Mexico 2020: Sea of Cortez

Loreto, Puerto Escondido and Isla Coronado

Puerto Escondido 14 – 17 Feb

Feb 14^th – Valentine’s Day! – Time to fly south to meet and join Paul on his lovely yacht. No problem at the airport in LA and no extra charge for my over-weight baggage (bringing boat parts, of course). It was Valentine’s day, after all, and the agent was a sweetheart to let my bag through without my having to pay the additional fee. I gave him a hug in thanks and we both were happy with the deal, lol!

Paul met me at the airport and we were off for a brief driving tour of Loreto. On the way back to Puerto Escondido, we stopped at a little beach-side café for a drink and a bite and met up with some sailing friends of Paul’s. They invited us to join them for a Valentine’s dinner, a special affair at the golf resort restaurant and we thought it was a great idea since we had the rental car until the following day.

Eventually, we tore ourselves away from the scenery and headed off. We arrived at the larger market (Ley) first and made our way through a fully respectable produce section and filled in some things we needed. Off to the second store then, where we made a few opportunistic purchases. We took a stroll down the pedestrian zone, which was about the right mix of quaint and touristic, but in a really low-key and appealing way.

Feb 16^th – Today we are planning to get into the water to clean the hull. We’ve been wearing fleece, especially in the evenings when it cools down significantly and especially if there’s a breeze. It was cold, even with our wetsuits on. We were completely “done” after about an hour… and I don’t mean finished with cleaning, lol! We decided the rest could wait for the following day. Our suits and everything else in the water was filled with tiny critters/krill that were all over everything and near impossible to remove – clinging to the seams and lodged into the Velcro of suits and booties, etc. We rinsed everything as much as possible but knew we’d collect more the next day so didn’t make ourselves crazy about it.

After cleaning up, we took the dinghy in to use the internet and decided to have dinner at the little restaurant in the marina at Puerto Escondido… they have a proper pizza oven and are owned by the same folks who have the restaurant at the golf resort where we enjoyed our fantastic Valentine’s dinner. We shared a pizza that exceeded my expectations. It was late when we made our way back in the dinghy and we were both exhausted, but when Paul put his hand in the water and came up with a bouquet of sparkles, we were immediately energized. It was amazing bioluminescence! We played with our hands in the water all the way back to the boat. When we arrived, Paul got a glass of water to sprinkle over the side and it was like he had set off fireworks!!! It was so fantastic that we both wanted to be in the middle of it all rather than bystanders watching from above. Perhaps it was the wine that fortified us, but it seemed like an excellent idea to jump in, and in we went. Brrrrr… yes, indeed quite brisk getting in, but we couldn’t help ourselves and splashed and swam around. After three circumnavigations of the boat, it was time to get out and shower off, at which point we started to freeze (but in a happy hypothermia sort of way, lol!!!) This was one of the most amazing experiences I have had… like swimming through a sky of stars and stardust! Words (at least ones that I can come up with at the moment) simply can’t convey the actual experience and feelings… suffice it to say that it was beyond magical!

Isla Coronada 17 – 22 Feb

Today we leave for Isla Coronado, but first we dinghy in to shore to get the IridiumGo! (satellite comms system) set up so we can download weather and emails. We motored about 4 hours into a light northerly wind and anchored on the south side of the island for protection. The original plan was to anchor in a bay on the west side, but it was getting late and we thought this would be a good choice. We didn’t realize quite HOW good a choice it was until we dropped anchor.

Almost immediately after the anchor was set, we saw a small group of dolphins pass by leisurely with slapping tails and forming a ring to herd and catch their dinner. We watched them cruise by and then suddenly, one leapt high into the air then splashed gracefully back down. He must have been at least 2 meters high in what looked like a jump of pure joy… WOW! They came back by the boat, so we enjoyed them for about a half hour. Then, there was a turtle and a pelican and a beautiful sunset to enjoy as well.

I am so delighted to be in this beautiful anchorage at the south side of Isla Coronado  – Happy Place – with pelicans, a group of dolphins that cruise by at least twice daily feeding, our resident turtle who pops up regularly but most often when my back is turned (one turtle viewed 30 times or 30 turtles with one sighting each, we wonder?) And there are cormorants and even a few boobies! One or two looks as if they might be blue footies but you can’t see their feet while they are under way, so not sure. There are blue footed booby birds throughout the Sea of Cortez, so hopefully I’ll get to see some with feet in full view and displayed with pride.

Waking up to a quiet majestic view of the Mexican Baja is both centering and energizing. Our pride of pelicans is there to greet us as the sun spills shadows over the soft hills of the island and splashes color across the rocks on the shore beyond.

Feb 20^th – What a day! The things we’ve seen here at this lovely anchoring spot… baby dolphins making sweet little jumps and leaps, 3 large dolphins jumping up and spiraling together, heaps of dolphin swimming back and forth, 3 whales heard blowing steam and sighted with the first cup of coffee in the morning. Then all at once, a sound that we couldn’t identify at first. Was it perhaps the next boat over launching their dinghy?… but it was calm over there with no one in view. Then we heard it again and saw a whale at the point do a full and spectacular breach! As if that weren’t enough… turtle viewing, first sea lion spotted, and a full range of our feathered friends. Finally, we were dazzled by gorgeous stars viewed from the fore deck.

Feb 21^st – We had a bit of stress today as we witnessed rude speed boats crowding and herding OUR dolphin. But then things improved with various birds circling in the thermals – boobies, pelicans, cormorants, and frigates – we could hear the wind rushing through the feathers of the frigate birds while diving for fish… amazing! A pelican came close by and then a nursery of dolphin swam just beside the boat. Our turtle appeared several times, or several turtles appeared once each. 😊 There were boobies galore, which always delights me. Still not sure what color their feet are, but happy to see them all the same.

Loreto 22 Feb

The coffee was dismal (really), especially after being completely spoiled with proper lattes on board. Note to self: do not order coffee out. They baked fresh bread and cinnamon rolls, and we bought some to bring back. We shared one of the cinnamon rolls while waiting for our order – which we were informed would take a good long while. The grilled cheese sandwich with egg, when it ultimately arrived, was good and worth the wait. It was nice socializing and then after a leisurely meal we set out for the fish store and then the two supermarkets, then had a walk about town.

At this point, I must mention how well we are eating on board… perhaps a bit too well as we have noted that with little physical exercise we are getting at anchor, we are perhaps putting on a pound or two each. Paul is amazing on the grill and also makes a pasta sauce that is fantastic. His sister is a chef and so Paul cooks using a thermometer as well… I’m sold, his chicken and everything else on the grill is absolutely the best! So many people tend to overcook things. We used a rub his sister mixed up that was meant for steak or something else but is fantastic on chicken.

Isla Coronado (take two) – 22 Feb – 1 Mar

Back to Isla Coronado… We went back after motoring over to another protected anchorage and scoping it out. It was small, already with two yachts there and at least one more to come and was a bit open to wrap-around wind. It took us about 2 seconds to poke our nose in and then immediately decide to turn around and head out. We headed up to Coronado and around the east side to see what the coastline looked like for future reference and diving opportunities, then back around to the south side for protection from the upcoming windy days.

There we sat for the better part of a week… delighted by all that was there to behold. Dolphins galore, going back and forth multiple times a day, turtles, sea lions, and a wonderful assortment of birds. It seemed there was always something to look at that took us away from boat projects or other less important things like emails and reading. I haven’t opened a book since I arrived – absolutely unheard of, LOL! But there were sunsets and stars and this and that… all too engaging to even think about diverting one’s attention.

There is something to be said about staying put for a while in one anchorage. You sort of become a part of the “neighborhood”. If you are quiet, the wildlife forgets about you and you just become part of their landscape and they come closer. You get a sense of the rhythms of their world and look forward to the comings and goings of all the “residents”. You see the nuances of the dolphin community… when they have “kindergarten” in session and are leading the small ones by, and when there are groups of larger ones only. When they cruise by quietly and when there is much tail slapping and acrobatic jumps to be witnessed. How they behave when the little tourist boats are chasing them, and when they go this way or that. All wonderful and joyful to behold!

We did a test dive to check out Paul’s new equipment and to get me back into the feel of it. I did a refresher dive and one other dive in the Galapagos, but that was a year earlier. It was fun getting back in and there were a few rays to delight us, but not much else.

We were planning to continue further north and were deciding on whether to head back to Puerto Escondido first to pick up some diesel and maybe get together with friends again, for a hike and dinner – kinda liked that pizza at the marina restaurant. We decided to go back, just to be on the safe side. The pizza had nothing to do with it… oh okay, maybe it did. 😊

Puerto Escondido 1 – 3 Mar

Off we went, a motorboat trip rather than a leisurely sail, as we needed to be back in time for our hike. The trail was just outside the marina entrance, and we put on our hikers and headed off. Apparently, these folks do this regularly and the start of the hike was an uphill sprint. Wow, I was hustling to keep up and when I stopped to look at the view back towards the marina on the way up, I turned around to find everyone had disappeared from sight. Up, up, up, we went. The pace was a little more than hectic. The trail itself was lovely, but I would have taken twice as much time to do the hike so that we could have enjoyed some of the views along the way. It was about 2 hours plus or minus and a tiring endeavor – stay focused, make progress. Once completed however, there was the reward of pizza dinner.

Isla Coronado (takes 3/4) – 3 – 8/9 Mar

We were planning to head across to a very close anchorage called Honeymoon Bay, since we were leaving mid-afternoon. We’d stay there for a night and then get a jump on heading north. Once out however, and with enough daylight still ahead of us, we decided to proceed on directly back to our “Happy Place” anchorage once again on the south side of Coronado. It was slow going… on the nose at 15-18 knots apparent. We fell off and hoisted sails (motor-sailed) at about 50-60° off our heading, and still weren’t gaining much advantage. We worked our way up closer to the Baja coast and then slowly corrected course and motored the final stretch. It was 21:00 when we arrived and got the anchor set. We thought we’d have a quick guacamole snack with a small glass of wine, but three hours and lots of conversation later, it was midnight before we turned in.

Back at the happy place anchorage, what did we see?… more aerial dolphin acrobatics – leaping like escapees from Sea World! Several days of dolphin antics – jumping for joy and swimming back and forth. The whole show coming to us… hard to get anything done between dolphin visits when we lunge for our cameras and snap hopefully for a mid-air shot of the acrobats. We also found that calm waters yield rays… first a ray shaped like a little black polka dot with a tail, then a bigger one and a few really large gray shaded rays with tapered wings. Amazing!

We decided we’d set out for Caleta San Juanito and travel up the east coast of Isla Coronado. As we headed up and out of our protected area on the south side, we encountered strong head winds and sloppy seas, so we continued around the island and came back down the west side… again to our Happy Place anchorage. There’s a theme here, is there not? 😊

Caleta San Juanito – 9 – 11 Mar

Traveling north to Caleta San Juanito (21 nm north of Coronado on the Baja… no dolphins when we hoist anchor (same as when we left the last time… some have a hard time dealing with farewells) but we left them with fond memories and good energy. About 10 miles up I saw what looked like a wind wave across the calm waters. When we looked closer (and it was headed for us!), it turned out to be a tsunami of dolphins!!!! There were hundreds and they were all jumping and leaping and, and, and… it was AMAZING! We cut the engine and watched them in awe.

As we approached the anchorage, I saw that there was a little cruise ship at anchor… ack! I knew there’d be other boats as this is a popular cruisers’ spot but wasn’t counting on a cruise ship. What we also weren’t counting in was another whale! With lots of boats already anchored, we had to think about where we wanted to drop the hook. We picked out a place at the back of the pack and had a bite of lunch to eat while we discussed whether to stay or not. Plus side: whale, minus side: neighbors and noise… generators running at sunset, digs barking, people talking, music playing. We decided to move to a better whale-viewing location with a little less protection, but the forecast was for mild conditions. If we needed to move during the night, we had a track to follow back to where we were.

And then, there were these strange disappearing birds. They’d all be sitting there in a group like a black puddle in the water, and then all of a sudden one, then 5, then all would go underwater for a count of 20+ seconds before they’d reappear!

We stayed 2 nights then prepared to make our way south and back to Puerto Escondido. We planned to fly out on the 13^th, Paul heading for Canada and me to visit my Mom, then return back to continue sailing south.

On the way out, we saw booby birds…. Lots of booby birds, and glorious blue feet!!! Paul was so kind, and we did about 30 passes by this little rock off the point where they all seemed to gather. 875 (or so) blue-footed photos later, with great delight, we continued south. Hee hee.

Puerto Escondido – 11 – 13 Mar

We are back on a mooring at Puerto Escondido. We’ve been reading and hearing more and more about the covid virus and we’re wondering whether it’s safe to fly out…  and whether we’ll have trouble flying back in two weeks later, as planned. We rented a car to do some provisioning of non-perishables, so that when we get back we can just pick up fresh supplies and head off.

We are driving to the airport. I’m thinking that perhaps staying would be better than leaving. I could watch the boat until Paul gets back or he could maybe go at a later date as well. Covid sounds scary. It’s not too late to turn back… are we sure we don’t want to turn back?… but we don’t. We continue on, we fly out, we say goodbye in LAX.

Then covid really hit.