days left and know that soon this too will be a memory.
Lue
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