Ian and I headed north out of La Paz and up past Canal de San Lorenzo where we were able to put up the sails for a while. Unfortunately, there have been many passages on this voyage where there has been little to no wind or it is coming from the direction I want to go. It is a sailboat after all, and I would prefer to sail when possible. So it was nice to sail and also to let Wally take over the helm for a while.

We decided to head further up the island from where I had anchored with Elisabeth and John the previous week. We stopped in Ensenada del Candelero (Candlestick Cove). This is a small bay with two lobes separated by a reef and Roca Monumento. We anchored in the southernmost lobe and in the morning moved until we were very close to the rock. From the boat, we swam with our snorkel gear and followed the reef. There were many small fish along the rock. Some were a deep blue, but the most colorful had bright yellow stripes with a purple underbelly. There were other fish that were small and not as bright.

I was below when I heard voices outside as Ian was attempting to talk with someone. I came up and found a powerful inflatable with six heavily armed and uniformed men alongside. They introduced themselves as from the Mexican Navy (they perform some of the same functions as the Coast Guard in the US). They asked if they could come aboard and inspect the vessel and our ship’s documents. What do you say to a bunch of guys with automatic weapons but “yes”. The man who came aboard was very polite. He looked at our documents and the interior of the boat. He asked about our previous ports and next destinations and then they were gone. They did not ask to see our national park passes or fishing licenses (I have an annual park pass and 6 month fishing license, but neither of those for Ian). Whew!

We decided to explore other coves and headed northward to Caleta Partida, the cove between Isla Espíritu Santo and Isla Partida. As we approached the wind accelerated from nearly nothing to over fifteen knots. As the guidebook had suggested, winds can funnel through the anchorage and it was blowing stink where we would want to anchor. We turned around, unfurled the jib, put out the fishing lines and headed southward, eventually anchoring in Ensenada de Gallo. Of course, as soon as we cleared Caleta Partida, we refurled the job as the wind had gone back to nothing.

Waking up in Ensenada de Gallo, Ian and I were faced with a very difficult and exhausting decision making process………which of these beautiful coves would we head for next? Enticed by the description of white sandy beaches in the cruising guide, we finally opted to head for Bahia San Gabriel at the south end of Espíritu Santo. The bay is the March page of my Cruising World calendar I have in my chart table and the photo does beckon.

We decided to go ashore for a hike and inflated the dinghy. The motor worked and we got ashore where we attempted to cross the island to Playa Bonanza. It was hot and as we walked the desert like sand gave way to thicker brush and little gorse stickers that clung to our legs and shoes. Worried about leaving the dinghy on the beach with an incoming tide and the boat unattended at anchor, we gave up and headed back. He beach was very shallow and we had to carry the dinghy with its motor quite a ways both out and then back into the water. During our excursion we frightened the odd lizard or two and one rabbit that ran much faster and farther than our threat merited. And a bunch of crabs in the shallow water backed sideways away from us with their claws extended in self-defense.