PUERTO ESCONDIDO BACK TO LA PAZ

April 18, 2019

Boats Moored in Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido was a very scenic spot and the light was especially lovely early in the morning.  We spent a quiet morning and I made pancakes.  Then we climbed into the dinghy and went ashore to pick up Greg’s prescription, do a load of laundry, and purchase a few supplies from the market. One of the charter boats was hogging all the washers so I had to wait for half an hour before I could start my load.  I picked up an interesting book from the book exchange and enjoyed the WiFi while I waited.

Restaurant in Tripui

RV Park in Tripui

Our chores completed, we returned to the boat for nap time and then headed back to shore to take the short walk into the hamlet of Tripui to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant there.  I had heard rumors that the place had burned down, but these proved untrue.  Everything in Tripui seemed to be thriving.  The restaurant overlooked the hotel pool and offered a relaxed setting for a delightful meal.  My fajitas were so generous that I took half of them back to the boat with me.

April 19, 2019

Calm Morning in Puerto Escondido

Heading for the Fuel Dock in Puerto Escondido

We needed to visit the fuel dock before leaving Puerto Escondido and wanted to be sure that no large power boat needing two hours to fill their tanks got there ahead of us.  It was a lovely, calm morning, but we didn’t have time to enjoy it.  We headed straight for the fuel dock, arriving there by 8:30 for their 9:00 opening time.  Unfortunately, another sailboat got there ahead of us.  We grabbed an empty slip and tied up temporarily, spending the next hour fending off security guards who wanted to know what we were doing there and other boats trying to get into the fuel dock ahead of us.  They were late opening and then had to fuel the boat ahead of us which, mercifully, didn’t hold much fuel.  The attendant was friendly and actually listened to my instructions about tying up the boat, so we docked without incident.  Almost invariably, line handlers wanted to pull the bow into the dock, which threw the stern out.  Scout had bow thrusters and could control the bow, but the fuel fill was at the stern and so the stern needed to be tight against the dock.

Passing Isla Danzante

Campers Lined the Beach for Semana Santa

Full of fuel, we motored out of the harbor and headed, once again, for Agua Verde, passing Isla Danzante which looked like a sleeping reptile.  The wind continued out of the south, so we motored straight into it, not even bothering to raise the main.  Semana Santa was in full swing and every sandy beach was lined with tents.  By mid-afternoon, we were back in our anchorage in the southern lobe of Agua Verde, which was less crowded than it had been a few days before.

That night, I started to get a sore throat.  I gargled with salt water and tried to sleep, but my throat kept me awake much of the night.

Approaching Agua Verde from the North

April 20, 2019

Heading South from Agua Verde

The next morning, we got up and headed for San Evaristo.  Once again, the wind was out of the south, although we did raise the main and motor sail most of the way.  Not having slept much the night before, I napped much of the way.  My throat continued to bother me all day.

Whale North of San Evaristo

We paused in the anchorage north of San Evaristo to drop the main and were rewarded with the sight of a couple of grey whales who blew spray and wagged their flippers at us.  Don from Comet hailed us on the radio to let us know that he was approaching San Evaristo from the opposite direction.  We had passed Unleashed and Sea Note heading north earlier in the day and were sorry that we had never managed to connect with them.

Comet at San Evaristo

Despite not feeling tremendous, I agreed to go ashore for dinner because I wanted to see Don and visit Lupe and Maggie May’s restaurant.  Don picked us up so that we didn’t have to launch our dinghy, which was much appreciated.  We all ordered shrimp quesadillas and cold beers and enjoyed the view from the restaurant where we were joined by the crew of the Cal 40 Runningfree.  It was a very pleasant evening and worth the expenditure of energy, although I spent another rough night bothered by my sore throat and a stubbornly runny nose.  Eventually, I took a Benadryl to dry up my nose and that knocked me out enough to sleep.

April 21, 2019

I woke up with a throbbing sinus headache that rendered me incapable of raising my head off the pillow.  Fortunately, we had planned to spend that day in San Evaristo.  I took another Benadryl and slept until 15:00 when I awakened but still couldn’t manage to get vertical.  Greg had invited Don and the crew of Serenity, a small power boat, over for dinner.  I hid in the forward cabin, reading, while they made a nice fish dinner from fish that Serenity had caught.  The party was eventually joined by Marina from Hobbit Feet who dropped anchor shortly before dinner was served.  It sounded like they were having a good time, but I was a mess and didn’t have the energy to socialize.

The Anchorage at San Evaristo

Once everyone had left, I emerged and ate a bowl of leftover chili and some crackers.  The wind began howling out of the west and continued all night.  I was tired and easily fell asleep but either the wind or my cough awakened me every half hour throughout the entire night.

April 22, 2019

Leaving San Evaristo

We hauled up anchor and headed out of San Evaristo before 9:00.  Don had left his sunglasses on Scout the night before, so we attached them to the end of the boat pole and passed them across to him on our way out.  

Comet left shortly thereafter and it was sad to see Comet heading north to new adventures while we were heading back to La Paz and, eventually, California.  My season in the Sea of Cortez had been disappointing.  I had not been swimming since the first day in Ensenada Grande because the water was cool and the air temperature made the idea of swimming unattractive.  The perverse wind direction had rendered many of my favorite anchorages untenable and I had been unable to introduce Greg to any new places.  I found myself yearning for another boat of my own so that I could go where I wanted when I wanted, even if it meant going by myself. 

Colorful Striation South of San Evaristo

We headed south from San Evaristo.  The mountains lining the shore were striated with different colored stone and appeared very green in the grey light of the overcast day.  As the shore dropped away towards La Paz, we continued across the water to Caleta Partida, dropping anchor beside our friends on Shamaya. 

At Anchor in Caleta Partida

The crew of Voyager offered us a bribe in the form of M&M Easter eggs to take their trash to shore and then Lance and Pam came over for drinks, bringing a bag of a Canadian snack food called Cheesies.  We ate so much junk that we skipped dinner entirely that night.  I would gladly have sat in the cockpit enjoying the moon on my last night in the islands but Greg was in the mood for a movie so I went below and joined him.

It was a windy night and we had to get up numerous times to secure halyards.  No one drug anchor, however, and we did get a decent night’s sleep, despite the rocking.

April 23, 2019

Calm Morning in Caleta Partida

Shamaya in Caleta Partida

We got a fairly early start on Tuesday morning, leaving the anchorage just a few minutes behind Shamaya.  I was not eager to return to civilization and would gladly have lingered at the island.  It seemed a shame to rush back.  There was a plenty of wind and we managed to sail.  I was cold and went below.  We heeled over so far that everything that had not come loose when we heeled to starboard now came loose as we heeled to port.  As soon as I had secured the flying tools, trash can, spare batteries, and assorted galley items, I poked my head up the companionway to gently suggest that we reef.  We rolled in part of the headsail and managed to shorten the main without jamming the in-mast furling.  Suddenly, we were sailing more comfortably and even a bit faster.

Panga Headed for the Island

Of course, as soon as we shortened sail, the wind began to drop.  We never did manage to catch Shamaya.  We did get to see a huge pod of dolphins leaping all around the boat that stretched out to the horizon.  It was a quick trip and we were back in the La Paz Channel by early afternoon.  Just off Berkovich’s yard, we were greeted by a sea lion floating on his back with all four flippers in the air, trying to warm himself.  Even the sea mammals thought it was cold.

Passing Pichilingue

Sea Lion Soaking Up Sun

We were back in time for Greg’s nap and I got in some guitar practice.  Greg grilled pork chops for dinner while I made fried rice and salad.  It felt good to eat something healthy on the boat before resuming the rounds of La Paz’s temptations.