Back in the Saddle
San Juanico and Islas San Francisco and Caleta Partida
After about a week in Bahia Concepcion, we were feeling the itch to move south. Last winter, we had sprinted north up the sea, skipping some of the islands we were most interested in seeing. Isla San Francisco was top on the list, followed up by Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. These islands are closer to La Paz which is 120 nautical miles south of Puerto Escondido where we spent a chunk of time last year waiting out the northers.
Our first stop on our way south from Bahia Concepcion was Caleta San Juanico. We visited this anchorage on our way north last year when we had Carrie on board. It was one of our favorite places to visit. It’s a large bay with various beaches and trails, where we rode mules to explore the rugged landscape with incredible vistas. This year, we stayed in Juanico only a couple of nights because the winds were not in our favor, making the anchorage very bumpy.
We don’t have any pictures of the anchorage from this trip but we did go for a walk up the road to the mule ranch in hopes of getting some fresh veggies. It was a little too early in the season but we were able to get some cilantro and scallions plus a fun ride up the road to another ranch that had fresh organic eggs. The person who drove us was the same rancher who took us out to explore the land on mules last year. He was really kind and friendly.
When we left San Juanico we wanted to sail as far south as possible so we could spend more time exploring the islands north of La Paz. As we were sailing south our friends Scott and Joanne on Fundango were sailing north. They said they were going to Isla Carmen which we were just passing to our port side. At the last minute we turned Salacia around 180 degrees and headed north to meet up with Fundango and their buddy boat AO. Joanne had her sister Janice on board. We anchored first in Puerto Ballandra. We all met on Fundango for the sunset.
The next morning us girls went for a hike up the mountain and down the arroyo. It was a beautiful hike but given how early it was in the season, I ended up getting bit by the tiniest bugs called Jejenes, pronounced hay-hay-nays also called no-see-ums. I didn’t know they were biting me until the bites came out that evening. They are more itchy and painful than mosquito bites, and more numerous. My legs were covered in tiny bites that all together looked like a rash.
After a night in Ballandra we sailed around the top of Isla Carmen and over to the east side of Carmen to an anchorage called Punta Pericho to wait out a north wind. It was a beautifully protected anchorage with a giant sunset view.
The next day we all went for a hike off the beach onto the large rocky cliffs where around the corner we could see the salt flats of Salinas in the distance.
We left early the next morning and sailed south until we ran into another couple of friends on Sonrisa. They were also heading into San Evaristo which is a small fishing village across from Isla San Jose inside the channel.
We hailed them on the radio and made plans to have dinner with them at the little restaurant that Scott recommended which is famous for their ceviche. We sat next to other cruisers whom Peter recognized as being part of a popular YouTube channel called “Sailing Doodles”. It was interesting because the star of the channel went to the bathroom, and when he came back, the restaurant owner came out with a tequila shot while they all sang happy birthday to him. After it was all over, he said to us, it really isn’t my birthday. Ok well my best guess is they were creating content for their YouTube channel. That was entertaining for us to say the least.
The next morning we set off to sail down to Isla San Francisco. However, the wind was coming from the south forcing us to sail into the wind on a close haul. We hadn’t sailed this close to the wind since we sailed San Francisco Bay. Since we mostly sail downwind, we got to experience again how well our boat points beautifully into the wind. It also was fun reminiscing about our time sailing in San Francisco, California.
Since the wind changed direction, we had to change where we were planning to anchor that night as the waves would be heading straight into the main anchorage. While the wind started clocking around, we first anchored for lunch on the north side of the island to avoid the waves and then eventually we moved to the north east side of the island to anchor overnight until the next morning when we could move over to the main anchorage. Our final approach was long anticipated, and absolutely breathtaking.
We couldn’t wait to explore the island. There were epic views from the hill tops surrounding the anchorage. The angle of the light and the clouds made it even more spectacular.
After a week in Isla San Francisco we decided to meet up with Sally and Bill from Second Verse on Caleta Partida at an anchorage called Ensenada Grande. The anchorage was large and the water was fairly warm. It was crowded since it was a Mexican holiday weekend. But it was wonderful to see Bill and Sally again. They made us a delicious dinner and we got a chance to play dominoes together. Unfortunately they had to take advantage of a short weather window to sail north to Puerto Escondido which would take over 12 hours. They told us about the hike up a beautiful trail to the top of the island, and we hit the beach first thing the next morning to do the climb before the heat of the day. It was a two hour hike to the other side of the island for a grand view of the Sea of Cortez. After almost four hours round trip, we jumped into the water for a well deserved swim to cool off.
The Sea of Cortez has a unique beauty. The cruisers we’ve met along the way who sailed around the world say it’s a precious gem. We loved experiencing the silent emptiness of the desert in contrast with the abundant aliveness of the sea. Jaques Cousteau described the Sea of Cortez as “the aquarium of the world”. There are a large variety of fish, plus many sea rays, sea lions, turtles, whales, dolphins and sea birds.
Our time in the Sea of Cortez had been incredibly magical and we knew it was coming towards the end. We needed to spend time in La Paz preparing our boat for sailing in warmer, more tropical climates, which means the need for more shade in our cockpit. We hired a welder to create the stainless for our new bimini in La Paz. It was going to take a couple of weeks including hiring someone to sew the canvas for the top. By the end of the year, it would be completed in time for us to sail across the Sea to the Pacific side of mainland Mexico, but in the meanwhile, we just had to explore La Paz and make the most of our time there.
Love that photo of you two! You look happy and fit. Congrats on the momentum.
Looking forward to the next leg of your journey.