Cabo pics

In the town of Todos Santos, north of Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific side of the peninsula.

The marina in Cabo San Lucas.

This sea lion is at the marina in Cabo. The fishing boat that she is behind had bought several tuna, and the deckhand filleted them here in port. Easy meal! He would put them on the transom, and she jumped up and took them! I did not have my camera then, sorry.

We are currently in Bay de los Muertos, and tomorrow will be headed towards La Paz. I took a lot of pictures today at a resort here, so they will be on the next update.

Cabo San Lucas

We left Mag Bay early on the morning of Monday, November 29th. The wind had been howling from the northeast for a couple of days, and was forecast to blow for one more day, so we figured that if we would stay in really close to the shore it wouldn't have enough fetch to build up big waves. We stayed about a mile offshore in the morning, as we motored southeast along Isla Margarita. The shoreline jumps several miles east at the end of the island, and I thought that we may get the wind there. It was around 1400 hours when we finally got there, and it was clear that the forecast was wrong about the big winds. We did get a little from the west later that day and evening, but most of the time we used the motor along with the sails. We proceeded direct, and before dark we were far enough offshore that no land was visible anywhere. Daylight found us approaching Cabo Falso, and then it was only another couple of hours until we got to Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo San Lucas is a dramatic ridge line that runs east-west and ends in a series of tall rocks. The bay is open to the east. We anchored on the north side of it, along a sandy beach, in about 20 feet of water. It was so clear that I could see the bottom as soon as I donned my goggles and put my face in the water. The beach is lined with hotels, and the water is full of jet skis, glass-bottomed water taxis, and plenty of other boats. The hotels play their music very loud, so it's quite different from Mag Bay and Turtle Bay. To conserve water, I go snorkeling each morning, and then rinse with fresh water. On the west end of the bay, they have dug a man made harbor that is very protected. Their are hundreds of slips in there, and a dinghy dock all the way up at the end, near the marina office. There are high end stores around the harbor, and several blocks of gringo alley type stores catering to people who show up on cruise ships. 

The second day that we were here, we joined some other cruisers and rented a van to drive up the Pacific coast to a town called Todo Santos, where the real Hotel California (remember the 

Eagles?) is located. I made sure to not check in! We left Cabo around lunchtime, and we were hungry, so we stopped on the outskirts of town at a real Mexican restaurant. They didn't seem to have menus, but I ordered cauldo chivo. Hope the spelling is correct. It was a fantastic bowl of soup with goat meat. Topped with fresh chopped onions, cilantro, lime juice, and a little hot sauce with a tortilla on the side, YUM! It was interesting to travel by highway, and driving through the desert was a treat, but really it's just another tourist thing and we didn't even go to the beach. 

Friday, we moved into the marina and stayed there two nights. It was kind of nice to have the boat in flat water and to be able to step off onto a dock. It had been nearly a month since we were last able to do that. It was also nice to have electricity, water, and showers! For this 35 foot boat, the fee was 54 dollars per day. When we are anchored out, getting to shore often means getting wet. Hitting waves in the dinghy sends water spraying over the bow. The water taxi charges $5 per person each way, so that's out. One morning I swam to the beach, but that's not practical if you're buying groceries. So it was nice to be able to just walk away and see the sights. I needed to see a dermatologist, and was able to get the name  and phone number of the one here in Cabo. I was able to get her on her cell phone, but I could not figure out what she was saying when she told me where her office was located. She did tell me to call at 2 pm, and I decided to be in her office at that time. I went to the marina office, gave them her name, and they looked her up on Google. They gave me her address, and I was sitting in her office before 2 pm. She got me in at about 2:15, checked me all out, gave me the sunscreen lecture in Spanish, and sent me on my way for 600 pesos - about 45 dollars. 

Saturday morning, I took the dinghy out in the bay to Greg's boat and picked up Kalel. We went across the bay to Lover's Beach, and then went snorkeling at a rock called Neptune's Finger. The fish were amazing. So was the surge from the ocean swell, and it certainly stretched my snorkeling comfort zone! It's a small world! Later in the day, I moved a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer and headed back to the boat to wait on the dryer. Along the way, a guy came and started walking beside me, close, to get my attention. I looked at him, and it was Jack from Tomahawk Bay back in Portland! He was here with his sister and her husband, we sat and had a cerveza. I enjoyed visiting with them very much! Jack is a sweetheart and it was good to see someone from home.

The Sea of Cortez is prone to strong winds from the north in the winter. These northers are reported to kick up really steep waves, and this year it seems that there have been a lot of them. We have been watching the forecast for several days, and one was forecast to start blowing late Sunday. It looks like it will be windy for most of the week, that means we'll be here for a while.  We will be leaving here on Thursday morning, Dec 8, headed to Los Frailes, which is a bay about 45 miles northeast of here. We will make some sotps along the way, but should be in La Paz and internet coverage in a week or so.

20 November

We are in Mag Bay and have been here for a few days now. It's really Bahia de Magdelena, and it is so long and wide that I can not see across it. We are anchored off a small village, and have spent a considerable amount of time there. No internet access, so this post will be uploaded later. We are here with 7 other sailboats currently, and we know most of them. This morning our friends Rick and Kira, on s/v Nyon, sailed for Puerto Vallarta. I hope to meet them again, somewhere! 

The sail here from Bahia de Tortugas was not uneventful! Our intent was to stop along the way at a place called Bahia San Juanico, but before we got there we ran over some floats and got the ropes wrapped around the prop. It was just after daylight, and the wind was about 15 knots, and we were not using the motor. The water going past the prop makes it turn though, so it can wrap lines even when it's not in use. Maybe the wind was closer to 20 knots - the waves were pretty tall and steep. We were about 20 miles offshore, so we hove-to and Ed put on his mask and fins and went in the ocean to take a look. It was pretty wild with the waves, and there was danger that the boat would hit him, so he decided to wait for calmer conditions before going under the boat. We discussed our options, and decided to continue on towards Bahia de Magdelena. San Juanico would have had us sailing to anchor in a place where there is a shore-wise setting current and rather small anchorage. Later that afternoon, the wind had dropped a bit, and the sea was calmer, and Ed was able to get the prop cleared. We continued sailing southeast toward Cabo Lazaro and Mag Bay, and the wind blew enough that we sailed all day and all night. The next morning, we were at the bay above the entrance to Mag Bay, which is called Bahia de Santa Maria. It is about 4 miles wide and 11 miles long, and we entered it and went to the northwest end of it. We anchored there for a night, and the water was 80 degrees, so I went snorkeling. Having not swam for about 10 years; it was fulfilling! I went swimming the next morning also, and then we left for Mag Bay. Just as we were leaving the Bay and entering the ocean, I saw a whale come out of the water in the distance. It continued coming out of the water, and the whole whale was in the air! You would not believe the splash that an adult Gray Whale makes when it free falls into the ocean! The spray that went up hung in the air for what seemed like minutes. I saw 2 breeches that day, along with a lot of fin slapping.

Back in Turtle Bay, there was a Mexican guy who hung out at Rogelio's palapa, named Kalel. Not sure if that's his real name or not, but he pronounces it like Superman's real name. He told us that he was from Cabo San Lucas, and was trying to get $100 dollars for a bus ticket to get back there. He speaks English as well as Spanish, and is a very nice and funny guy. He was very helpful to us and the other cruisers in our group during our time in Turtle Bay, and I really like him. One of the boats is a single hander from Canada named Greg, and I suggested to him that Kalel might be interested in going as far as Cabo with him. Greg talked to Kalel, and now Greg has crew who speaks fluent Espanol!

Yesterday morning while drinking my morning coffee, I opened a can of corn and used some to bait a hook. I immediately caught a small fish about 5 inches long, and kept it for bait. Later, I took it in the dinghy and went fishing for Rock Fish or Halibut. The problem is that I don't know enough about the habits of my quarry to be successful, yet. I did catch 2 nice fish that were each about 12 inches long, but I released them. It was fun, but I probably should have brought them home and made fish tacos out of them.

Yesterday was "Flag Day" here in Mexico, and last night this little town had a parade and then the whole town had an event at the basketball court. The townspeople brought various food items to sell to each other, and it was interesting! I tried two things: Champra something, which Kalel says is made from flour, milk, and chocolate cookies. It was thick like pudding, and warm, and served in cups. Interesting, but not something that I would drink very much of. The other thing that I tried was a flat crunchy chip like thing that was topped with lettuce, avocado, tomato, and drizzled with crema. It was good, but huge, so I ate half and gave the rest to Kalel. 

22 November

Well, we're still here at Mag Bay. Not sure why -  It's not that I don't want to stay - but better places are waiting! Today I aired up the kayak to get away for a little while, and went to shore and visited with Kalel. We hatched a plan to go snorkeling in an effort to find some scallops, and we came back to the boat and got the dinghy and Ed. We also told two neighboring boats that we were going, and Dave and Neal brought Dave's dinghy. We went about 2 miles to a rocky point, and then spent a couple of hours snorkeling. All the scallops that we found were empty. Kalel thinks that they were eaten by octopus. He caught one and we put it in the bucket. We also found several lobsters and they went in the bucket, too! When we got back to the sailboat, he and I cooked the lobster in butter and garlic, and we had a small feast for 9 people. Then we got the pressure cooker out to cook the octopus. Kalel cleaned it while I got about an inch of seawater in the bottom of the pan, and then I put the lid on and cooked it. I forgot to time it, but I think that it cooked for about 20 minutes after the pressure came up. When it came out of the pressure cooker, Kalel cleaned it up some more and cut it up into bite size pieces. He put it on a plate and squeezed fresh lime juice and hot sauce onto it, and oh my it was good! But back to the snorkeling for a minute - I am a really novice snorkeler, but It is so much fun! I snorkel around the boat here in the morning (it's my bath) but the water here is between 20 and 30 feet deep with a sandy bottom. I can't see it, so it's just about the swimming. But when I got to the rocky area today, and nearer shore, I was amazed by all the fish! The lobsters are not easy to find, because they are hiding under the rocks. Very fun!

29 November

We ended up waiting through thanksgiving, and having a get together at the dulceria on the beach. Teri and several others went to San Carlos and Cuidad Constiticion to get fixins for thanksgiving dinner; it's a "30 minute ride in a fast boat" from the village where we were anchored. Apparently it was quite a trip, because when they arrived in San Carlos, they loaded the panga on a trailer and continued to ride in the panga, on the trailer, for some distance. Teri was not back from that excursion until well after dark. In the meantime, a new cruiser had arrived in Mag Bay, and anchored at Belcher's Cove, which was a couple of miles away from us. They were not able to get their engine started, and somehow I ended up going to see if I could fix it. This boat was beautiful: a 2008 Bruce Robert's design, 54 foot steel hulled center cockpit cutter rig. It had an 84 hp cummins diesel that would not start. I spent most of the day - Thanksgiving day - trying to get it to run. It wasn't easy, because there were a couple of problems. The full tank (one of four) had a plugged fuel line, which I was able to blow out by inserting the fuel hose into one of those compressed air horns and squeezing the button. The major problem turned out to be that the electric fuel solenoid in the injector pump was not working. It took a while to figure that out, because I could hear it operating so I thought it might be working. I took it out and the piston was free, so I put it back together and bled the system yet again. Eventually, everything pointed to that solenoid. So we pulled the piston out and put it back together sans piston. Problem solved! By the time I arrived at thanksgiving dinner, everyone had finished eating and I had to scarf it while they were cleaning up.

The next day, when there should no longer be any possible reason to stay another day longer, we got stuck in a weather hold. The wind howled from the northeast for a few days, and we did not weigh anchor until early on Monday the 28th. The forecast was still for wind from the northeast up to 30 knots, but I was pretty confident that it had blown itself out, and we left Bahia de Magdelena in light winds from the northeast before sunrise. The trip to Cabo San Lucas was about 158 miles direct, and a direct route would take us offshore a considerable distance, which would result in a longer fetch for the wind to build waves if it was from the northeast. We figured that by the time we cleared Isla Margarita (early in the trip) that we would be able to decide whether to proceed direct or to stay close to the shore and take higher winds but smaller waves. 

Look for my next blog update to learn what we actually experienced!