A Taste of Cruising Mexico

Our son's week-long visit will soon come to an end. We have enjoyed Josh's company, of course, but we're also thrilled with the "treats" he tucked into his luggage. Along with our brand new laptop, those bonus items included various computer accessories, a five-month supply of new magazines, a surf-board leash to replace the one Jeff broke and two large bags of black licorice (especially for me).

Tuesday we began exploring some of the islands north of La Paz. After months along the lush, green coast of mainland Mexico, the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez is a huge change. The vegetation here consists of scrub grass, cactus and thorn bushes. But this area has its own incredible beauty. The steep, striated cliffs are painted with the same glorious palate as the Grand Canyon. White sandy beaches and turquoise water are fringed by rocky hillsides which have been sculpted into shapes that seem to belong in a modern art museum.

Our first stop was Ensenada del Candelero on the island of Espiritu Santo. We all went snorkeling and Jeff bagged a triggerfish with his speargun. The water clarity has been amazing everywhere we've stopped in these islands. The visibility has been about 30-40 feet in some places. I've been spoiled by the 85 degree water on the mainland, but after surfing in Ventura (about 58 degrees) Josh finds these 75 degree temps to be like a bathtub.

Candelero was a beautiful spot with only one drawback--we were swarmed by tiny black flies when the wind dropped. They were a non- biting variety but very annoying none-the-less. So the next day we departed looking for a "flyless" destination.

We found what we were looking for at Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida. No flies--just crystal clear water and white sandy beaches. Josh did a lot of kayaking, and Jeff and I hiked to the other side of the island. It wasn't a long hike, but involved a lot of boulder scrambling and squeezing between thorn bushes. We were rewarded with a nice panoramic view--a great picture-taking opportunity. One the way back, we met up with a couple of the national park rangers. They were very friendly and polite. After asking to see our park passports--which we had bought in La Paz--they thanked us for contributing in that way to the conservation efforts on the islands. We were impressed by how much cleaner things were than they had been on our last trip 15 years ago.

After two days, Josh wanted to push on and hit one more island before we had to turn back, so we headed up to Isla San Francisco. The large crescent-shaped bay is very shallow. We tucked in behind the southwest hook of land in about 15 feet of water--a spot that really protected us from the swell. A problem arose the first night, however. When the wind switched around, it blew us toward the shoal area. At about 3:00 A.M. we had less then 9 feet under the keel, and the tide was going to be going down for another two hours. Everyone got up for an anchor drill, and we put the hook down in a slightly deeper part of the anchorage. On our second day there, we dinghied around the island and went shelling on a north-facing beach. That evening was the calmest, quietest night of the whole week.

Easter Sunday dawned bright and clear. We left Isla San Francisco by 8:00 A.M. With 15-20 knots at our back, we romped down to Caleta Partida in just a few hours. The wind is blowing through the anchorage at a pretty good clip, but we are well-protected from the seas. Josh is getting his final fix of kayaking and Mexican-style relaxation before we head back to La Paz tomorrow.

Hope all of you enjoyed a very blessed Easter, Dori