La Paz

2 enero 2012

Well, I have been remiss in updating this blog, so let's see what I have to write about. From Cabo San Lucas, we went to Bahia de Los Frailles. It is a good anchorage with a sandy bottom and protection from northerly winds. I was amazed by the rays there. I think they are Mobley Rays, but I don't know for sure. They jump out of the water about 5 feet and then belly flop on the way back down! They were between 1 and 2 feet in diameter, so they were heavy enough to make quite a splash! The snorkeling there was very good too, but not as good as Cabo San Lucas. We spent 3 nights there, which was about one too many. 

Leaving there, the next stop was about fifty miles north, so we left early in the morning and arrived at Bahia de Los Muertos in the afternoon. Another anchorage with good protection from north winds, but not as picturesque as Los Frailles. A California real estate developer has built a resort there, and has tried to change the name of the bay to Bahia de Los Suenos. Bay of Dreams rather than Bay of the Dead. Imagine that! The resort is first class, with rooms ranging from USD 300 to 800 per night. We spent a few hours at the restaurant/bar, and that part was pretty reasonable. Overall, the place was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around the grounds.

From Muertos is was about 50 miles to La Paz, and we motored most of the way due to lack of wind. The entrance to the channel is a couple of miles north of town, and is well marked with buoys. La Paz is not in a particularly picturesque location, and for the first couple of weeks I didn't take any pictures. But there are lots of cool sights and places there, and I enjoy it very much. I could see myself living there. I have found several awesome places to get good food, and it's not too expensive. The weather in December has been sunny, with highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's. We have had a norther, which was a little cooler and lumpy at anchor, especially trying to get to shore with the dinghy. There are many gringo's living there, and several have established businesses that cater to us. One of them is a restaurant called "The Shack" which has excellent burgers and pizzas at very reasonable prices. Another is Allende Books, which is an English book store. Most of the time though, I prefer Mexican food.

One day we went to Cabo San Lucas and back in a rental car. It was about 150 miles, and the scenery in the mountains was stunning.

Now that we have arrived in La Paz, it seems that my friends at home are sailing more than I am! We have been spending A LOT of time in port. Sometimes I wonder how this is different from being at a slip in Portland, other than the weather. I guess that I love boating, and don't consider boating to be hanging out in port all the time. We finally got out of town on New Years Eve and went up to Caleta Lobos. It's only a few miles, but on the way we spent several hours finding whale sharks. Whale sharks are bis fish that filter water to get their food. The ones that we saw were about 15 feet long. They are really slow swimmers and don't seem to be very smart, so I had to drive out of their way so they wouldn't run into the boat. Saw some dolphins and rays, too.

a whale shark

a pair of dolphins

Stayed there at Caleta Lobos 2 nights and then went north to Isla Espiritu Santo. 

Balandra

Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla la Partida are national parks. They are long and narrow. The west sides have many good anchorages, and we visited several of them on this trip. Lots of good snorkeling and kayaking! I took a ton of pictures, and I think this post is long enough, so the islands will be in the next post. Thanks for reading!