We left La Paz 5 days ago and since then we have seen no palm trees. We are truly in the dessert now. It's just rock and cactus but oh so fascinating to look at. The colours are so contrasting with the reds and browns of the mountains and the greens of the cactus and shrubs that manage to grow on the rocks against the turquoise blues and greens of the sea against the white sand beaches. Although I've recently taken a few watercolour painting classes in La Paz, I don't think I could ever capture these colours on paper or even on my camera. Our trip north into the Sea of Cortez has begun. While Ian and I were planning this whole offshore cruising gig, one of the places we dreamed about seeing was the Sea of Cortez. It holds some kind of magic for us what I don't know yet but we will find out in the next 6 months. It's going to be hot! Hotter than we can even imagine I'm sure, but from the people who have actually done this trip in the summer, we have heard nothing but positive things. Worth the heat and the summer storms. We have met people who come back year after year. We just met a couple who opted to do the summer in the sea instead of their usual winter in the sea. We will go about 4 hundred miles or so north of La Paz to a place called Bay of Los Angels. It has a bay within the bay that is a known hurricane hole should the unthinkable happen and a hurricane make it that far north. It is supposed to be full of wildlife in the sea and crystal clear water. We will be out of internet and cell phone range for a good part of the time that we are cruising in this area. There will be 2 or 3 towns along the way that we may be able to connect. That will be a challenge for me as I love to go online and read emails, blogs and news. But at least we have the ham radio and the modem to do emails and update the blog so I will just have to make do. The other thing is we will not have many grocery stores along the way. I've provisioned the boat with lots of canned goods and some dried stuff to see us through those times between grocery stores. The freezer is full and I know at some point I will have to make bread. And we will also have to do laundry by hand! I've gotten used to the mexican laundry where you drop it off in the morning and pick it up at the end of the day all folded nicely. Today we swam off the boat in water that was 23.5 degrees! It seems to get warmer every day. And talk about clear, I thought that in Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida (just outside of La Paz) that the water was clear, well we are only 20 miles north of that and it's crystal clear. I don't know if it can get any clearer! Tomorrow we will go for a snorkel and check out the clarity. Ian said fishing today he could see his lure flashing in 30 feet of water. I'll let you know how it is.