Bahia Agua Verde

We arrived at Bahia Agua Verde to find the south anchorage fairly crowded.  We decided to anchor off the main beach of the village where we would still have some south wind protection.  Right after we anchored a local woman paddled over to us in a kayak to take our garbage and sell us jewelry.  After that another guy that was camping on the beach paddled over in his kayak to say hi.  He had driven down here from Sausalito!  We worked out a deal for the three bags of garbage and a nice handmade shell bracelet made by the woman kayaker for 50 pesos.  We spent most of the day running the water maker and filling every last tank and bottle with fresh water to replenish our supply.  Our full tanks allowed us a nice warm shower after swimming in the still somewhat cold water.  The water temp is actually getting much nicer, but you still can’t spend too long in it without a wet suit.  We had some stronger south winds during the night that made sleeping a little tough at times, so with a forecast of stronger north winds the next day, we moved to the north anchorage in the morning.  We also saw three other boats checking out the anchorage with their dinghies so we knew that was the place to be.  Of course, the next night the wind came, not from the north as forecast, but from the south at up to 30 knots.  We didn’t sleep too well that night either as we traded off anchor watches in 3 hour shifts all night long.  At least we have lots of books to read for nights like that.

We heard there was a grocery store in the village, so we took the dinghy ashore and hiked a ways down a sand road to the store.  Although the store was about 10 X 10, they did have a pretty good selection of items.  We picked up a loaf of Wheat Bimbo (it’s like Mexican Wonder bread that never goes stale) some nice tomatoes, bananas, and about half a giant fresh chicken out of a rusty cooler.  We thought it was a turkey because it was so big!  That night the grilled chicken was great with one of our last bottles of white wine.  We are currently 45 miles from the nearest wine, so things might be tough for a while. 

We were told that a trail from the anchorage led to some caves with ancient cave paintings.  No one knows how old they are, but we saw similar paintings at the museum in La Paz that would indicate they are somewhere in the 300 to 1500 year old range.  The day we planned to try and find the caves, Rich woke up and immediately threw up.  He had a 101 fever and spent the day in bed while he wasn’t throwing up.  We think it was some sort of stomach virus.  Some other cruisers in the anchorage said that many people they knew had the same thing in the last couple of weeks.  The next day, Rich was much better but still not able to make an uphill hike through the desert.  It was also Friday the 13th, so better play it safe.  

That night, Rich woke up to the sound of something pounding against the hull at 1 a.m.  When he went on deck, he found that a pod of dolphins had chased a giant school of fish up against the boat and were eating them as fast as they could.  These were fairly large fish about a foot long that were smacking the side of the boat.  Cathy joined Rich on deck, and we were treated to a spectacular show.  There was no moon so the sea was fairly dark.  The phosphorescence was super bright.  A quick word on phosphorescence for those who have never seen it.  There is microscopic algae in the water that glow a typical glow in the dark green color when they are disturbed.  The more they are disturbed, the more they glow.  You can put a stick in the water and write your name.  They can glow so bright, you can almost read by the light.  So, back to the story.  The dolphins were slapping their tails to herd the fish around our boat, and then they would swoop in and try to eat as many as possible.  When they shot into the fish, the whole school would explode to the surface and spread out in all directions.  The giant burst of light and then all the trails of phosphorescence, looked exactly like the finale of a fireworks show.  This went on all around our boat for about a half hour.  You could see the bright dolphin trails speeding through the water under the boat and then suddenly the sea would explode with light.  It was a once in a lifetime spectacle. 

On Saturday, we met with Roger and Sue on Neos at 0830 to make an attempt on the cave paintings.  No one was really sure where they were.  They had heard from a friend that you had to hike down a trail to another trail that led to a beach.  The caves were up a cliff at the other end of said beach.  The round trip hike was about three hours.  With this information, we loaded up with water and set out through the desert.  Along the way we encountered the local cemetery for the village.

A reminder that life out here for the locals is not easy.  After a bit, we finally came out back on a beach where we could see some cliffs at the far end.  We hoped there would be some caves there, and that we were going in the right direction.  The beach was maybe a mile or two long and completely deserted except for a few cows.  We found a large cave up the cliff at the end of the beach that appeared to have a narrow winding trail leading up to it. 

Rabbit or Deer?

Million Dollar View

It was not an easy climb, but with good boots and a little care, no one fell off the clif.  The view from the cave was spectacular.  No wonder ancient peoples wanted to live here.  The cave paintings, which look like or actually are, hand prints, are located right at the entrance.  The cave goes into the mountain about 40 feet and contains two large chambers.  It looks like there had been other paintings in the past that had worn away on other surfaces inside the cave.  Rich noted what appears to be a rabbit or deer along one of the back walls.  None of us could get over the feeling of how special this place was, and yet it is completely unprotected and mostly unknown.  In the U.S. there would be an entrance gate 5 miles away with ranger led tours and a handicap access ramp up the side of the side of the clif.

The next day, a beach pot luck was scheduled with all the boats in the anchorage (7).  The ceviche was made by Rock and Roll and contained all fish that Russ caught in and around the anchorage.  It was really good. 

Bahia San Marte

We arrived at about 10 a.m. from Los Gatos, threw the kayaks in the water for a quick paddle to meet our neighbors on the trawler Pacific, and then came back to the boat and passed out.  We had been awake for over 36 hours straight! 

Bella Brisa and Pacific in Bahia San Marte

The next day was Easter Sunday and it was beautiful out.  We kayaked to shore and joined Steve and Susan on Pacific for a hike over the hill to another beach on the other side of the point. 

Same Dentist?

Rich later walked around on the reef off the point and did a little fly fishing.  No fish, but the scenery was spectacular.  Standing on a reef in the Sea of Cortez, with nothing man made as far as the eye can see is truly an incredible feeling.  That night Cathy made her special pasta sauce with actual fresh basil from a pot on Susan’s boat.  After dinner we were treated to a phosphorescent fish party under our boat (Rich thinks they’re just taunting him) before the bright moon came up.

Leaving La Paz to Puerto los Gatos

We finally managed to cut the dock lines and get out of La Paz.  Our plan is to head north in the Sea of Cortez until it gets too hot.  It was a beautiful day when we left and we motored or sailed depending on the wind, until we arrived at Isla San Francisco again.  We were just planing to spend a couple of days here before heading to some new anchorages up north.  We found another boat that was on the HA HA with us, Interabang, anchored nearby and had them over for coctails and some of Cathy's now famous guacamole.  Derek and Trisha are basically doing the same thing we are, so we will probably run into them again over the summer.  A lot of other boats are also headed north now on their way to Loreto Fest.  This is a large cruiser party that lasts a few days and is attended by about 100 boats every year.  We are planing to be there, but we will see how our schedule goes.

We left Isla San Francisco at 0800 and followed Interabang towards San Evaristo.  But with a nice south wind pushing along, we decided to continue north to Puerto Los Gatos.  We arrived at 1500 and practically before the anchor hit bottom, we were approached by Manuel in his panga.  He was selling fish, lobster, clams, fuel, water, basically anything you want he would go get.  For a price, of course.  He goes through the anchorage taking everyone’s orders and then goes out and catches the fish and brings them to your boat.  He’s been doing this for years, and all the cruisers in the area know him well.  That night we were treated to a nice calm anchorage and a beautiful full moon. 

The next morning we went kayaking to explore the strange rock formations that this area is famous for.  They are like sculpted sandstone, but only in certain areas.  Other areas are more volcanic and have a very different look.

In the morning, we were the only boat left in the anchorage.  We considered moving to the north lobe of the anchorage in case a north wind or swell came up, but since none were forecast, we decided to stay put.  Big mistake!  That evening, 12 other boats showed up and crowded into the north anchorage.  Us and three other boats were left in the south anchorage.  Although we did not have any strong wind, there was some strong winds north of us which produced a 4-5 foot swell that rolled into the anchorage from the only unprotected direction, the east.  There were surfable waves on the reef near us.  The boat began hobby horsing and rolling rail to rail just after dark.  Here we go again, another sleepless night!  At 0130 one of the boats next to us dragged anchor and nearly collided with the boat next to him.  Our anchor held well all night, but it could not hold us in our bunks!