Since Mazatlan….

Saying goodbye to some Merchant Marines who became friends with Harley while we were anchored in Old Harbor Mazatlan

Since we left Mazatlan, we have been to Isla San Francisco, Tembabiche, Agua Verde, Escondido, Loreto, Los Coronados and San Carlos (our final destination). All have been incredibly beautiful places to be. My favorites have been Isla San Francisco and Agua Verde.

Sunset on one of our two night passage

Sunday, April 17^th, two miles out from our long crossing from Mazatlan to Isla San Francisco in the Sea of Cortez we ran out of fuel! We were motor sailing at the time. The winds were blowing about 19 kts and we would have been fine to sail without the motor, but the bottom of our boat was riddled with barnacles, which was slowing us down, so we needed the engine for speed. Rick tried to get as many of the barnacles off as he could when we were anchored in Old Harbor but the water was very murky and visibility was nil.

When the engine died due to lack of fuel, Rick quickly went below to transfer fuel from one tank to the other. It was not an easy task because the swells were big. So the boat just bobbed up and down. With me at the tiller, I had to keep watch for each really big swell that would come so I could warn Rick not to pour the fuel until it had passed. Rick put just enough fuel into the tank to get us to Isla San Francisco.

This was my first experience in the Sea of Cortez. Wow! What a complete change of scenery than where we’d been. Large dry desert mountain ranges plunged straight down to the aqua marine water.  The rock strata were clearly layered in colors that range from khaki to dark chocolate to deep red. It’s a beauty that can only be seen in person to capture the full affect. It’s not just something you see, but something you feel.

Isla San Francisco

Pulling into the bay at Isla San Francisco was like a dream. The water was so clear you could see the bottom and the beaches were  a beautiful pearl white. We anchored and got the dinghy in the water and went to shore almost immediately.  

Harley is anticipating a trip to the beach!

Rick and Harley hiking to the top of the mountain

Taking a little break after hiking to the top of the mountain enjoying the views!

Notre Isle anchored in Isla San Francisco

 The beach was lined with shells

Jonathan

Looking down the other side of the mountain

The dinghy on shore. Thank God for dinghy wheels! 

Fish head with apparently human teeth! And an overbite at that.

Fish Face Rock (not an official name…but just my name for it)

The next couple of days we went swimming and hiking. The views from the top of the mountain surrounding the beach were amazing! The water was a bit cooler than what we had been experiencing, but the outside temperature was hot enough that the water felt very refreshing!

Since the visibility of the water was so clear, Rick hooked up the hookah and spent about four hours cleaning the bottom of the boat to remove any barnacles he may have missed in Mazatlan. He had a wetsuit on, but was still cold after a while. He had a chill for the rest of the night and was bundled up in every blanket we could find on the boat!  He was so successful with this grueling project that when we sailed the rest of our trip, we picked up some speed.

Our friends on Rebecca arrived on our second day in Isla San Francisco and anchored near to us. On our third day there, April 19^th, both of us picked up our anchors and headed to Timbabiche. The seas were calm as could be, sun shining intensely and there was no wind whatsoever. We motored the entire way.  On this six-hour trip, I saw my first Sea Turtle! It was super exciting. I loved watching the turtle swim so fluidly and gently through the water. We saw lots of Ray’s leaping out of the water and then slapping their bodies, as they would disappear back into the water. We also saw millions of tiny jellyfish tentacles floating around and saw some playful dolphin swimming at the bow of our boat. They seem to like loud clapping noises because when we would clap our hands they would jump real high to where you could almost touch them from the bow pulpit. They were also quite playful. Love the dolphin! They seem so happy!

Flying Manta Ray

While motoring along enjoying the beautiful scenery, we were neck and neck with SV Rebecca. Rick, Marcus and I were casually conversing with one another as we each were standing on our decks (we had out tiller-pilot engaged so no one was at the helm). Cyndi was at the wheel on Rebecca. We were so close to them that we ended up colliding into one another, both boats going about 5.5 knots. We’re not sure what went wrong but there was no damage done to either boat and everyone was fine so, it was not a big deal. We were fortunate to laugh about it. 

When boats collide...

But after the collision we were very careful to keep our distance from there on out.

TImbabiche

Walking the land at Timbabiche

Crab dwelling

Marcus doing a little recon

The remains of Casa Grande built in the Pueblo era

Typical little house

Rick and Cyndi doing a little exploring

Rick and Marcus walking the beach at Timbabiche

Cyndi, Marcus and Rick

We arrived in Timbabiche around 3:30p.m and anchored for the night. Marcus, Cyndi, Harley, Rick and I took a brief visit to the beach and into the little town, which was pretty desolate. 

Leaving Timbabiche at Sunrise

The next morning, we left bright and early and motor sailed to Agua Verde, again buddy boating with Rebecca. It was only a four-hour sail. The sailing conditions were the same as the day before. We arrived at Agua Verde, which we LOVE, LOVE, LOVED!  Agua Verde had lots of possibilities for anchoring. We chose the Southern end. It had a secluded beach, which was protected by steep Rocky Mountains. SV Rebecca anchored nearby.

A church 

Some girls just getting out of school that we gave some stickers and coloring books to.

We walked to this Tienda for a few necessities.

Rick, Shaun and Sue 

Agua Verde is incredibly beautiful! The water with all of the different hues of blue, the sparkling white sand and the rugged mountains in the background!

Rick set out on the dinghy with Harley to find her a place on the beach to romp for a while. When we got back in the dinghy, we decided to take a little tour around and look at the other boats anchored on the Northern end and see if we saw any of our friends. Well…we saw SV Monark and SV Sail La Vie!! We were so excited to see our friends. We first met both couples aboard these boats in Morro Bay, California. We lost track of Shaun and Sue on Sail La Vie, but we did bump into Robin and Fiona on Monark in Ensenada and in Cabo San Lucas. But it had been a few months since we saw Robin and Fiona. So it was super exciting to see them both. We stopped and said hello to both boats and ended up all going out to dinner at the only restaurant on the beach. It was basically a little hut on the sand with one table. You have to make a reservation, so to speak, earlier in the day if you want to eat dinner in the evening.  That way the cook can get what she needs at the tienda and prepare a meal just enough to feed the patrons and nothing goes to waste. And…there is only one set meal that she makes. The night we were there, there were nine of us at the table and we were served homemade tamales, beans and the best macaroni salad we’d ever had! Scrumpdilitious!  There was a little boy about to turn three years old who was the son of the cook. He was very social and went to visit each of us separately during the dinner. He was so cute! He spent a little more time near our end of the table, maybe because I was paying him the most attention.

Looking out from inside the restaurant

Dylan 

The next day Marcus took us part way on a hike because he only had time to go part way with us. So he led us up a steep rocky hill and through a cemetery and an oasis on the other side of the hill and then turned around. Rick, Harley and I stood before a large dry desert valley and a path that led to the beach. We took the path to the beach. On the start of our hike I forgot to mention that we met a large sized dog who made fast friends with Harley and who decided to join us for the day. He was a sweet dog, healthy looking too. He obviously belonged to somebody we just didn’t know who.

Harley and her new companion

Searching for water?

We walked a long distance along the beach to a steep mountain ridge that was said to have caves with handprints on the walls perhaps 10,000 years old.  The way we decided to climb up the cliff was treacherous. Small loose rocks would fall from under your feet, as you were securing a place for your next step. We found out later there was an easier way to get up the ridge and into the caves. Rick made it all the way to the top where the caves were with the guest dog while Harley and I stayed midway on the side of the mountain afraid to move any further. He was able to take pictures of the handprints on the walls so that I could see too.

The journey back was a LONG one! It was scorching hot and we decided to take the desert valley back to where we started. The sand was so hot you could feel it through your shoes. Poor Harley was miserable. She would run from one shady spot to another. But when she ran to get shade she also got sharp stickers imbedded in her paws. Not too far into the challenging hike, Harley decided to roll around in the dirt. 

Poor Harley was miserable!

The dirt was caked on so much you could barely see her eyes. I guess she was doing it to keep cool.  Also we were all thirsty and ran out of our water. So there was no relief for any of us. The tag-along dog seemed to be used to the harsh climate and rugged terrain that he wasn’t even panting.   

This two-hour hike we had planned for the day turned into six hours. We sort of got lost on our way back. I guess I shouldn’t say lost….We just took the long way back! We lost track of our canine companion but assumed he made it back home. 

That night we had dinner on SV Sail La Vie, which is a Morgan 45. We loved this boat! It’s has a center cockpit which is something we would love to have. It’s very spacious, comfortable and great for entertaining. The inside of this boat was also roomy and quite comfortable.

It just so happened to be Fiona’s birthday. So we had a great dinner followed by a homemade carrot cake that Fiona’s mother made. It was a fun night!

We only stayed two nights in Agua Verde. I would have loved to stay longer but… we were still at the mercy of our weather window and didn’t have time to spare.

Leaving Agua Verde