Moving On Up…The Sea Of Cortez: January 10th - 20th, 2024

As much as we were sad to leave La Paz, we were very excited to start sailing up the Sea of Cortez to stop at some islands! I mean, this is the kind of cruising we were looking really forward to.

Because of the tides & current, we needed to schedule to leave around when the tides were high & the current was going in the right direction. Luckily that was in the mid-morning. So we had enough time to get to the island just up from the La Paz peninsula, Espiritu Santo. Although, it was only 14 nautical miles north, we like to get to a place early enough to be able to enjoy it some before it starts getting dark.

Leaving La Paz.

We stopped at Bahia San Gabriel. There was only one catamaran there. Very peaceful. Unfortunately, I was sick. I tested negative for Covid. So who knows what I had. But it lasted a few days. So I rested while Matt did a little snorkeling. It was still a beautiful bay & at least I could have the view from the boat.

Bahia San Gabriel in the island of Espiritu Santo.

The following day we moved on to Caleta Partida. Is was really cool as a bunch of others we knew were also in the same anchorage! -A bunch of people we met in La Paz, in addition to Lynn & Hugh from Happy, & Dan & his friend who came to help sail his boat. There were actually quite a few boats there. When the tide is low, you can actually cross to the other side of the island in a dinghy. So we’ll have to try to do that next time.

Sunset in Caleta Partida.

After a few days after being in Caleta Partida, it was time to move on to Isla San Francisco. It was really fun to meet up with Happy again there! The day after we got there we ran into them on the beach & they were about to go hiking with another couple. So we decided to join them. It was a beautiful hike with spectacular views. Afterwards, Lynn treated us to a yoga class on the beach! Very special!

Later that evening Lynn & Hugh invited us to their boat, along with a few other cruisers for some drinks & dessert! They have a beautiful boat. -A Moody 45. The awesome thing about it is that the salon is level with the cockpit. -Just like a catamaran! Very cool!

And then the following day we went on another hike with Lynn, Hugh & others we met: Jeroen & Jeanette & Marco. Going up we kind of went rogue! -Off the path! But we found the path going back. Which was a little less stressful.

Hiking with our Isla San Francisco buddies!

Isla San Francisco sunset.

It was a perfect day for sailing. So pretty much everyone left the bay! Hugh, Lynn & Marco all were going to the same anchorage that we planned on going to. It’s always fun when a bunch of pals are going to the same place.

However, we left a little later than planned & we ended up with winds coming directly from the north. So we had to tack & tack & tack. What should have just taken a few hours took about 5! But it still was nice sailing & a nice day. Plus, we hadn’t sailed in a while. And it’s just so lovely when you can.

Sailing, yes sailing, to San Evaristo!

San Evaristo Bay

The day after we got to San Evaristo was Happy’s last day in the anchorage. They needed to get up north & then head across the Sea of Cortez to Guaymas to get their boat hauled out to work on it.

We went out to the one restaurant in the bay. -Which opened just for us. Glad we got to meet Lynn & Hugh. We miss them & hope we run into them when we get back to Mexico.

Our last supper! With Lynn, Hugh & Marco in San Evaristo.

Guess what?! Matt speared his first fish! A rockfish! It was hard to filet & very scaly. But tasted yummy. We have been eating a lot less meat. -Actually, almost none. -Except for when Matt actually catches our food. It really makes your meals more meaningful when you’ve worked to put it on your plate.

Matt has gotten this fishing thing down! Plus, he’s been making some awesome meals!

Even though the warmth wasn’t quite there, (at least enough to spend a ton of time in the water), it was still amazing to see all these beautiful islands! But hopefully we will get to enjoy them in a bit of warmer weather, this autumn, on our way back down the Sea of Cortez.

Our little snuggly boo!

Thanks for reading! It’s good to be back online again. We should have a new video out next week. Hope you’re staying warm wherever you are. It still feels like winter to us. 🥶😄