June 6, 2010

We had a leisurely morning today. With all of the quiet and no stress about getting ready to leave we both slept well and didn't get up until midmorning. It was another gorgeous day. Our only "dilemma" was whether to stay here another night or go on to Caleta Partida(CP). We had breakfast and decided to go the 6 nautical miles to CP. It isn't as hot near the island as it was in town. There is a gentle breeze out today. Very peaceful.

I really enjoy seeing the island as we go past. We sailed a little but the wind let up and we ended up motoring.

We are now in Caleta Partida. It is the crater of an extinct volcano. The eastern and western ridges of the caldera have been eroded away over the years. The formations and striations of the rocks all around Espiritu Santo are so fascinating. It's like someone carved all different designs. With your imagination you can see all sorts of things in the formations. There are so many colors. Even the water changes to different shades from very dark to turquoise to an almost florescent blue-green. We took several pictures along the way. There are lots of great white sand beaches. We also saw fish and rays jumping out of the water. I never grow tired of watching the pelicans fish for food. There is so much to see around here.

Espiritu Santo was made into a national park and all of the inhabitants (not very many) were relocated to the mainland/Baja. It is kept like a preserve with lots of hiking trails. Different parts of the island bring different sights. The last time we were here, we hiked up on ravine that must have been a large stream with large boulders. Another place is just sandy with low scrub bush. Yet another has different kinds of cactus. There are remnants of salt "farms" and fishing huts. One cove has the remains of a pearl farm. There are lots of birds and different kinds of shells and rocks. Every cove has something unique about it. There are lots of reefs and fish along the rocky parts. People snorkel and dive here. The fishing is also good.

Tonight we are anchored with 3 other boats. The head of the cove is a large sandy beach. The sides are very steep with large cactus growing on them. There are the remains of two fish camps on the shore. We are protected from the surf and there is just a gentle breeze. Today the boat only got to 80 inside instead of the 90-93 it was being in La Paz. I'm really enjoying being out again.