My birthday in San Juanico

We spent the day just exploring the beach and snorkeling. There were fish and small lobster everywhere. Non were big enough to be taken, but it was a great site to snorkel. The weather was hot and the water was warm what a great day to have a birthday. A couple of friends on neighbor boats invited us over for birthday dinner on their boat. We spent the evening on Brandywine from Loreto, having seafood stew, scallop ceviche, fresh sourdough bread, and Guacamole. Helen made a Key Lime pie for my cake. The stew had Lobster, Triggerfish, scallops, Chocolate clams, Conch, other fish with vegetables. All freshly harvested. What a great meal!!! We had Pina Coladas and wine to re hydrate us. The boat Winsome gave me some of her sourdough starter for a treat, which was great since I had just killed mine the week before. What a great birthday!
The next day the weather forecast was for high wind to enter our area and that is exactly what happened. By night time it was blowing 25 to 30 almost all night long. The next morning it was pretty steady over 35 and 40 with at least one gust of 47. The way this bay is shaped we should have gotten some protection from the wind, but for some reason it didn't work that way. There is no fetch so there were no big waves in the bay so the seas were comfortable. We have had winds of 20 to 25 for the last couple of days and here we sit still waiting for the wind to stop. Today is actually calmed down a lot so by tomorrow we might move to the north side of the bay and explore that area.

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Isla Coronados

On my way to Isla Coronados I sailed and fished all the way around the island to scope out all the anchorages. It is a beautiful volcanic island with rocky reefs all the way around. I chose a northern anchorage because of southern winds were expected, but checked out the other anchorage by dingy just in case I get chased out by wind. There was a long white sand beach at the head of the bay with two palapas on the beach that were there to be used. Pangas would bring people out from Loreto to enjoy the white sand beach and crystal clear turquoise water. I was again anchored in 15ft of water. I could see my anchor bury itself in the sand. I tried to go out and bottom fish off the point but no real luck. A lot of bites but nothing stayed on. I ended up visiting some friend in another anchorage for the evening. Helen was coming the next day so back to the boat to straighten up and put all the stuff I had left out away. The next day I went and anchored off Loreto itself. There is no protection from anything there. You just anchor right off the beach and dingy into the beach. The weather was expected to be good all day and it was. I did my re provisioning and Helen arrived about 3:00. We had a great lunch and headed back to the boat and back out to Isla Coronados. We stayed there two more days enjoying the beach and warm water and then out of no where bees started to arrive looking for water. I was a little more prepared this time with the screens so it wasn't as bad a Bollandra, but we decided to leave the next day before the word got out that we were there. Our next anchorage was a small protected point called Punta Mangles. Here again was a small deserted resort that had never been finished. The location was incredible but I guess the remote location and construction problems were just too much. I will post some pictures when I can. We enjoyed exploring sea caves and snorkeling in water that was starting to get warm. I went out fishing that evening and caught a nice Triggerfish. Finally fish for dinner. That night it was rolly for about 4 hrs so the next day after exploring the beach we took off. The wind was expected to pick up from the south for the next couple of days so we headed to Caleta San Juanico, just 7 miles north. When we arrived the wind had picked up so we anchored in the south end of the bay in 22 ft of water right of the beach.

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Honeymoon Cove and Bollandra

Helen took off on May 8th to go and see Mike and Kelsey. I took off from Puerto Escondido the next day Only spent 2 days in Honeymoon Cove It has great protection from the north but not much from the west or south west. Wind was expected to pick up from that direction so I moved on. While I was in Honeymoon I saw a panga diving for scallops and heard later he scored big time so that was my plan once I got to Bollandra. It was only a 12 mile trip up to Bollandra, and it was a great place to wait for Helen's return. The winds were picking up a bit so there were a few more boats that I expected. I was able to anchor in 12 ft of crystal clear water in the north part of the anchorage. It is a bay protected on all sides from wind and just a very small western entrance so it should be a great place to sit. The first night I had a few mosquitoes so I closed all the screens and called it good. The next day I went snorkeling and scored on some scallops I only keep about 10 and it made a great meal once I figured out how to shuck them. No problems the oyster knife worked great. I was starting to get bees around and had about 100 sucking on my wet towel after my freshwater shower. I learned a lesson, don't leave any fresh water outside in the dessert when there are bees around. Once it was dark the bees left and I was enjoying an evening on deck with a glass of wine when here comes the mosquitoes again. Down below I went. I must have killed 20 mosquitoes that night. The boat itself seem to be hatching them. Bad night. The next day myself and people from two other boats went for a hike across the island. It was about 4 miles and it was truly a desolate island. The only living thing we encountered was bees and now Bo Bo's ( A small non bitting nat that loves the corner of you eyes and mouth. Again the moisture thing)It was a great hike, but I think even I might be seeing a pattern here. When I got back to the boat the bees and nats were everywhere. I enclosed the cockpit with our bug screens but spent the rest of the day inside a bee hive looking out. That night The mosquitoes were back. I can take a hint. I am out of here. I decided to try Isla Coranados just 7 miles away and a short distance form Loreto where Helen was coming in in 2 days. Gotta take care of these bugs before Helen gets home. Helen would not be impressed.

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Loreto Fest is history

We are currently anchored in Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante. It was just a 3.5 mile trip across from Puerto Escondido, but it was nice to get away. Helen flew out yesterday and with the driving help of Louis on Azzuza it was a stress free day. I did some re provisioning in town after letting off Helen at the airport so I should be good till she gets back. Helen wrote from D.C. that she had arrived to a thunderstorm and was having her first rain since October. Hope she has a great trip.

Loreto Fest was a lot of fun. It was great to see some old faces that we had not seen in about 6 months. I was really surprised how many new boats we meet. They have all spent the winter up here or in La Paz, and most will head to the mainland next fall. there were about 100 boats that came in for the event. The fest had something going every hour of the day for 3 and 1/2 days. Games and seminars were held every day. We sold drink and food tickets for two hours each day so we basically got to meet everyone during that time. The event is sponsored by the Hidden Port Yacht Club, and Michael and Mike and Marcia would be proud to know we are now members of HPYC. Hey for 600 pesos we got two memberships, two tee shirts, a burgee, and free spaghetti diner and pancake breakfast. What a deal. They actually have reciprocating all over the world or at least it has been used all over the world. We also have a Burgee to fly proudly. I will include a picture when I get internet some day. The main event on Saturday night was a togo party. Holding to my usually self I wore a stunning white with purple trim and colorful butterflies togo. Helen's matched, and she looked a whole lot better in hers than I did. It made a fun night. Some friends from Mystic Moon wore bright yellow togos and looked just like Harry Christna (sp) even including a little dance to go with the mood. Every night was some sort of potluck, so it was one big social event. Chances are this was our only fest that we will attend since we should be in Costa Rica this time next year.

We will now spend the next couple of months exploring the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. The weather will start getting really hot, soon but the water should warm up and the fishing should be getting a lot better. When we can't stand the heat we will put the boat on the hard and spend a little shore time exploring. Hope all is well with everyone.
Dave and Helen

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