San Juanico

Entertaining myself by stacking rocks!

So, on our way north through the Sea of Cortez (el Gulfo de California) we stopped at San Juanico. We had tried to get in here last year on a day when the wind was from the south and that was not going to happen. We ended up going around the corner to La Ramada and hiked over the hill to visit the Cruiser’s Shrine and leave our own memento to commemorate the occasion. The Shrine is just a tree at the waters edge so it gets regenerated every time a hurricane passes this direction. There was a hurricane last summer (Jimena) and it affected the shrine. Older items left have been rocks with boat names carved into the stone but the newer ones seem to mostly be last minute items hastily prepared and deposited; thus the older markers are still in place but the new stuff goes away. Our plaque last year was a piece of metal (about 2” x 3”) with our names on it as well as the boat name. I am very doubtful that I will find it here anywhere. (It turned out to be where we had left it!! See Sandy's blog for more info) One of the best things about this place is the shallow anchorage with its very turquoise blue hue. When you climb a hill and look down on it you are likely to gasp at the sight. We slowly putted through the boats already here and found a great spot closer to the beach in about 12 feet of water.

Very yellow rock wall

There is a small island in the midst of the anchorage and we slid in downwind from that like finding the perfect avocado… time to make guacamole! The wind the first night piped up but we got a fairly good nights sleep anyway because the boat was relatively stable and the anchor was clearly stuck to the bottom. I have always liked the idea of good ground tackle; it makes for a pleasant evening playing Mexican Train dominoes. In the morning Patty helped put the dinghy down and attach the motor so that anyone who wanted to could go to the beach and walk around some. We had only been aboard Faith for a couple of days but it is a good idea to get out and stretch when the opportunities come along. It is like renewing a friendship with your legs to get on dry land and not be compensating for the rocking, gentle or otherwise, of the boat. At this point (seven months into the season) I do not necessarily notice the small compensations and concessions that my body makes to the constant motion but I do notice when I am not having to adjust to the sway of the boat. In passing I should mention that I sleep MUCH better than a lot of folks when the boat is floating on a slight swell. It is akin to slumber in the best of hammocks! Here we are at 26˚ 22.070’ N, 111˚ 25.963’ W if you want to look at Google Earth to see “exactly” where we spent the last (few) nights. It is about as remote as anywhere you might want to be on the Baja side of the SoC (Sea of Cortez) albeit not the END point that some might prefer. In any event, on the first morning here I popped my head out of the companionway and there was a boat flying the Tucson Sailing Club burgee with the name Paradocs and I knew who had pulled in while we slumbered. No one was immediately in evidence but on the way into the beach we did a “drive by” spoke with the crew (guests) on the transom of the catamaran to confirm that I did, indeed, know the owners.

Cardon cactus atop a hill

They had just crossed over from San Carlos to San Juanico that night and had to heave to outside the anchorage from three in the morning until daylight. “Good plan,” I thought. The owners (Carl & Clare) were asleep, making up for the lack of snoozing the prior night. Here’s the thing; the night before had been boisterous outside the anchorage but we had been comfortable and happy with our ground tackle doing its job. Shifting onto other parts of this life at anchorage, when we went to the beach on the first day here there was the usual scattering to find shells and such. That is not something I do much of for some reason. Occasionally I will pick something up but if, when I show it to Sandy, there is little interest, I just drop it and continue down the beach. That is to say, I am no longer a collector… just a looker. One thing I have done for a long time is to stack rocks. I like to get at least four rocks atop each other to consider it a successful stack. If I can decorate with a few items from the beach to add a layer or two then it is truly a successful stack.

A red wall on the south side of San Juanico

It is not that anyone has to like my work, like the guys on the rocks at, say, Puerto Vallarta or San Diego, it is more about appreciating the balancing than anything else. A reflection of this is another of my past entertainments, which was balancing a salt shaker on the table. Okay, so that is a “TMI,” as is said! Hiking outside the normal confines of the anchorage is a fun thing and did manage to do that on our second day here. Last years anchorage (La Ramada) is just over the hill north from San Juanico and we followed a great trail to that beach. This is where the observant walker will find what I know as Apache Tears. These are essentially volcanic glass; when the top pops off the volcano there is heat and pressure enough to produce this jet black glass. One thing that HAD to happen here was that I needed to clean the propeller and the rudder (maybe the whole bottom after seeing it, yechh). At this point I should say that this year the water temperatures have been somewhat less than normal. My idea of a comfortable temperature is on the higher side of eighty. Okay, call me a wimp; I do not care in the least. I slowly, ever so slowly, got into the water and did the cleaning. It was probably only a minute or so before the comfort of the water was fully appreciated, but at least I finally got used to it and cleaning occurred as it should! The reward should be a slight increase in boat speed as we motor (yes, that’s right, given the wind direction we will likely have to motor-sail north from here) toward Santa Domingo just inside Bahia Concepciόn. Enough for now I guess.

Puerto Escondido

Los Gigantes!!

Last year at about this same time we had wandered through Puerto Escondido on our way north. In fact, we dropped off crew at the airport and had rented a car for the trip into town because the taxi rides here are a staggering equivalent to US$40 each way. That is about what it costs per day to rent a car and they will bring the car to you so you are already saving money if you need to go to town to provision! Of course, Loreto is a great town but it is not a place we need to go everyday. This year we are waiting for Patty and Hank to join us so we are just hanging out doing “boaty” sorts of things and passing the time visiting with the many friends we have met along the way as they come through the bay on their way north.

As it happens, last year I had not really made up my mind about this place. Was it a good place? I have been here many times now but I just could not make up mind about it. The first time I was here I had actually anchored across the channel at Isla Danzante in Honeymoon cove and dinghied over to make the walk up to the little tienda at Tripui RV Park. There were a few choices of things to buy; limited veggies, beer, canned goods, chips and the like but truly not much there at the time. That was eleven or so years ago. It looked, at the time, like there would someday be development but it was a failed port with boats anchored in the fantastic bay. A French company had attempted to build a Med tie mooring basin and there were signs that they had tried to build a hotel or some such but it was just a place where some derelict boats hung out on the anchor along with some nicer boats. There was not much here on that visit.
A few years later I was here and anchored in the “Cement Pond” of the old Med tie basin. I dragged anchor that night and made the walk up to Tripui for supplies only to find that there was not much there. There was an active Port Control (API) office at that point but the rest of the place was pretty much as it had been a few years prior… not much going on. A couple of years along and another visit showed that the port was becoming more active. A bunch of boat stands sat idle in a yard but the Fonatur / Singlar office was open and they were about to begin construction of a marina building or two. Way back then (2005 or 6) I had not seen the Singlar marinas and did not yet know that they are all exactly the same. The buildings are nicely done with the same lay out no matter where you are. The showers are good (although the water is almost never hot) and the people running the marina have a great attitude. Often they have some sort of internet arrangement and a way to contact the outside world via phone or some such along with a Laundromat and small pool. The one at Puerto Escondido also has a small store and a restaurant that gives an option for some goods and services. There is even a boat yard with regular haul out services available. The boats here are allowed to anchor out if preferred but most of us now use the excellent mooring ball system that has been upgraded and maintained extremely well. It is just about as good as being at a dock. In fact, in some ways I like it better for the privacy it also affords us.

Looking toward the "Window" at sunset.

As I started all this chat off with the, “I had not really made up my mind,” about this place last year I believe I have now decided that this is an incredible place to hang out. It is quiet, the weather has been wonderful, the mooring is as near perfect as you can get; what is not to like? Of course last year the one issue for being here was that the windlass had started to pack it in and we had put the anchor down instead of grabbing a mooring ball. I cannot say why we did that, but we did. Hauling chain by hand is never a “good thing”! It might have been that since we were not going to be here a long time we opted for the lower rate to anchor since the daily rate for the mooring is a bit higher for the first week rather than the rate if purchased by the week or month… I just do not recall precisely. Anyway, Escondido is a solid place to be for awhile and I have actually had time to relax for this period. Naturally, when we got here there was a boat project and it got completed swiftly. Our friend Dan, on Rosinante, was here and had a car available so we were able to pop into Loreto a few times with him to take care of getting a new alternator, do the laundry, buy a few items for the larder and generally enjoy the town. He later moved the car up to Santa Rosalia and departed this morning for El Burro cove in Bahia Concepciόn, yet another great place to tell you about some other time. The new alternator was part of the cascade failure that occurred when we were in Isla San Francisco but did not realize it until we on our way north again from La Paz (after replacing the refrigerator, the main power switch and the controller for the inverter/charger, not to mention fixing the aft head). So life is GOOD again. When that happens I get to read some and just sit and watch the day go by on the mountains to the west of the anchorage. It can be very satisfying for the soul.

This is a rare moment this year in other ways as well. The weather has been a perverse mix of too much too often this season so to be in a place where the breeze comes up for welcome cooling off during the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are as near perfect as you can get is almost too much to be believed! I will have to add more later but I think that you might be getting the idea that this will be a place we will return to. Maybe next season we can make it in time for Loreto-fest (which actually takes place here in Escondido)!

A Delicate Matter

Replaced the melted switch!!

Often enough we think we have a different life style by living on a boat although sometimes these days it seems all too much like living anywhere on land. Just about the time you get complacent about all this something happens to jerk you back into reality.


We left Mazatlán with a couple of guests on board and did the usual motor-sail across to the Secret Anchorage (Playa Bonanza) on Espiritu Santo. The two mile long white beach was worthy of a bit of a walk and leg stretch once we had rested a bit from the two day crossing. There were not a lot of shells or anything of great notice but the beach was very pristine and we were greeted by a boat we knew already at anchor there. There was a “Cormuel” (southerly to westerly winds) blowing part of the time during our stay and we were nicely protected from that. The big decision then was to go northward instead of popping immediately into La Paz. Off we went to Isla San Francisco about 30 miles north of Playa Bonanza following the eastern side of Espiritu Santo. Now, I have to say, Isla San Francisco is one of our favorite places and, we have been told, one of the most photographed places along the Baja’s eastern side. It was here that we were joined by two surprise visitors!

As we were lounging about both Toucan and Sea Peace sauntered into the anchorage and I gave a loud, “Whoop!!” as I realized who had come in. These are friends from the Tucson Sailing Club. Naturally nothing would do but to have a party. An invitation was extended from Faith and both crews from the newly arrived boats came over that evening for cocktails. It was the next morning while trying to make coffee that I felt the first tug from the La Paz Vortex. This is the phenomenon that occurs when your boat is about to demand marina time to fix things. In this case the DC side of the electrical circuitry had a melt down and completely stopped working. Eventually this also caused a problem with the controller for the inverter so we had zero electrical power. Hmmm… I wired around the main switch and we decided that we really should not stop at Caleta Partida as we had originally thought we would on our way back to La Paz. Off we went after spending two days at Isla San Francisco and having two parties with the Toucans and Sea Peace’s.


Having a spare switch we had no problem having an electrician fix the initial problem only to find that the overload had also damaged the controller to the inverter. Hmmm… a new controller was located and, “Viola!” we had power again. Problem solved, or so we thought.

Shiny new refrigerator!!

“Why is the refrigerator clicking on and off?” I thought as I listened to the boat for things that were not correct (a past time I have developed over a few years of Boating). Hmmm… well, it turns out that the refrigerator has an issue too. To make a long story short (sort of) we found that we could no longer get the controller for the old Alder Barbour refrigerator so there was nothing but to replace the bloody thing and carry on. It takes about ten minutes to uninstall the old one and roughly an hour to install a new one. Cleverly the manufacturers have improved them over the years and we now have a much better, more efficient unit than previously.


At this point we may need to stay in La Paz for another ten days while we wait for still more guests. Deep down I am thinking that we need to achieve escape velocity before another “issue” occurs but then if things happen in threes, as is often said, we can stay for a while longer without incident.

"I know I put it down here somewhere"

I need to be getting back to the point of all this meandering. A house takes a certain amount of care to live a “normal” life but a boat takes that and additional thought and action. Which side of the island do I anchor on to stay out of the waves and such? In a house if the utility company has an issue you might lose power for awhile but that’s fixable. In a house if the circuit breaker pops to off you can easily reset it. In a house curing a broken refrigerator does not usually cascade into a city wide search for the cure. In a house making the bed is not something that takes all your effort to get tucked in or to stay put. In a house getting things out of the bottom of the refrigerator does not normally mean you have to stand on your head while you drop through a hole to find the lost mayonnaise. In a house flushing the toilet does not require multiple steps. Having a full holding tank is a small but persistent problem but can be urgent at times. It just is not a thing you have to think about in a house. In a house you have no need to walk a few docks over to get to the restroom. Cooking aboard requiring a refill of the propane bottle mid-meal is another thing that comes to mind. This could be a very long list by the time you find all the differences and nuances by living on a boat for a few years. Once you start thinking it’s just like living anywhere on land you have begun the process of mind warp that will have you completely out of sync with the rest of the world!

Head Gear

A bit worse for the wear!!!

One thing that comes up while going from place to place in the land of maximal sunlight is what to put over your head and eyes. In general head gear is some really important stuff. If you have ever had a sunburn where you part your hair you can immediately identify the issue. It’s like having a lightening strike along some portion of your head; Yuk!

One of our guests this season, yes, Anna you have been identified, stopped every few feet in port to try on hats. She may or may not have needed multiple hats during her stay but I could see that she had an underlying logic if a bit misplaced… since she was going back to Portland in a little while. The contribution to the Barra de Navidad economy was quite nice and I will leave it at that. Anyway, I buy hats from time to time too. The problem for me is that they often become stand-ins, more for a head band than for the sun protection. A few years back I bought a bunch of kerchiefs to use as sweat bands but I go from job to job to town exploring to nights out for fun and, at times, the hat or whatever I have got on will stay with me for the entire time. In the sun, out of the sun, it’s all the same, the hat stays put. Can you say, “Hat hair”? While I might not admit it right, away my hair is thinning quite a bit, so a hat IS important to me. The problem with the constant use is that each hat gets disgustingly abused over a fairly short period of time. Yes, you can wash the hat but that seems to be a terminal experience for many pate covers. Therefore I stick with the disgusting look until it becomes absolutely necessary to clean up my act!

One hat I purchased (about five years ago) was at the beach in Santispac when I had to borrow US$10 from Len (I think I paid it back in beer) is still with me. It has taken on a warped, edgy look that suits this, “Dang, it’s hot and I need a lot of shade!” life I lead. It has seen better days and I can’t really wash it. Every so often it flies off of my head into the drink and when it dries it takes on some new look. I suspect it may not last too much longer. For now though it is my “best” hat.

Another hat that caught my fancy was from San Carlos just last November. We had gone out to Catch 22 Beach to show some guests the great beach and visit the Soggy Peso Bar. They had hats and since it was the beginning of the season I went ahead and got one. Looking at it today I think it must have gotten hot somewhere along the line these last few months! When I bought this fedora a guest, JJ, got one too… now, I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that the twin hat is not looking nearly as abused as mine.

Otherwise, I have been contemplating a Whole-Boat-Shade-System of some sort to lessen the need for the all-over look we take on sometimes.

The other item that gets a lot of use here is eye protection. Sandy is much better about this than I am since she tends to wear her shades out of habit. Last year I had an eye exam in La Paz and got some new prescription shades made. These are great because they have a dual purpose. They are sun glasses but since the temple/ear piece is thicker they block the wind as well. If you have ever suffered the effect of full wind across your eyeballs combined with maxi-sun blaring all day you know that it is potentially painful. Taking a clue from my last pair of sun glasses I had them created in the multi-focus mode as well. That is, I can read and see distance without taking them off to trade for whatever sort of lens is not on my face at the time. My corrected vision is WAY better than Sandy’s Lasik-corrected sight. I see things far sooner than I can get her to see the same thing. She has a collection of great sunshades with reading correction and I learned from this that I needed to get both in my own glasses. Much of the time I still stick with the non-sunglasses because once I go below to deal with electronics or an engine issue I find I can’t see for quite awhile. Just sticking to the regular glasses is not as good when we have had a long passage and I am trying to sight the potential anchorage. Anyway, it is a trade off that I have decided I should be favoring the shades more than I am. Keeping the regular glasses on the nav station or some such to use below when needed might be the solution!!

Maybe in a few years I will have all the solutions to these problems and more… or not!

Our Little La Cruz

At this point I am fairly certain that Sandy will be adding some pictures of what we discovered when got back to La Cruz after living on the hook these last two months south of here. The boat was a bit cruddy and I will hit this subject for next post probably but it was remarkable what changes had occurred in La Cruz during our absence,
Before we left there had been a big meeting at the marina that included the Governor, the Mayor, a variety of Police and Fire representatives and various other dignitaries regarding the upcoming boat show and sailing races centered in La Cruz. The marina manager (Rafa) had plead his case for improvements to be made in town to make things sparkle... sort of a plea to the Chamber of Commerce moment. Well, I am not clear on who paid for what but the entire main street had been repainted and town, in general, had been spruced up considerably.
Don't get me wrong, I liked this sleepy little village the way it was but the way it is now is wonderful too! Buildings that had not seen paint for quite a few years now are sporting a newer, shinier look. The town square is very bright and the trash clean up seems to have taken root. The President of Mexico visited twice during all the excitement and there are still lots of the security folks here, which is not a bad thing. The main road in had new palm trees donated by the governor of Nayarit and painting is evident as far away as Bucerias, This could be contagious if everyone likes the results but it will take considerable effort. All things in good time, I suppose.