We checked into the marina, found out how to get into town. Taxi or rent a car. Taxi is $33 one way, rental car is $45 for the day. No Uber here. We reserved a car for Wednesday and based on the weather we scheduled a bottom cleaning for Thursday. We checked out the laundry facilities (50 pesos per load per machine) and found out it is done on the honor system, that is you pay at the office for how many loads you are going to do, then run the loads. There are 3 sets of machines. There is a Captains lounge at the very top of the building, it has WiFi and couches and counters and a bathroom. Pretty nice place. There is an outdoor restaurant on the same level as the office (up one floor from the ground) and a small market on the ground floor. The whole place looks fairly new and very clean. For more specifics you can look up Pureto Escondido Loreto Baja California Marina.
There are quite a few boats in here “hiding out from the weather”.
We dinghed back to our boat and discussed our plans. Read our books and ran the generator and watched a movie “Herbie goes to Monte Carlo” then bed
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We woke up on time, had breakfast and did our devotions. Listened to a sermon from North Coast, as we did not have good enough cell service to do live-streaming. The one we listened to was from 2017, given by Chris (the younger one) at North Coast on Identity Theft, this was the 1st in a 6 week series.
After the sermon, we evaluated our situation, anchored too close to the rocks, high winds in progress and expected to continue for at least 3 days, sheltered where we were, but only about 3 miles from a protected harbor. We either had to pick up the anchor and reset it so we were further from the rocks, or we had to pick up the anchor and run into the harbor. We had checked prices, and to pick up a mooring ball was $1 per foot per day, or $2.5 per foot per week. In other words, either 2 days or pay for a week.
Since we planned on going in for at least 2 days, we decided to just go to Puerto Escondido and pay for a week. This is so we can get the bottom cleaned and change the engine oil. So, we pulled the anchor up and motored across the bay to the narrows and went in and tied up to a mooring ball.The wind going across was from the north, at about 30 knots. Waves were starting to pile up and it was a rough 3 miles. Once we got into the “waiting room” we heard another bigger boat leaving via the narrows. We waited for them to get out and then we went in. This harbor is pretty big, and protected from the waves, and sort of from the wind. It was still pretty windy that afternoon and night. We stayed on the boat
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We were up by about 7:30. Somethings we have noticed, the anchor alarm program is pretty finicky, it is easy to set up, but also easy to do the wrong thing. For example, I had it set last night with too tight of a circle (too close to the anchor) so it alarmed when it should not have. But worse than that, I had bumped the off button for the sounds, so not only did it give a false alarm, it also made no noise when it happened. Good thing Renee’ was able to see the light from the screen flashing (at 2 in the morning). She looked at it and did not see the signs of dragging, rather that we were where we had been, but the circle was too small, so she adjusted it larger and went back to bed. It was not until this morning that I figured out the sounds were off.
We left aqua verde about 8:30. The wind was about 3 knots from the north. Then it shifted to coming from the west. Then went (in steps) to 10, then 15 then 18 then 22 topping out at 30 knots. Then after about 20 minutes back to 17 or so. Then down to 3 knots. Then shifted to coming from the north, and up to 8 knots. We sailed for about an hour, with the motor off. It is now 11:00 am. Mainsail out all the way, we were reefed for awhile, gib furled motor on, doing about 6 knots. About 2 hours to go to get to honeymoon cove.
We pulled into honeymoon cove. This is a small cove with three lobes one is very narrow, and somewhat deep. If you go in far enough the water gets shallow (like 10 feet) but it is still pretty narrow. Probably a good place for a small power boat or a catamaran, but not us. There was a boat in both of the other two lobes. The middle lobe is the biggest, and we decided to anchor there. As we approached the guy in the boat that was here before us, let us know that he was leaving soon. So, we anchored in the middle lobe in about 30 feet of water.
Renee’ made lunch, then we surfed the net for a bit. (Slow, not a great connection) then she took a nap. Later we planned out our next week or so. We are thinking we will stay here for a couple of days, then go into Puerto Escondido and either get a slip or a mooring ball. I checked rates, for a slip it is $112.50 a day, for a mooring it is $45 per day. We are going in sooner or later, with a plan to get the bottom cleaned. I will probably do an oil change on the engine as well. We might take an Uber up to Loreto, which is about 14 miles north of here.
Today we saw a whale, not real close, and not real big but it was a whale. We saw dolphins, and lots of birds and a turtle. Pretty good day for wildlife.
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Leaving Aqua Verde at 8:30 in the morningThe mountains on the way outWe were about 1/4 mile off this rock in 450 feet of water.Isla Danzante from the east (this is the southern part of this island)Isla Danzante from the east (this is the north end, honeymoon cove is on the other side)Honeymoon cove and Puerto Escondido
We got up had breakfast, did our devotions, and got underway. We drove the boat past Casa Grande and got some pictures then headed north.
While the wind came up a bit, it of course, came from the direction we wanted to go. So we motored and Renee’ fished (no, she did not catch anything). Very uneventful, just gorgeous scenery. The cliffs of the Sierra de la Giganta with the variegated colors ranging from Green to brown to tan and yellow overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Eventually we got to where we turned west to go around the point (and the rocks) the wind dropped and then we were at Aqua Verde (Green Water) we pulled in behind the 5 boats that were already there looking for a place to anchor, and as we did someone on the center boat said that they were leaving in about 10 minutes. So, we waited for them to leave and anchored where they had been. We anchored in about 35 feet of water right next to Karma. It was a fairly early day, about 2:30 pm. We got the kayak out and went ashore stopping by Karma to invite them over at 5, but they already had plans. So, we just went ashore for a beer and groceries.
We also picked up a needle point that Reina (from Karma) had asked to have done. We also talked to the lady about the work that Gary Kowal (friend of Van & Cida Diehl from the Power Squadron) had done. We were told this village has about 280 people in it. (I only see about a dozen houses right here), and that the school children need backpacks and crayons. We will see if there is a way for us to bring those back. At present we don’t think we will be back here this season.
On the way out from the beach we had a bunch of groceries in the dry bag, along with phones and stuff like that. We had a bag of hamburger buns on the bow of the kayak (tied to the handle). In any case, we managed to get the kayak cross to the waves, and flipped over. Everything got wet, but the stuff in the dry bag and buns.
We got back to the boat and dropped off the needle point. We put the kayak away, cleaned up a bit and got showers. Then dinner, salmon patties on buns with fried squash and onions.A very good dinner.
After dinner we read for awhile and then watched a movie “Herbie Rides Again” #2 of 5.
Then off to bed.
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Casa GrandeAqua Verde (we are on the far right)Just the view Casa Grande is the blob to the leftJust the viewRenee’ figuring out what to doOn the beach at Aqua VerdeA cute place to get a beerA little Tienda (small market)
Up a bit later than normal about 7:45 or so. Renee’ was up earlier than me. We had breakfast, cereal with strawberries and homemade banana pumpkin muffins. We did our devotions and then got the dinghy down and made a quick trip into town. We were the only sailboat left in the area. Renee’ found the Tienda (small market) and bought some avocados and limes. She wanted hamburger buns, but they were not available. This is a small village, no cell service. About 30 houses, one restaurant and one market.
We got back to the boat and put the dinghy away and got underway by 10:30. We had 20-25 knots of wind on the nose going through the channel, I was hoping to be able to sail when we got out of the channel. I saw a ketch going south at 10+ knots with only their Jib and mizzen sail out. But when we got through the channel the wind dropped to 2-5 knots, and shifted to the direction we were headed. Very frustrating! So, we motored for the rest of the day. We anchored at about 3:30 at Ensenada Timbabichi in about 16 feet of water. There is one other sailboat here. There is not really anything significant about this anchorage other than it is a place to stop and it is protected from the north winds. We plan on getting an early start tomorrow and going to Bahia Aqua Verde it is about 21 miles north, and is supposed to be very beautiful, also a good anchorage. That will be Friday night, Saturday night will be Honeymoon cove outside of Puerto Escondido. We will “hide out” from the big winds that are coming Sunday through Tuesday. Honeymoon cove, and Puerto Escondido are only about 3 miles apart. We will probably get a slip for part of those three days, and get the bottom cleaned. The next planned stop is Loreto about 20 miles north of Puerto Escondido then Some place north of Loreto like maybe Ensenada San Juanico (about 20 miles north) then Mulegé and Bahia Concepcion then about 30 miles or so to Santa Rosalie. Then after a day or two we will cross to San Carlos/Guaymas, which is on the Mainland. This is another 80+ mile crossing.
We expect to be in San Carlos or Guaymas by no later than March 7th.
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