We are currently anchored at Bahia de los Muertos on the east cape of the Baja peninsula. We arrived here last night about 6 pm after our crossing from Mazatlan. The passage went well with light winds, no higher than 12 knots, but unfortunately right on the bow. In fact, the entire second day produced virtually no wind at all and very calm seas. Thus, it was a motorboat ride all the way across. We saw many turtles on this trip their wet shells glistening in the sunshine. They are floating on the surface, for what reason we have not determined. But when we get close to them, some are swimming and some are just floating, some will lift their heads out of the water for a look-sea, but very few will dive under the water when we approach. It was comical to see that some of them had birds sitting on them. We also had a fantastic encounter with porpoises. It had been awhile since we had seen any as they were very scarce on the mainland side. These were large, in the eight foot range and we had as many as a dozen swimming in the bow wave at one time. The water is so crystal clear that we had no trouble seeing them around and under the boat. Coming into the anchorage we also spotted a whale, but it only surfaced once before sounding and we didn't see it again.

This is our third time anchored at Muertos. This time does not compare to the previous visits. On our previous stops, the beach was deserted and not so this time. Being Easter week, hundreds of people, mostly families are camped on the beach. There are dozens of tents and shelters. It is a holiday vacation scene as kids frolic in the surf and people are out in pangas, fishing. There are one or two jet skis buzzing around, a few kayaks, a couple on stand-up paddleboards, and a few kids paddling around a small inflatable. On the beach, there are people kicking around a soccer ball and several riding ATV's. There is also plenty of music and a few campfires going at night. Quite a scene of activity! We opted to stay on the boat today and do a few chores and rest. I went for a swim this afternoon and cleaned the waterline of the boat and changed the prop zinc. It is still a mystery to me as to why the zincs are going so fast. I've heard several reasons; that it's the warmer water (maybe it changes the chemistry?), the zincs are inferior, they wear out more quickly because the boat is moving more, and anytime we are in a marina, other boats are causing it. Some other boats are experiencing the same thing and some are not, so it's hard to nail down a reason.