APRIL 24 to May 9, 2007

  We left Costa Baja, La Paz on April 24 heading for Partida Cove which is between Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida.  You can not believe the landscape along the sea.  You would think the you might be in the Grand Canyon, the deserts of Nevada or parts of Utah. We anchored in the north end of the bay and had winds of 15 to 18K in the afternoon but they finally died down by 7 and we had a very quiet night. Our next plan was to head up to Los Gatos for the night for we were slowly heading up toward Puerto Escondido and the Loreto Fest that would begin on May 3^rd.  As we were sailing along we heard Kalewa on the radio.  We had not seen them since leaving Tenacatita in early March.  So we both decided to meet for the night in an area close to both boats.  We turned around and went back to Evaristo and they sailed down to us. We had a great afternoon time talking on our boat and then we went back to their boat for dinner.  Marci is a wonderful cook and it is always fun when we get together.

 They left the next morning, going back to La Paz and we stayed to explore the area.  There is a small salt operation, a dozen or so houses, a school and a small tienda.  We enjoyed walking around and the store had some great fresh vegetables. 

We visited a Ha-Ha friend, Bob who is single handing Pantera.  As we sat and talked he told about being at anchor one night and being hit by strong winds that came off the mountains.  He said that it just hammered the boat and there wasn’t a pattern that you could anticipate.  Well maybe you should not talk about bad wind at night because that second night in Evaristo we started to hear wind at 10:30 at night.  It really got blowing and we clocked it at 30 plus, which meant Hank didn’t get much sleep that night.  The wind blew until 4 in the morning and then it was calm.  We decided it was time to head north up to Puerto el Gato.  This is a very popular anchorage with no houses or anything on the shore.  The rock formations at the southern end of the bay are awesome.  You would think that some of it was man made for it almost looks as if brick was laid.  The wind and water have done a wonderful job of carving out the sand and hills.  There is a very industrious fisherman who comes out to all the boats and sells scallops and lobster.  We ordered the first day since he was out when he got to our boat and we knew that we would be spending two nights at this anchorage. 

We did some great snorkeling on the north side of the bay and we probably swam over lots of scallop for we were not aware of the shape of the shells.  Since having some brought to the boat, we might be experts at identification. 

 We sailed out in the morning heading to Agua Verde which is about 15nm up the coast. We got there in three hours or so and then we had to decide where to anchor for it was such a beautiful spot.  We finally decided to drop the anchor in about 20 feet of water right in front of the town.  This is another small village with a tienda and supposedly a cantina, but we never found the cantina.  We did go in and visit the store and they were very nice with a good supply of fresh things.  We invited Bob, from Pantera for dinner and Hank cooked up some wonderful scallops that we had gotten in El Gato.  In the morning we put on our scuba gear  and used the Hooka to clean the bottom of the boat.  Hank replaced the zincs since they were now very small. 

 Leaving this anchorage and heading up to Puerto Escondido we encountered the best winds so far.  We were cruising along about 8 to 10Ks of wind when we saw the white caps up ahead.  Quickly we needed to double reef the main, take down the jib, and use the staysail.  We were sailing along at over 8kts in winds up to 30 and then they fell off.  When we got behind Isla Danzante we again had some good wind and when we turned to corner we motored into the port.  They say if you don’t like the wind, wait a while and this was surely true on this day  Arriving in Puerto Escondido we checked out the “Waiting Room” which is an anchoring area, the circular basin to Med tie, and the inter harbor. 

 We are presently sitting in a small little anchorage called Jancalito.   It is just North of Puerto Escondido where we went for the Loreto Fest.  We had our boat on a mooring ball in the main harbor.  This facility is run by Singular and they have marinas at several different ports throughout Mexico.  Part of the problem is that they have a great plan but not much of the facility was actually open and working.  The bathrooms were new and they didn’t have hot water or completely finished showers.  There was a lap pool and spa on the roof but it was not filled yet with water, something about some major filter part was missing.  We did use the laundry room for it had 3 new washing machines and new dryers too.  The cost of a load of wash and dry was 33 pesos, best price we have found; of course you had to be happy with a total cold wash!  We paid over $120 US for a week moorage, which is double what it was last year.  So many boaters decided that they would boycott the Fest and not come.  We were told that there are usually about 300 people but this year they had about 150 people.  We arrived in Puerto Escondido on May 1^st and stayed until the 8^th.  Singular must learn the basics of economics, they have shot past the point of elasticity and will not be successful until they reduce their prices.  

 We signed up for several volunteer positions and ended up selling hot dogs, chopping vegetables for the spaghetti dinner, playing bocci ball and attending a 3 ½ hr seminar on injuries that might occur at sea and what to do immediately.  Hank and Henry from Rapscallion played bocci ball as a team for three days and ended up being the first place team.   There were many other things to do including beading which I enjoyed doing because I was able to made a bracelet from very small sea foam green beads to which I attached small sea shells.  The fun part of the activity is that you really get to know the gals that you are beading with and it is fun to later meet them along our cruising way. I also learned to play Mexican Train which is a domino game that has slightly different rules depending on who you are playing with.  We had a great time at the Fest especially each evening’s dinner and the entertainment put on by the many talented cruisers who either sing or play an instrument.  We went into Loreto twice and thought the town was delightful.  The first time we got a ride the 25 kilometers by a gal who was going in to pick up some solar panels.  She was great for she made us a small map and they drove us around to show us the sights before letting us off.  We did banking, internet and a little shopping.  Banking was different because we used the ATM as usual but then I went inside to exchange the large peso notes for smaller ones.  We know that the farther you go north, the fewer places there will be that can change a 500 peso note.  Well the line in the bank was long and I was there for over an hour.  Hank would walk around town check out a store and then come back and check on me.  Sometimes I would not have moved at all.  We did find a fruit and vegetable store, hardware store, and the main grocery store.  On stopping to eat lunch and ran into the Cummings family from Lake of the Pines.  I taught their son Ryan about 15 plus years ago and Nancy worked in my classroom one day a week.  I had met them at Costa Baja, La Paz.  This time we spent time talking and it was great to hear that Ryan was working on his Master’s Degree and would soon be traveling to China.  I would like to think that he did so well because of my teaching, but I must admit that even back at the age of 9 he was a very creative learner.  It is a wonderful thing to run into success stories.  That is one thing I will miss on leaving Auburn is not being able to run into former students.

 We would have loved to sit and talk longer but they were taking Ryan to the airport to fly home and we needed to take off for other stores.  We had our collapsible igloo cooler loaded as we headed back to the bus station.  We were meeting another cruiser there at 3 to take the bus towards Puerto Escondido.  Getting off the bus at the main highway, we would still have a mile and ½ walk, so we all decided to take a taxi for 350 pesos.  We were told that the taxi union is very strong and they will get people thrown in jail and fined if they pick up people.  The day after the Loreto Fest we went again to Loreto with 6 other cruisers.  We shared a large van taxi for 800 peso for the day; he would take us anywhere, shop with us, and bring us back.  We had a fun time hanging out together, eating lunch, shopping and sight seeing. Of those 8 people, two boats were heading out the very next day and two of us were staying one more day.  We came up to Jancalito on the 8th and met one of our taxi groups.  They came over for margaritas in the late afternoon and we spent several hours talking about plans.  They were from Santa Cruz and would be spending the summer in The Sea.  The next morning we went to shore to visit Jancalito, which turns out to be a small sea side community of mainly Americans.  They have built quite elaborate Palapas around mobile homes; they have a 10 year lease from the owner of the area.  Water comes from the mountain springs and there is a 4 dollar monthly charge but no meters.  All lots are taken so if you wanted to join this beautiful setting you would have to wait until someone wants to give up there lot.  FAT CHANCE!

 We were also able to connect to internet at this anchorage by contacting John on shore, he asked for $5 for three days.  Most of the residents pay him for full time service.  They also have the vegetable truck that comes every Thursday, but we were loaded with fresh vegetables so we did not go to shore.  We did spend several hours of the day cleaning and organizing the boat.  Since this is our home for now, we continually work to have it more convenient and better arranged.  Besides it just gets dusty from having the port lights and hatches open all the time.