More fun

As I write this, I am sitting at my computer in BC, with the heater right beside me, wool socks and a sweater on.  Hmmmmmm, it is May.  So we have come on home, but due to irregular internet connections on the Baja coast I am kind of behind on the blog.
Anyways here are some pictures from March and April, I hope they make you all feel warmer!

Isla Coronados, we reconnected with one of the boats that
were a part of our Umbrella Dumpers group coming down
the pacific coast.  We had not seen the folks from Adagio since
San Jose del Cabo two years ago!

Did some hiking

Were entertained by rays in the hundreds

Spotted a lizard

Added our shell to the cruisers shrine at San Jaunico

Had a 70th birthday celebration!  Happy Bday Mark!

Played bocce ball on the beach

Enjoyed the views

Saw a whale shark!  It was just a little one!

Went geocaching with new friends Jim and Mary

Bill found it first!

Jim and Mary hosted all us cruisers for dinners and campfires
with enough chairs tucked away in their RV for all.

Saw  a few shells at Punta Chivato.

Next stop is Guaymas, where we prepare the the boat for hauling and storage.

Agua Verde to Bahia Candeleros

There was a forecast for a bit of blow coming so we headed for Agua Verde, one of our favourite places, along with Greybeard, to shelter from the storm.  Searover II continued on further north to explore another anchorage.
We arrived early in the day and got settled in.  There were three other boats there as well, one of them Adios, another BCA member boat.
During the night we had strong winds that clocked around from nearly every direction!  It was a good thing that there were not too many boats in this small anchorage, as it was there was some unexpected boat movement in the night however once that one got reanchored all was well and we just had to put up with a lot of noise!  Being on a boat in a strong wind is very noisy and does make sleeping difficult even when you are not worried about dragging your anchor!
Once that event was over we had a week to enjoy the area, hiking, snorkeling and kayaking were all on the agenda.

Not too many green fields for these guys

The cemetary has been a little neglected and things are
falling apart.

A little oasis in the midst of desert

Ancient hand prints in a cave, Agua Verde has been populated
for a long time

Kayaking and snorkeling was awesome

The anchorage filled up after the wind passed

Outside the tienda in Agua Verde, we chatted with a couple
of guys that came in the 40 km dirt road on their cruising bikes.

We had a weather forecast for light winds that would last for days so we decided to leave Agua Verde and check out some new anchorages.  We headed to the north end of Monseratt because with the predicted winds we had a chance to check out some of the normally impossible to be at places.
A blue whale sighting in the flat calm water was quickly followed by a huge dolphin pod that passed nearby.  Such an exciting day!  The anchorage at Monseratt was still kind of rolly so we decided not to stay the night there and headed to Candeleros.  This bay is open to the north so normally is not a good place to be however the big sandy beach has always looked appealing.  There is a large all inclusive resort in the bay.

A beautiful resort sunset

The resort lobby

The resorts signature golf hole

And the requesite evening entertainment!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Bahia Candeleros, we got visitor passes to the resort and were able to avail ourselves to the first class facilities there.  We were joined by Searover II after a few days and celebrated Scotts birthday on the beach and later had a lovely dinner at the resort restaurant. 

Mexico can provide some very stark contrasts, in Agua Verde they have to truck in ice over 40 km of dirt road to keep the food cold at the tienda, and a very short distance away we are sipping icy margaritas poolside.

Meeting up with friends

Bill from Greybeard and Gary & Karina of Searover II

In early March our friends on Searover II and Greybeard caught up with us at Isla San Fransisco.  They had been enjoying La Paz and the nearby islands for January and February.

Exploring the mangroves at Amortajada

We then all started the slow, usually into the winds, trip north.  The goal was to be in the Loreto area in time for both the other boats to pick up guests and also we were all starting the journey back to Guaymas in order to store the boats for the summer.  It is not all that far but giving ourselves lots of time ensures that the trip is fun!

Kialoa in the early morning light.

More cool rocks

Beautiful crabs!  :)

An early morning departure for Searover II heading north

It's a wonderful life

After our break from boat life in Loreto it was back to Kialoa.  We had no real solid plans so we ended up wandering for the next month.  We slowly headed back south and spent time in places we had missed on our push to get north.  It was a wonderful time of revisiting favorites and exploring new places at a lovely relaxed pace.

It is always such a thrill to have a visit from dolphins!  Each time they come
to play with the boat is just as exciting as the first time they did.  Here we are
motoring, as you can see there is no wind.......

At Punta San Telmo we enjoyed the beautiful rock formations

At Balandra we explored a huge sea cave

And on Isla San Jose I went hiking with some lovely people!
This is Barb and Bjarne of Hoku Pa'a.

I made a new friend!

Scott and I went hiking on Isla San Fransisco.  It is another
spectacular spot.

And from further up with Dennis of Ultegra

Fun with N & N

A quick trip up to Puerto Escondido from La Paz made possible by a break in the north winds and we were ready to greet our friends flying in to Loreto.
We picked them up at the airport and drove up to San Ignacio to be ready for our early morning whale watching. After a little confusion about a lost reservation and payment we were in our Panga and on our way to the whale watching area.  A short boat ride later we are surrounded by Grey Whales.  This lagoon is where they gather to mate and give birth every spring and the concentrations of whales are phenomenal.  It was an experience of a lifetime.  

The ospreys don't have many choices for nesting sites around the
lagoon.

The big bump is the mom and the little bump is the baby. 

Pictures don't really do it justice.  As we were watching one
whale there are 10 or more others blowing nearby.

It is Mexico but still a little chilly on the water

After whale watching we spent five days enjoying land life in Loreto hanging out with our good friends.  A nice break from boat life and some cat time for Scott.

To La Paz and back north again

Whale tail

 We left Agua Verde and made a quick trip south to La Paz, the wind was forecast to be building so we sailed the 100 miles in two days.  Had our first ever night time anchoring experience!  No problem!  Yay!  But really it could not have gotten much easier.....Huge bay, easy entrance and three boats in there.
We spent a month enjoying the La Paz scene, some in the Marina and some at anchor.  I reconnected with the crew of Halcyon I, who I had met this summer when I was on Marshalls boat Tenacity.  We had fun again and helped them with their haulout, which was by truck and trailer.  A new experience !  It turned out they really did not need our help but it was a fun to hang out and watch the trailering process.  After that we made another two day trip back up to Agua Verde, one day of sailing and another of motoring.  Our goal was to be in the Loreto area by early February to meet with our friends Norah and Norbert.  The trip was easy and we spent some more days in Agua Verde and then headed to Puerto Escondido which is where we were leaving the boat while they visited.  It all worked out perfectly!

We had our very own wind break during the worst of the weather
in La Paz!

We hung out and had morning coffees at Club Cruceros, and I
was able to take advantage of the yoga classess being offered
on a daily basis

I went on a kayaking excursion with Dennis from Ultegra
around the Mogote, we came across this poor sailboat, definately
has had its last Hurrah...........you cannot see it well in this photo
but there is a sealion napping on the foredeck.  I would say the
boat has been repurposed.....