We are back to one of our favorite places (so far) – La Paz. We plan to stay in this area through November…and perhaps longer if the “winter” weather holds off. This page is a collection of miscellaneous images from our summer of exploring the Sea of Cortez.
We covered almost 900 miles (162 engine hours) in four months, but left many areas of the Sea (including the eastern coastline) unseen. The sailing fanatics among you will be disappointed that we did not sail more, sometimes there was no wind, sometimes it was in the wrong direction or not enough force to move us at the speed we needed to travel. We still had a great time and enjoyed just about all of the places we visited.
Biggest annoyance besides the heat was “water bees” (if you have fresh water they want to visit you) at some anchorages, they will either cause you to move your boat to another location, or stay down below protected by your (port and hatch) screens.
As we’ve said before the wildlife is very diverse and the fishing ain’t bad either – even if you are rank amateurs as we are. We managed to catch a few dorado (aka mahi-maki), and some other tasty swimmers. Some friends have advocated “fishing with pesos” and we like to support the local fishing industry as well (and its cheaper than losing lures!).
The warm (and often clear) waters were just wonderful for swimming and snorkeling, although we were disappointed with the (lack of) visibility at Bahia de Los Angeles. All those (cloudy) nutrients in the water at B.L.A. must sure be keeping the sea creatures (especially the whales and whale sharks) happy, even if our underwater viewing there was poor to none.
We met some new (to us) cruisers – some who are in their first year in Mexico, others who have been here for a while or longer while! Also we hung out with other friends from San Francisco or who we had met previously either in the Sea or on the mainland coast.
The primitive beauty of this area, the variety of wildlife, the remoteness are very special features of the Sea and should not be missed by any cruising boat traveling this side of Mexico.
This was definitely our hottest summer ever, with many days reaching into the 100s, and not getting below the 80s. We don’t plan to repeat this exact experience next year, although we would consider re-visiting some locations when temps are cooler.
Many do make the mistake of passing this area by in their rush to reach the mainland coast or enroute to the Panama Canal or South Pacific – in spite of that we DID appreciate the many anchorages that we had all to ourselves or shared with just another boat or two.
There are more areas we will continue to explore in the Sea, most likely from Bahia Concepcion south in the coming months.
