Exploring San Carlos

San Carlos Area

4/1/18 to 4/5/18

We motored from Bahía Algodones to find another anchorage.  At first we explored down Bahía San Carlos first.  This house on top of the rock ledge would be perfect for my sister Carolyn because it has the best view. She has been one of my two sisters that have been keeping a watchful eye on our travels.  We are appreciative of both Carolyn and Marjorie for being our land based emergency contacts. 

There were more homes built into the hillside the farther we went.

 

e decided not to anchor at the end of this bay, as we noticed 2 boats up on the ground and figured the holding might not be the best there.  We motored out and found a cute anchorage below a high cliff called Shangri La Coves where we dropped the hook beside a steep rock cliff with some nice homes above.

There were several interesting islands a short distance away the we explored on our SUP boards.  

There were two large caves that we could paddle through. On the bottom one, you can see Dan paddling through.

It just happened to be Easter morning that we anchored at this cove.  It was not too long, before we noticed a lot of fishing boats driving by our boat on their way to view the caves.  It almost felt like a parade.  Usually the boats had 8 - 12 people enjoying the sites, listening to music and enjoying some drinks.  Each boat would stop at the cave and a picture would be taken with the passengers standing on the boats bow and the cave behind them.  At first I thought these were tour boats, but later I thought it was also various private owners taking people out for some extra money on this holiday.  

We tried to get a slip at the San Carlos Marina, but since they were not answering their phones, nor the VHF channel, we decided to paddle down the bay and go there in person.

It worked out well, and we were given a slip on dock A-18.  We quickly paddled back against a wind that was building, pulled up the anchor and motored into the marina while it was just approaching high tide.  

We had learned that the cruisers listen to channel 74 at this marina, and if we call in advance of our arrival, several helpful hands would be waiting at our slip to help tie the boat safely to the dock.  We were thrilled to be greeted by 3 fellow cruisers to catch the line.  To top it off, we got the entire run down on where to eat, where to shower, listen to music etc etc.  

I paddled into the bay several mornings before the wind picked up.  It was very scenic, some boats anchored and a few boats were on the shore after the last hurricane hit about 8 years ago.  

We decided to take a bus from San Carlos to Guaymas to go to Home Depot and Wal-mart for some supplies to ”winterize/summerize” this boat on the hard.  The driver was rather crazed and drove like a mad man.  Here he is counting the money as he weaves in and out of traffic.  

  

We enjoyed a nice pot luck with a few of the neighbors last night.  After a shared dinner on Malo we all met at a restaurant/bar that has a well liked and talent singer and guitarist.  It was rather impromptu which is always the best.  Andrew cooked the fish on his grill.

Steve and Darleen from S/V Mystic joined us as well.  It was interesting to learn their history in Washington State, as they were involved with taking in foster kids, especially teenagers.  Over the course of their involvement, they had (approx 1,400) kids come through their home, for various lengths of time.  What an admirable service they've done.  We all had fun listening to the music and a few of us even danced.  

I woke up with the intent of going for another nice SUP paddle in the bay.  It was a beautiful morning for it.

On my way back from the paddle, I had a craving for the rotisserie chicken a neighbor told me about.   Even though it was getting pretty warm, I grabbed my backpack and off I went to find El Pollo.  After I mile walk, I found it, bought some chicken with grilled potatoes, onions & pepper.  It was yummy!!!!!  (I did share some with our neighbor Andrew).  

Chicken is cooking with the potatoes, onions and peppers below.  It was the best ever!

We have spent 4 nights at the marina and will head back out on the hook in a quieter anchorage for the next 5 nights.  We have moved up our haul out date for April 13th at Guaymas Gabriel's Yard.  We are also planning our return trip to Eugene, Oregon and it looks like taking a motor bus out of Guaymas, Mexico to Tuson, Arizona or even farther is better than flying.  

Crossing the Sea to San Carlos

Sailing Across the Sea and Exploring San Carlos

March 31 - April, 2

Dan and I got up at 5 am, as we needed to get things ready for an overnight passage to San Carlos.  We were hoping to catch the tail end of a northerly in order to enjoy a sail across the sea of Cortez.  The dinghy got deflated and stowed in the V-birth, motor was hung on the rack and the covers were taken off the sails.  We drove Malo to the docks to fill our water tanks just before we left the marina.  The morning light was pretty as it started to shine on those huge mountains beside us.

We motored out of the marina with the belief that we would visit this place next year.  It is a well protected place for the northerly winds that frequent the sea.  It was perhaps one of my most favorite marina places thus far.  

Like Dan, I prefer to sail with wind and not be caught in a lot of calm conditions.  The strong northerlies make for a difficult tack north and often the waves are so close together and steep that the sailing is rather uncomfortable.  So I understood leaving when we did, even though I did not get to visit with my friends on S/V Slow Motion - Lynn & Curt, that had arrived yesterday evening.  

During the first 2 hours of our passage to San Carlos, we passed a lot of pelicans, frigate birds and seagulls hanging out on the water.  It was surprising to me, as usually the birds would just fly away when motors come close to them, but they held their ground and did not move. 

The conditions were good for flying the Code One sail as you can see below.  

The sunsets are always special on the water and we have been blessed with many.   

This is the same sunset although a little later.

The overnight sail was light wind and we never had to reef down. In fact we even flew the Code One sail around 2:30am which is something we have not done at night before.  The full moon rose just as the sun was setting.  As it rose and got brighter, it helped shed light on the water and made for a wonderful night sail.   I noticed a lot of dampness in the air which eventually made for the decks and cockpit to get wet.  I choose to wear my foil weather gear as the moisture was causing my clothes to get damp.  We did our usual on and off again shifts, with someone always awake on deck. 

  

The second day of the passage was difficult for me.  I did not feel that well and was not able to sleep well.   Finally, I put my head phones and slept on the couch and I actually took a pretty nice nap there. 

Once morning came, the gentle breeze we had eased up even more.  After several tries with our light air code one sail, Dan determined we would have to resort to Mr. Rumbly, our engine.  Neither of us really wanted to spend a second night out and the lack of wind was not helping us get there.  

One thing I have learned on this trip is that there are sailors and there are those that cruise on sailboats but mostly motor or motor-sail. These calm spells are often what cruisers look for to move from harbor to harbor.   I never really occurred to me that cruisers would have a sail boat and not sail, after all isn’t that the point of having a sail boat?  Dan has explained to me that some boats need 10 knots of wind to even move in the water because they are so heavy.  Malo weights 16,000 lbs which is much lighter than the 30,000 lbs boat of many of the other cruisers we have met.  Now I understand why Dan is so cautious of carrying too much stuff.  Different stokes for different folks, it’s all good.  

We had the privilege of being escorted for a short while by a few dolphins.

Eventually, Mr Rumbly got us closer to our destination - San Carlos on mainland Mexico.  You can see it off in the distance below. 

As we approached, it became apparent that this area was filled with old volcanoes.  It appeared brown without a lot of green vegetation.  This mountain is called:  Tetakawi. 

We anchored in a large bay called Bahia Algodones.   Once we arrived, we were shocked with the amount of activity - the beaches were packed with people, loud music was playing from every direction, motor boats of all types were zooming around with their music playing loudly, and the sand dunes on the far shore had races going on with their loud exhaust systems.  Suddenly, I remembered that it was the day before Easter!  I had also heard, that the Mexicans really can celebrate on Easter, and this sure was proof.  But, I forgot to take a picture to show you.

We decided to stay on the boat, both of us were beat and figured tomorrow would be a fresh start for us.  Things where pretty quiet upon awakening in the morning.  We had decided though to anchor at a different location a little 5 nm farther south.  This is what the bay looked like the following morning.

Here I am helming Malo as I am looking for blobs of seaweed to avoid hitting the prop with.

Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido

March 25 - 28,2018

We left Aqua Verde and headed 22 nm north to a marina and harbor called Puerto Escondido.  Our sail was a mix of no wind, and light wind using the code one sail and then finally resorting to the motor as the wind died totally.  We passed near some interesting rock islands.

The harbor entrance looked interesting and the mountains surrounding it were enormous.  Apparently this marina is formerly a Fonatur  Marina and was taken over by a private company and they are doing some major renovations and improvements.  Once inside, we were most impressed and discovered a very charming, well protected mooring field . 

Malo is sitting the mooring area for $20 per night.   We have access to new showers, terrible WIFI, free water, a nice store and restaurant.  It was a nice spot with incredible views as you can see in the picture below.

Dan and I took a great hike up a slot canyon that was a couple mile walk from the marina. This is the beginning of the slot canyon. 

It was apparent that a lot of water might run down this canyon at times, because the boulders were so big

The rocks were of all types and colors.  This one caught my eye.

We went as far as we could before we were blocked by a huge boulder.  

I finally decided that I should drive the dinghy around more.  Usually Dan drives, but no more.   If I can pull start that engine, then I can drive too.  (Personally, I would rather SUP but sometimes the wind is too great to SUP against and so the motor does come in handy.)  

I really enjoy SUPPing around and several times found myself beaching my board and going over the rocks to explore the back side of the anchorage where the wind and waves were always greater. 

I thought it would be fun to get together for a pot luck dinner with Pegasus and Passport which were two of the cruising boats we’ve encountered at various times along the way.  Plans were made while we all were out in our dinghies.  Below is Mark & Serena on Pegasus and Lou & Kari on Passport.  We decided to join for cocktails and dinner on Pegasus around 5pm.  

On the way to their boat, we stopped to see Passport and Lou was trying to decide which way to go. 

Serena & Kari are making last minute preparations in this spacious galley 

Mark and Serena are very hospitable and friendly, good thing as they own a bed & breakfast outside Glacier National Park in Montana. 

We had a delightful evening with fish tacos and various salads, as well as much conversation.  The next day we were heading out of this beautiful anchorage.