06/19/2012, Los Muertos
Our journey back to the U.S. began in earnest today when we set off on our multiple day portion to Cabo San Lucas before starting the bash. We left La Paz and Marina Costa Baja just before 7AM in moderate, trailing wind conditions which let us sail for the first three hours all the way through the San Lorenzo Channel and into the Cerralvo Channel, generally known for its high winds due to the venturi effect as the winds funnel between Isla Cerravlo and the Baja mainland, but not today. The winds died down to about 5 knots, so it was time to crank up the diesel and motor for the next four hours until we reached the southernmost opening in the channel when the winds decided to resume sufficiently to let us again set sail. However, just before setting sail, we were treated to a nearby (within 100 ft) visit by a pair of grey whales off our port side. Our sails then took us to within a mile or two of our final destination for the day, Bahia de Los Muertos, a place that we had visited and enjoyed last November on our first trip from Cabo to La Paz. We cranked up the engine for one last push putting us at anchor alone in the bay at midday. We spent the afternoon relaxing until a large (80+ foot) powerboat joined us in the anchorage and proceeded to anchor so close to us that we had to ask them if they thought that it was too close. The reply from the man at the helm at the time of anchoring replied: "No. We have enough electronics, and we won't be here too long anyway." Well, they may have had enough electronics for their purposes, but we became concerned that, with a slight windshift, we could be tangled up in their anchor line if not coming in direct contact, so we lifted anchor and relocated about 200 feet away-a much safer distance. Sure enough, before long, the winds shifted, and, but for the fact that we had moved, we would have swung directly into them or their anchor line, either option being unacceptable. This was the first instance of truly poor seamanship we have experienced since entering Mexico, and this boat was from Newport Beach, and it was obvious from a lack of any accent that these were Californians, not the natives that we have experienced in this very friendly and inviting country for cruisers. Eventually, the boat did leave the anchorage but only just after sunset, and we were glad to have them gone from our anchorage for the night. Just before dark, we were joined by another, smaller powerboat, and they anchored well away from us in the manner that one would expect from fellow cruisers. We dined and sat on deck until well into the evening to let the cabin cool down for the night as the temperature inside was about 80 degrees and not so conducive to a comfortable night's sleep. Tomorrow we will take the kayak ashore to enjoy the resort we had found on our last visit to this anchorage. There is a restaurant, infinity pool and internet which the facility allowed us to enjoy last November, so hopefully the same hospitality will continue.
Once again, we arose Saturday morning to clear skies and calm seas. We did have a bit of a blow out of the west in the middle of the night, but the anchor did its job. We casually spent the morning aboard Murar's Dream and finally launched the kayak in the early afternoon for our paddle over to the resort. We beached the kayak and began walking up the steps to the restaurant and were greeted with new signage: "Casa Suenos Guests Only," along with a resort employee who promptly re-directed us around the main resort to get to the restaurant. Upon arriving, we sat at a nice, shaded table in the breeze blowing off the sea and had a pleasant lunch. We were able to get enough internet access to take care of a few important matters before the internet connection decided to stop working. Afterwards, we took the opportunity to play some 8 Ball on the restaurant's pool table and also tried out the table shuffleboard set. We then returned to Murar's Dream via kayak, stopping to meet the people from a large fishing boat which had anchored near us as we were heading to the resort. Although their hailing port was San Diego, they told us that the boat was out of Cabo and that they left to go fishing and avoid the crowds building for the upcoming G20 meeting which starts in a few days. This is not the first time that we have received this type of report. They did give us some recommendations of restaurants to try in Cabo. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the cockpit before going down into the salon for a game of all 5s where Debra managed to clean Andy's clock. We waited for the sun to set before dining in the cockpit as the sun was still quite intense and bathing the cockpit in sunshine until it finally set. It was then another quiet evening before turning in for the night. We will continue our journey south towards Cabo tomorrow with an interim stop in Los Frailes, the site of the only coral reef national park in Mexico. We were there in November, but the seas were a little too rough to take the dinghy around the point and snorkel the reef since you have to anchor outside the park and then dinghy in or hire a ponga. It should take us about 5 hours to reach there, and if the weather holds like it did today, we will be able to snorkel this time.
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