26° 43.926’N, 111° 54.307’W

We bailed out on the rolly anchorage at Isla Coronado at about 0550 May 19 and headed 22 nm further up into the Sea to San Juanico, which would turn out to be one of our favorites and is described in one of the guide books as “one of the most picturesque” anchorages in the Sea. The winds out of the mountains that had been so uncomfortable turned out to be evasive. They were perfect for sailing north on, but they played hide and seek with the mountain ranges as we progressed further north. We actually got the chance to sail part of this trip and make good time while doing it.

We were anchored in 14 ft of clear water over sand inside Pta. San Basilio in one of the inner northern lobes of this two mile long ‘caleta’ or bay, which is well sheltered and scenic with “fantastic geology” by 1130. There are several vacation homes that have been built around the northern end of the bay and we could see the survey markers placed about the bay indicating that further development was coming. The water here was clear and about 78° which made for great snorkeling. We got the paddle board and kayak out and put them to good use as well, exploring some of the inner crevices of the anchorage as well as getting some exercise.

There is a “cruisers shrine” located ashore that is described in the guide book as a place to leave a memento of your visit at. The “shrine” is actually a big bush and it has been adorned over the years with all kinds of trinkets or mementos bearing inscriptions from the various cruising boats that have stopped here. Not to be outdone we prepared an appropriate memento to pay homage with as well, and what better than a portion of a ‘Pacifico’ can, signed and dated and hung like a Christmas ornament. Of course we memorialized the event with digital photography and Marisa has posted that along with quite a few others from this favored anchorage. We continued our trek ashore to explore the northern side of the point and to search for the allusive “Apache tears” or small pieces of obsidian rock that can be found in the washes along the adjoining canyons. We met several other cruisers who told us that clams and especially chocolate clams were plentiful in the shallow waters of the bay, but we didn’t take any, however we did try out the fishing.

Mike and I took Pacifico’s dinghy out to the outer rocks at the south end of the bay at Punta Mercenarios about 1.25 nm out from the anchorage at the south end of the bay were some pinnacle rocks project into the lower portion of the bay. The trip out was an event in itself in that we encountered a pod of dolphins. We were able to mix in among them in the dinghy and I took some movie footage of them playing around the dinghy as we were motoring out. Not to worry, they are too smart to get injured by the prop. They like to run in front of the boat playing in the bow wave pressure and even in the dinghy there was no exception. Marisa posted the video as well. Out at the rocks we bummed some pieces of bait fish from another cruiser fishing from his dinghy and snagged about six ‘pargo’ and two trigger fish. We actually caught most of the fish with a simple hand line, using a plastic coke bottle and a handle and a baited hook. No fancy fishing gear required here!

Back at the boats it was fish cleaning time for fresh fish for dinner. Pargo is also referred to by the Mexicans as a “red snapper”, although I’m not certain of that classification it is a clean white meat fish. We all feasted on “red snapper a la Vera Cruz” aboard So Inclined that evening and had plenty for fish tacos the next evening and with plenty left over.

After several days at San Juanico it was time to pull anchor and continue north to our next intended stop, El Burro Cove in Bahia Concepcion.