Cruising Sea of Cortez - Summer 2009

Well here I am again. I decided to stay here one more day before pushing off. So that means I can add my forth installment for the blog that covers Puerto Escondido and Loreto. Five of us shared a rental car yesterday and spent the day in Loreto getting some supplies and exploring the area.

You may recall a photo of me with my La Paz first mate from last year and also a photo of me with my Mazatlan first mate. Well I am happy to report I now have a Loreto first mate. Isn't sailing just great?


Eat your heart out guys!!!

Not much to see in Escondido. It is a popular anchorage for boaters during the hurricane season. They call it a hurricane hole because it provides protection with the mountains that are rising up across a small valley less than a mile away.


Another wonderful sunset with the mountains in the background.


Remember my friend in La Paz. She followed me to Escondido.



The cruising community has a lot of fun together and we always find reason to get together to eat and drink. Here we are having a pot luck breakfast and during the late afternoon, many of us meet in the Cocktail Cove for a friendly but competitive game of water volleyball.


When we are not eating and drinking, we are fishing. This is a forty pound Dorato that someone caught in the bay. He shared the meat with us so yet again I had fresh sea food for dinner. Sorry PETA members. Some animals have to die so we can eat!








A little history of Loreto.

In October 1697, Jesuit padre, Juan Maria Salvatierra, along with a party of men, landed at Loreto to establish a settlement and the first mission of the Californias. The settlement was a success and Loreto quickly became the center for church as well as the government and military activities in the area.

The mission church, Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto, built by Jesuit padre, Juan Salvatierra, became the center for establishing additional missions though out Baja and California. Carved above the entrance to the mission is written, "Cabeza y Madre de las Missioes de Baja y Alta California" or Head and mother of the missions of lower and upper California. Eventually, 23 additional missions were built throughout Baja with Loreto serving as the head.

It was also from Loreto that the Franciscan padres, Gaspar Portola and Junipero Serra left in 1769 to explore north, reaching San Diego and eventually discovered San Francisco Bay.





Since I was riding with four other people, I did not have time to check out Joanne's hotel that she had hoped to stay last summer. This is one of the hotels in town that several people say you must see. It has a glass bottom swimming pool on the second floor. You can see people swimming from the first floor looking up.


This is why I didn't leave today as first planned.

Cruising Sea of Cortez - Summer 2009

Third installment

Plans changed again. Delaying for a day to visit Loreto and then I pull anchor again to continue my cruise. This means I will be away from any Internet access for awhile and I won't be able to update blog with Escondido or Loreto until later. There really is not much here in Escondido as far a great view other than the sunsets over the nearby mountains. I will try to get a photo of some of us cruisers playing water Volleyball in a place called Cocktail Cove. Kids and adults play together and some of the kids are kicking our butts.

So the next stop on the tour is Bahia Agua Verde. I stayed here for three days, visiting other cruisers, hiking and snorkeling and just kicking back to relax.


Took the dinghy over to a small cave to see if I could find any sea monsters. I found only crabs.


Dolce Vita is the boat off in the distance. You can't see my dinghy but is on the far beach where I began my hike. I found some people on the beach at the end of the hike and asked if they would be so kind to take me on their dinghy to where I anchored. I was not in the mood to hike back.


It is amazing that anything grows in the desert, but beauty can be found even here.



The small fishing village had a store and what they called a restaurant which really is some one's home. I had three fish tacos. They were great.


Well that is it for now. I ran out of interesting photos and stories. In the next few weeks, I will update the blog with the latest adventures. Better and more beautiful anchorages wait for my arrival.


This is the shell from a crab from one that left home. How they crawl out of their shell and leave them in good condition is a mystery to me. A marine biologist would have the answer for me.

Cruising the Sea of Cortez - Summer 2009

I am stuck in La Paz, Mexico but having fun none the less. Hurricane season again which means tucking into somewhere until end of October when the season ends.

I arrived here from Mazatlan around this past March. After a few weeks here any after returning from Europe, I sailed north up into the Sea of Cortez reaching Santa Rosalita in two weeks while enjoying the many islands along the way. My intentions were to continue north to the Bay of Los Angeles but the boat had different plans. At least 3 problems surfaced with the boat and I thought best to return to La Paz where I could find the services and parts that were needed. Here I remain while enjoying the companionship of many other cruisers, some of which I have met along the way before arriving here.

It has been too long since my last blog and photos that I took going north are much the same as I had taken back in 2009 when last visiting the Sea....... so I am going to paste and older blog that I posted back in 2009. Some of you may not have seen this before so it is as if it were new. The others of you that are near my age have forgotten that you had viewed this before so this is as if it was also new for you.

So enjoy the brief blog and relax knowing that I am still alive and well.

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I stayed around Isla San Jose for awhile having made myself lunch, waiting for the tides to come in but it looked like they were going to remain low until late afternoon. There are these little bad ass bugs called no-see-ums that are smaller than the head of a needle and there is no way to prevent them from entering the boat and having there way with you. They leave behind a small itchy welt that drives otherwise normal people to jump off of a cliff. So I pulled anchor after not wishing to jump off bridges by remaining there through the evening when they come out of their holes.

Next anchorage was San Evaristo. This is a bay on the Baja peninsula.

Here, as in many locations along the way, is a small fishing village. There is a small store to pick up some supplies that you may need and a home that sells beer if you have run out. It remains open as long as there is something on the shelf and closes so they can drive to La Paz to buy food stuff to again sell to the locals and boaters.

This is the vulture I wrote about in one of my emails. Take a close look. Do you agree that he has a hungry look as he see me pass below him?


For those that have not driven in Mexico, this is a Mexican road sign.


Here she sits. A little closer view of Dolce Vita at anchor in San Evaristo.

Next stop is Nopolo. This location is also on the Baja peninsula. There was not much here to explore ashore but is was quiet and a great place to sit back and chill.


Another great sunset to enjoy while sitting in the cockpit with a drink and a good book.

OK! It is time to pull anchor again. Next stop is Bahia San Carlos.


I don't think I have mentioned how clear the water is. The dark spots in the photos are small rocks. The depth of the water here is 20 feet. Watch and you see several fish swimming by but none large enough for dinner.


Remember Manuel? He is the hombre that caught be lobster for dinner one evening. This is his garage where he keeps his truck. Notice the large bones he has his hands on. Whale bones.


Most of he homes in Mexico are small and usually are very simple in design. Much like a block house. This gentleman had some creative juices when he built this home. This is Manuel's neighbor.


Remember the house that was built after selling a blue 5 carat pearl that a fisherman found. This was built back in the early 1900's. Local history does not say how long someone lived here but it now stands as an empty hulk. No one has enough money to buy it and restore the roof and the interior.

Next stop is Bahia San Marte. Did some more snorkeling and hiking here around the ridge of the bay. It is always rewarding when you can hike to the top of some hill near the anchorage so you can get a good perspective of what the area offers in a way of views.

Here are some photos that I took while on the hike. I went snorkeling after getting back to the boat so I could cool off. One of the other snorkelers mentioned that I must be a strong man. Asking why they thought such nonsense they said I had only a pair of swimming trunks on. They all had full wet suits. The water temperature was 83 degrees. You tell me if you would need a wet suit.





Well that is all for the second installment of the blog. I am going into Loreto tomorrow to see the town and take some photos.

Cruising the Sea of Cortez - Summer 2009

The moment you have been waiting for, a blog update on the adventures of Dennis and Dolce Vita. This summer I am sailing up and down the Sea of Cortez, called the the world's aquarium.

I started out on May 28th. My first stop was Caleta Partida on Isla Partida. I have been anchored here a number of times before so there wasn't anything more to explore so I thought I would do some work on the boat while here. Why work on your boat in your home port when you can do the same in paradise.

For those of you that wondered what it was like at the top of the mast, the following photo should give you and idea what it looks like from 50 feet above the water. I hauled my fat butt up there and was very careful not to screw up since hitting the deck from that distance would have not made my day.


After a long day hauling myself up and down the mast, it was time to enjoy a beer and watch the sun set.


The next day I motored a short distance on the same island to Ensenada el Cardonal. I had not anchored here before so it gave me an opportunity to do some exploring. There were a few boats there with me but otherwise quiet until a party boat showed up. They were good enough to anchor a distance off of the other boats so we would not be disturbed too much. They partied until 4 in the morning. Mexicans love to party into the early morning. I was disappointed that they didn't send a boat over for me to join them.

I decided to walk around the mangroves and take a photo of a plaque with information on the island. All islands in the sea have been made federal parks and are protected. Fishing is not allowed around these islands.


The next anchorage was Isla San Francisco. The distance was about 20 miles and I enjoyed one of the best sails that I have had since arriving here. The wind speed, direction and the sea were perfect for putting up the gennie and the hammock. The photos speak for themselves.







After arriving in Isla San Francisco I decided I had relaxed enough for one day and went for a hike. There is a trail around the top edge of the island. Some rock climbing was necessary but for the most part it was an easy hike. Dolce Vita is in the bay waiting for me.


Next, onto Isla San Jose where I had hoped to been able to take a tour of one of the largest mangroves in the Sea of Cortez. Unfortunately, the tide was too low and I went aground on the dinghy so I will wait until returning from up north to try again at high tide.













This is the first installment of this summer's cruise. More to come in the next few days.