The Cruise of Mariposa

24 November 2009 | Fondeadero San Carlos, Baja California Norte, Mexico
20 November 2009 | Turtle Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico
19 November 2009 | Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur, Mexico
18 November 2009 | Punta Abreojos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
02 November 2009 | Bahia los Frailes, Baja California Sur, Mexico
01 November 2009 | Ensenada de los Muertos, Baja California Sur
30 October 2009 | Playa Pichilingue, Baja California Sur, Mexico
30 October 2009 | La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
16 September 2009 | Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico
04 September 2009 | Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico
03 September 2009 | Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico
31 August 2009 | Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur, Mexico
31 August 2009 | Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur, Mexico
09 July 2009 | Puerto Los Gato, Baja California Sur, Mexico
07 July 2009 | San Evaristo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
04 July 2009 | Ensenada Grande, Isla Partida, Baja California Sur, Mexico
30 June 2009 | Southern Baja
22 June 2009 | Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
19 June 2009 | La Ventana, Baja California Sur, Mexico
19 June 2009 | Puerto Ballandra, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Playa Pichilingue

30 October 2009 | Playa Pichilingue, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Eric/Diminishing Northerly Breeze
"Growing to the bottom" is what cruisers call it when they stay in one place too long. It's a metaphor emphasized by the awkward discovery when one actually gets going again that there are barnacles on the hull and the anchor chain is smelly and encrusted. Some boats grow to the bottom and become permanent features of the anchorage: We are not those boats. But still, when I raised the anchor this afternoon to leave La Paz, the chain was covered in orange fish eggs (just like sushi!), brown slime, and a few gooseneck barnacle shells. Bahia de La Paz is full of life, and after a week there we had grown to the bottom just a bit.

Just ten miles out we put the anchor down again, in a little bay called Playa Pichilingue, just north of the commercial bay called Bahia Pichilingue. From here we can see the giant Baja ferries to the mainland, and the cruise ship terminal and a miniature marina and a couple of palapa restaurants on the beach. Music and voices drift over on the breeze. We can also see the steep swells generated by several days' strong wind, the first Norther of the season. That Norther kept us holed up in La Paz, bouncing around in the anchorage and half-drowning ourselves in warm brine when we ventured out in our little dinghy. Now that the wind is down and we have a nice weather window, we can get moving again.

Just a few days ago we ate in one of the restaurants here in Playa Pichilingue with my mother and Richard. It is charming to see the place by land as well as by sea, even if the food wasn't great and the prices were high. Does feeling a little wistful about it count as growing to the bottom?

These ten wistful miles were the first leg of our journey home. We'll go north for a few more miles, and then south again along the East Cape of the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. Then we'll stop in at San Jose del Cabo and leave the boat in a marina there while we make a short trip by airplane to California. When we get back, the much longer Baja Bash will begin in earnest.
Comments
Vessel Name: Mariposa
Vessel Make/Model: 1979 Ta Shing Baba 30
Hailing Port: San Francisco, CA
Crew: Sarka & Eric
About: Sarka and Eric are on a 12-18 month trip to Mexico and the South Pacific.

Who: Sarka & Eric
Port: San Francisco, CA