Hola from Isla Espiritu Santo, Bahia San Gabriel. We have been here for 5 days, and it is a quiet lovely little harbor. We chose this protected bay to wait out the north winds that have abated and are currently light from the south.

Now that the howling 40 knot winds are done we are seeing more boat and panga traffic from La Paz ferrying the touristas to beach picnics, and dive/snorkeling reefs. There have been a few rental sailboats and party cats in and out as well and it is fun to watch the comings and goings.

We have walked the sugar sand beach (I named it dead puffer fish beach as I saw so many), collected shells of which only 1 can be brought back to the boat making that choice hard, viewed the Mangroves and birds, and scuba’d the reef though it was max depth 15 ft (it will make a better snorkel trip next time).

We did our first dive from the dinghy, both back flipping off simultaneously. The effort to get back aboard was less graceful, but definitely manageable. We took our anchor down to set and had quite the time finding a rock with no coral so we could tie off. The coral here is the healthiest we’ve seen so far, and comes right up to the walls of the islands small cliffs. Visibility is not the greatest, but we are right on the San Lorenzo channel where currents/tide exchange stirs things up mightily.

On the first day of easing winds after the blow I thought we might try launching the Kayak (tandem-sit on top style). There were still about ½ - 1 ft wind waves, and we prudently decided to just go around the boat first. Well we made it ½ way around before capsizing when we went broadside to the waves. No hats or sunglasses were lost, and fortunately all our neighbors missed the action though the politely requested a radio call next time we planned on going out. Everyone has binoculars in the cockpit for just such entertainment.

Thanksgiving was a local affair hosted by fellow boaters anchored next to us. We had all the holiday trimmings turkey, chicken, rolls, potatoes, stuffing, etc, way too much truth be told. It was a fun night with stories from everyone including the French travelers who had started in Europe and cruised the South Pacific for 4 years with their 3 sons who are now teenagers. What a life for the kids! They are in route back to France where the younger 2 boys will be re-introduced to school. They had mixed feelings about that.

We are still awaiting a slip in La Paz so we can re-provision, and will hang out here for a bit waiting for a call from the marina as it is the only Bahia that has cell coverage and 3G data on this island. We have been trying for a slip since Los Muertos, but no one is leaving La Paz that we can tell and there are no vacancies. They tell us we are next in line, and we are not in a hurry.

Internet is such a luxury out here that I will not take it for granted again anytime soon. We have TelCel SIM cards, and buy data in 3 Gig packets for around $40. It expires every 30 days so its “use it or loose it” mode coming up. The process to purchase SIM cards and data is arduous. We stood in line for almost 2 hours to tell a clerk what we wanted, then stood in another line to pay, then back to the first clerk who was waiting for us to pick up the SIM cards. They are very courteous and helpful, but the process is different than what we are used to.

2G voice coverage is very spotty to say the least, with 3G even rarer. The Cell booster antenna is somewhat helpful occasionally. WiFi where you can find it is never open or free, and rarely penetrates into the bay/marina even with the WiFi booster. We are so spoiled in the States, and I will quit whining now.

Well I decided this morning I need to start a journal if for no other reason than to track the days. It took us a bit of backtracking just to figure the number of days here in San Gabriel. I can imagine it will only get worse as we settle into retirement. Well I am going to assist Morris in pulling out the compressor and re-filling the scuba tanks. Take care.

Deb and Morris
SV Impulsive