Recap: Sea of Cortez III (w/pics and vids!)

We departed Guaymas for the overnight passage to Bahia Concepcion (96 nm) in the late afternoon on 6 December. We had only been back in the water since 5 December, but were eager to get out of Guaymas before the impending strong northerly winds arrived. The overnight passage should have been quite pleasant, on a close reach in 10-15 knot winds. However, since we had not been on the water for quite some time, the passage was a fight to get our sea legs back. Matt did a great job getting AEOLI prepared for sailing, and outside of some minor underway gear additions for the wind vane, we didn’t have any major equipment issues back at sea. 

Bahia Concepcion is a huge protected bay, and we anchored in the lovely Playa Santispac. It was kind of a strange sight for us because the beach is also accessible by road and as such also houses a contingent of RVs; we have so far been accustomed to anchorages with only cruisers. Our first visit to shore was on a Sunday and so there were many locals there hanging out and enjoying the beach. They were very warm and friendly, and Matt ended up eating some fresh raw oysters (out of the cooler of some guy’s truck!) with a young Mexican guy who works in the mines near Santa Rosalia. 

Matt having oysters with this guy...

Together with Phil from S/V Barlavento, we walked along Mexico Highway 1 to Playa El Burro on 11 December. We had a tasty lunch at Bertha’s Restaurant (best chile rellenos in Mexico?) and did a short hike up to a view point past some Amerindian petroglyphs.  

The next day we took a trip in to see Mulege, which has an interesting museum (that was previously a prison) and a mission. There is also a river running through the town, so it is a remarkably lush place in mostly desert-like terrain. The fish and shrimp tacos at Kulili’s just underneath the bridge were excellent!

A bit of freshies provisioning..

With a small break in the norther we departed Bahia Concepcion and headed to Caleta San Juanico (55 nm) on 13 December. We enjoyed the scenery on a gentle downwind sail. 

Am I in a sailing catalogue?

S/V Barlavento

This go-fast boat was just out sitting in the water. We're thinking waiting for a pick-up..

San Juanico is a beautiful bay and we had a great day on shore: a visit and offering to the cruiser shrine, shore exploring through an estuary, and a nice hike to a spectacular viewpoint. Shortly before our departure from San Juanico on 16 December, Ron brought us a sierra that he had caught from his kayak and we had fresh fish!

Our cruiser shrine offering

Fording the estuary

Our next stop was Isla Coronados which was a beautiful island from which we simultaneously watched the sunset and moonrise, followed by the combined sunrise and moonset the next morning. 

Moonrise

Sunset

Moonset

Sunrise

Isla Coronados is a volcanic cone which has a peak of 928 ft; additionally, the base of the island has an idyllic white sand crescent beach. We hiked up the steep lava rock trail to the peak for a beautiful view of the island surroundings, and after the hike back down had our first secluded beach day. It was a perfect island cruising day, and to top it all off we had some dolphins swimming along with us as we departed the island!

We had a quick functional overnight stop at Puerto Escondido on 18 December: water, hamburgers, internet, laundry, showers, trash, and a few freshies. We had only been out for about 12 days, but it felt great to get cleaned up and sorted. And the scenery at Puerto Escondido is always beautiful with the surrounding Sierra de la Giganta range. 

We had heard from many cruisers that Bahia Aqua Verde is a favourite, so we made a quick stop there on 19 December as we continued south. We walked into the small Aqua Verde village and had a meal at the “restaurant” (some lady with an adorable puppy serving food on her front porch). It was a really interesting isolated little village of small shacks with solar power. A place that we would fit right into!

A cold front was blowing over as we continued south to San Evaristo, making the coastal mountain scenery even more dramatic. On 20 December, we anchored in San Evaristo with 9 other boats, by far the most crowded anchorage we have been in. 

The front had completely passed when we departed San Evaristo on 21 December and we were back to sunshine and calm waters, perfect conditions for a more thorough visit to Los Islotes, the sea lion rookery at the north end of Espiritu Santo. We had visited last season, but did not get to swim with the sea lions since it was too cold. But this season, equipped with our new Go-Pro (thanks to Germaine, Dion, and Maggie!!) Matt got into the water and was able to get some fantastic footage. 

Red tide algal bloom making thick red clouds in the water

Getting spoiled by having fresh bread underway!

We spent our final night of cruising in the Sea anchored in Ensenada el Cardonal, on Isla Partida. Although there were several mega-yachts in the neighbouring bays, we had the anchorage to ourselves, and had a peaceful night of star gazing at an impossibly clear and bright night sky. 

On 22 December we motored the final leg to La Paz and tried to contain our excitement about arriving at the Costa Baja enough to navigate through the narrow channels. The Costa Baja and La Paz are both just such wonderful places to be, and we are looking forward to spending the holiday season here!

Sea of Cortez III Album