After a lovely 2 week break sailing and fishing in Los Cabos, at the tip of the Baja peninsula with 2 different sets of visiting friends from Austin, Ian and I are back to sailing alone, heading up the coast on the Sea of Cortes, bound for La Paz. We left the beautiful Puerto los Cabos marina at 530am, with only a hint of orange sky peeking off the eastern horizon, the lighted cross on the hill behind us sending a guiding beacon of light towards the heavens. The seas were very calm with minimal winds and the marina was dark and quiet. As the sun rose to a brilliant orange, a dark bank of sea fog appeared to the SE, resembling a distant shore line. Soon the fishing pangas appeared, making their way to the off shore banks. Once again, we began to see the flying stingrays arise out of the sea, 3-5 feet in the air, before returning to the water with a "belly-flop" noise. What an awesome sight, not previously witnessed on our 750-nm journey southward, until reaching the Baja tip. Are they mating, running from prey, or simply cleaning off barnacles, who knows?

We head for our way-point 3nm off Pointe Frailes, a rocky headland that marks the beginning of a protected marine-land park with a living coral reef, now regenerating after coming under UNESCO protection. Beautiful diving takes place here, accessed only with guides, no sailing or anchoring within 3 miles of shore. I long to see the reefs, but we must head on to make our anchorage, Bahia de Los Muertos, (not dead people, but rather "dead man" anchors) where we will rest overnight before making the final push to La Paz. The sky remains barren of clouds in any direction. A single sailboat passes us headed south, the fishing pangas are out of sight and we are alone on the deep, blue sea.

We reach our anchorage at Bahia Los Muertos late in the afternoon and anchor in 15 ft... the only boat in sight. A magnificent sail along the coast, lots of sea life, dolphins, jumping sting rays, sea birds and the occasional whale spouting in the distance. Completing our anchoring protocol, tidy up a little and head to shore to the only building in the cove...the Yacht Club. It was most pleasant to put our feet once more on tera firma and wander in to yet another food & refreshment spot to enjoy a beer, margarita and a magnificent fish taco meal, being the only guests we were accorded special treatment...nice.

It is now Friday 04 March, 2016 and 0530am - we left the tiny cove of Los Muertos in the dark to give us a head start through the narrow Cerralvo channel before the day breezes rise. This passage typically can be rough heading north due to wind, waves and currents flowing through the narrow 4.5 nm channel...but not today. An early morning panga heading out for a day's fishing our only company as we headed around the point toward Cerralvo Island and Channel, we could see jumping fish, sea birds and as we got closer to the channel, numerous small wooden open-topped fishing pangas heading for the eastern shore of Cerralvo for another work day at sea. A few, wispy clouds framed the slowly emerging sunrise. The western coast of the Mexican mainland was not visible; lying 180 miles to our east across the relatively narrow Sea of Cortes. It was already a warm, 73 deg at 0630am, with very little wind - another day of motor sailing ahead. There was a desert-like dryness to the air and a barren brown mountainous landscape defined the shoreline, with a purplish appearance highlighting the more distant peaks. Not a single tree or patch of green could be found seen along the distant shoreline to our port side. Over the next several hours we passed through the Cerralvo channel over flat, glassy waters which revealed an occasional sea lion or sunfish, no pods of whales could be seen. Drawing closer to La Paz, we entered San Lorenzo channel, separating the southern end of Espiritu Santos and the northern peninsular of the Baja mainland. More signs human life was welcome, few cruisers and more fishing boats appeared. The channel contains dangerous hazards that extend from both the northern mainland and the southern Espiritu Santos shoreline, leaving a narrow mid channel route. Again currents 3 to 4 knots can be experienced likewise afternoon NW winds can run from 20 to 30 knots in the channel but today our timing was impeccable...a very pleasant passage. Puerto Balandra & Caleta Lobos appeared off our port as we set our heading into La Paz, small coves with turquoise water and white sand beaches filled with sunbathers. As we approached La Paz harbor we pass the busy commercial and cruise ship port of Bahia Pichilingue. 2 hrs. ahead of schedule we pull into our new stopover, CostaBaja marina, complete our check in paperwork and navigate to our assigned dock... what a pleasant 2 days...If this is what cruising in the Sea of Cortez is all about...count us in!!

La Paz.... the charm and beauty of historic La Paz captures the imagination of nearly everyone who visits or passes through. Although, as the capital of Bahia California Sur it has all the modern conveniences of a growing population, its tranquility and easy nature set it apart from most bustling cities and tourist towns. For much of the year, La Paz has a mild climate, with warm afternoons and cool evenings. The summer month temperatures however become hot, climbing over 100 deg F...like Texas!!

The entrance to the harbor is strewn with shoal banks and sand bars however a well-marked channel stretches from CostaBaja marina or Punta Prieta into La Paz central some 4.5 nm distant. With at least 5 or 6 marina's La Paz well services the cruising community. Marina CostaBaja, our home for the next few months, is one of the newer resorts and marinas in La Paz, located at the channel entrance roughly 4.5 miles from downtown La Paz.

The CostaBaja harbor has two marina sections, one for larger vessels and the protected inner harbor for medium and smaller vessels like WheytoGo. Our facilities are awesome, 3 x restaurants, cruisers lounge, a small market, laundry services and access to the resort, fitness, spa, beach club pool and bar, a Gary Player designed golf course and conveniently for us, a free shuttle service downtown every couple of hours...life is tough!!

In our time here we have met other cruisers, Ralph and Pattie on Western Flyer [ a 41' Defever Trawlercat], Leshia and John on Catnip [an Aussie design catamaran], Bill and Carlen from Idaho who stayed a few weeks in one of the resort condominiums and caught up again with Mark & Isabel from Jollydogs who we met during our Ensenada stay. Evening happy hours on board WheytoGo, the occasional downtown La Paz breakfasts, dinners and shopping! Or just simply us two, lazing as the sun sets over the Beach club pool and bar. On more adventurous expeditions, a day bus trip to Todos Santos the artisan west coast town, attending wine tasting, pig roast dinner functions and the odd sailing symposium hosted by fellow La Paz marina cruisers. We often bike into La Paz along the Malecon, just for a change, sample margarita's, maybe its haircut or nails time or searching out a marine shop, or simply just to catch up with what's happening downtown. Where does the day go?... Is it still Saturday!!...such is our busy life.

Sharon describes our magical, one of a kind experiences...
Swimming with the whale sharks in La Paz Bay....a magical and surreal experience! The cold shock of the 68 degree waters we encountered as we quickly jumped off the panga into the turquoise sea was quickly replaced by the warm rush of adrenaline coursing through our veins. These beautiful giants were meandering just feet in front of us, requiring rapid strokes to catch up and swim beside them! The whale shark would cruise along slowly beside us, seemingly undaunted by our presence for several minutes, before taking a sudden dive into the deeper, more private waters. Out of breath, we would then return quickly to the boat, search again until we spotted another, and quickly dive into the water again for the next encounter. Ian did an amazing job of capturing these images with my underwater dive camera, in a challenging and fast-paced environment. It was all over much too quickly. Yet another stunning example of Mother Nature's majesty- I never cease to be completely astounded by the beauty and complexity of life under the sea. Amen.