The first time we visited the islands north of La Paz, our trip was cut short in order to make it to P.V. in time for Christmas (to meet a friend who had to cancel after all). So we determined to spend some more time in the Sea when the water and air were warmer. After many days of red tide, jellyfish, dark water or big swells, we were all looking forward to the gorgeous blue of the Sea, and we were not disappointed.
Just before heading off, we were approached by a young man who offered to work for us, look after the boys, anything… he seemed both eager and nice, and eventually we hit on the idea of him teaching the boys Spanish in exchange for taking him to Loreto, where we were headed for the huge cruiser gathering called Loreto Fest. Matthew was indeed a good teacher, but an inexperienced sailor and he needed a lot of watching to keep him safe even on the Sea’s generally calm waters. Fortunately he also washed a lot of dishes, and cooked some great lobster when we bought some in Los Gatos from a panganero (for $4 each!)
This time we got quite a bit further north. The first eventful anchorage was Los Gatos, which became a favorite for its amazing rock formations, good snorkeling and an astoundingly diverse shell-collecting beach. Before we got there the boys took time out from their lessons to create some Domino art. This one fell beautifully!
Another fave place was Agua Verde, where the water is indeed a gorgeous shade of greenish blue…
Next stop was a quick one to drop Matthew off at Puerto Escondido and head off to the peace and quiet of Honeymoon Cove before LoretoFest overload, which worked out great. We decided to clean up beaches while we were there, got four of them pristine in two days and still have a lot of fun hiking and swimming.
LoretoFest actually takes place at the very well-protected Puerto Escondido marina/anchorage, but we visited the town of Loreto once by taxi during the fest, then again by boat later where we went to a great restaurant for Mothers’ Day. It’s a very sweet town, but seems to be almost abandoned by tourists, almost the only gringos we saw there were fellow cruisers – and there didn’t seem to be many Mexicans either!
Then it was off up North again for our final push before turning back. We let go of the turtle shell and dolphin skull that we had found on our second stop in Mexico, gave them back to the sea with appreciation in a simple ceremony. They were great if somewhat smelly companions for our trip, but the risk of being dunned by either Mexican navy or San Diego customs was too great to keep them on board.
We spent quite a bit of time in the islands with Rumiko and crew, Mac and son Al who hung with the boys a lot, and taught them more about fishing – Tino later caught one twenty seconds after putting hook to water, but it was too small and we threw it back.
Then it was back to La Paz for another week of Spanish lessons (in the school, though we did run into Matthew at an evening concert of all places). Jan spent a lot of time getting the boat ready for the Bash and doing a bit of PG&E work after being out of touch in the islands.
It was bittersweet turning around, as thoughts turn to home our adventure seems almost over, though it would actually be another month before we are even State-side.
