THE SEA OF CORTEZ

THE SEA OF CORTEZ

Arriving in the (sea) brought a rush of emotions flooding our very souls. A great accomplishment that didn’t come easily. After two years of sailing “we were almost home!” With the end of each day we find ourselves getting closer and closer to our destination. Both having deep feelings of emotions but in very different ways. We saver each day to its fullest.

This season since we were in Panama Pearl Islands. Everywhere we traveled the seas temperature has been really cold and the water was dark green, so dark that you couldn’t even see a foot below the surface. We stayed aboard the whole time. The (sea) was a welcoming sight. The (sea) is so beautiful; the water is light blue and the temperature inviting. We saw more whales, dolphins and jumping rays then in any other country.

We feel so fortunate to have our deer friends Royce and Pam (R-Dreamz) sailing with us. They have spent a lot of time here in the (sea) before, and know all the prime spots. We spend our days in the water. We hunt lobster and gather clams and scallops. The snorkeling is increasable. Most of the Islands are only a day sail away from each other. When we sailed early in the mornings pods of dolphins would come swim right next to the boat and play around for awhile. It’s so awesome.

These are the places that we stayed alone the way to San Carlos:

BALANDRA: A pretty cove, with a mushroom rock that cursers have their pictures taken in front of. There is also a bronze statue for divers to explore.

ISLA PARTIDA: We anchored in Caleta Partida Cove. The best anchorage in the Sea of Cortez Islands as far as protection from the sea and weather. Great rock scallops.



PUNTA EVARISTO: Nice anchorage. Good dinghy trips.

BAHIA AGUA VERDE: Beautiful place, we stayed here the longest. Has a little fishing village, known for making goat cheese. We paid the most ever for cerveza then anywhere else. “When you’re out your out!” This is where we found the most lobster. Lots of snorkeling at Solitaria Rock.

PUNTA SAN COSME: This place has a seasonal hot spring behind the NW end of the beach. You can use it as a big hot tub. Lots of places to explore with your dinghy including caves. This is where the trawler boat (The Cat’s meow) sunk. R-Dreamz was here when it happened, and played a big part in the rescue.

PERTO ESCONDIDO: (Hidden Port) is the vortex of cruising, fishing, diving and RV-ing in this region. We moored in the waiting room located outside of the marina. The marina was excellent really cruiser friendly, you could even do your own laundry yourself! We saw tons of jumping rays all around our boat every day. If you are planning on coming here plan on spending a lot of money on transportation, because the town of Loreto is 20 driving miles away without any amenities in between.

LORETO: Loreto is the largest town N of La Paz on the Baja side. I really enjoyed this town, because of its size and feeling of safety. We were fortunate to have R-Dreamz with us, they know a few locales that drove us around and showed us all the hot spots with free food at happy-hour. You can only day anchor here because it’s not a sheltered area.

SAN JUANICO: Great snorkeling on the reefs. We found lobster. There is a cruisers shrine under a tree on the beach. This is where cruisers have for many years put the name of their boats on something and hang it in the tree. We write Mystique on a piece of driftwood.

BAHIA CONCEPCION: This is a huge place it would take you a number of years returning here to get to visit all of the anchorages. We stayed in Santispacy and Bahia Coyote. Here we gathered so many clams and scallops that we couldn’t eat all of them while we were there. So we ended up throwing some back into the sea. This was our 1st big gathering spree it was so much fun.

ISLA SAN MARCOS: As we approached Sweet Pea Cove, we saw a large pod of whales. We could see them really good but couldn’t get them on film. There was lots of Rays jumping all around us. I loved this place. Lots of dinghy exploring with caves and nice small beaches. This is our last stop before making the crossing over to the mainland side and right into San Carlos Bay.

Now I’m getting really excited to get home. I really miss my family a lot. I think Carl is getting depressed; he would stay out here forever if he could. Getting back to reality is not something he looks forward to. The last night he stayed up all night staring at the stars and listening to the waves. I slept like a baby. I know that we can come back here in the fall; it’s not that far away. So this is the end of this journey but just the beginning of all the things we can do with our boat and all the new adventures that are to come.