With 8 days to make the approximately 150 miles journey, we were not in a big hurry.
We divided the trip in 4 stops with the first being San Evaristo.
We left Pichilingue early enough in the morning to make it in time to anchor and take Princess ashore before sunset. We had an easy cruising day in perfect weather conditions and arrived in a large and well protected bay with a small village spread along the beach.
Aiming for even less crowd, and with a great weather forecast for the night I decided to push on a little bit further, only a few extra miles to San Evaristo North anchorage. We ended up being more exposed to Northerlies, but in a completely secluded bay with only cows for neighbors ashore.
The next day after yet another magical sunset and night, we continued our trek north, stopping at El Gato. There the rocks turn all manners of red and the clear, transparent green waters form a stunning contrast. The bay had a number of cruisers, all very quiet. No big charter boat anywhere to be seen. We were all well protected behind the tall rocky cliffs, and we decided such a place deserved a couple of nights stay, to Princess' great pleasure.
The beach was full of ghost crabs: almost transparent critters hiding deep in the sand. Princess loves finding their holes, and trying to dig them out. Even when she succeeds, she's often confused by the transparent little animal that rushes out, and in any case we don't let her nab them. She'll just try some more next time, and be real tired when getting back on board.
For the humans, it's just a beautiful spot to enjoy, swim in warm waters, and relax.
Leaving El Gato we headed to Agua Verde, a few short hours away, arriving just after lunch time. Rather than anchoring in the main bay in front of the restaurants, we opted for the South lobe, a small little cove fairly typical of the region. The waters get shallow close to the beach, turning an incredible green as the water depth decreases.
I went ashore a few times at different times of the day, but never managed to get photos that perfectly reflected the incredible shades of green my eyes could see.
As the sun moves in the sky and waves form or disappear, the colors keep changing from emerald to blue, vibrant green and more.
Gliding silently over the shallows in our kayak is like snorkeling the transparent waters, regularly spotting colorful tropical fish, scared rays and even the occasional turtle.
Our closest neighbor in the bay was a 36 footer sailboat with a US/Guatemalan couple based out of San Francisco. They've been spending a lot of time cruising the Sea of Cortez and were kind enough to share more tips and spots with us.
They even kindly took a photo of the 3 of us on our kayak. It's rare to have a photo of the 3 of us, and fun to see what we look like as a kayaking bunch.
We hesitated whether we'd stay an extra night or 2 in Agua Verde and make a direct run for Puerto Escondido, but a few more cruisers arrived in the small bay so we decided to head for Isla Danzante's Divorce Cove, which would put us about 30 minutes out of Puerto Escondido.
The run to Divorce Cove was magical. We caught up with our sailor friends and waved them goodbye when we deviated towards Isla Danzante. There, with plenty of time to explore the coast, I spotted dolphins in the shallows real close to the island.
We headed for them and they delighted us with jumps, figures and aerobatics worth of any water park. It's so much better to see them in the wild.
They stopped their jumps when we got a little closer, but came to pay us a visit. A playful pod of about 20 dolphins just fishing in the transparent waters and seemingly having fun doing so at the same time.
We spent 2 nights there, but that wasn't enough. Luckily it's real close to Puerto Escondido so we'll be back.
I called Marina Puerto Escondido and they confirmed our slip was waiting for us, and we could come in at any time, so we arrived mid morning, leaving plenty of time to settle in to our new place.
Marina Puerto Escondido seems to be everything we've been hoping for. An incredibly well protected huge bay surrounded by tall mountains, with a number of man made canals forming islands where new houses are slowly being built. I'm convinced this is a good place should a hurricane make its way this far up into the Sea of Cortez.
The personnel is very friendly, and the facilities are world class. A small shop and nice restaurant will provide our basic needs, but we'll have to rent a car to find bigger grocery shops up in Loreto.
I'll be leaving for France soon for my annual cancer checkup. I know that Enfin, Di and Princess will be safe while I am away. Enfin is in a small canal away from the hustle and bustle of the main marina. We like our spot very much, even if it means walking a bit to get to the office and shop. It's very quiet, and I believe it'll be very protected in a storm.
The only downside is that we need to rinse the boat off regularly in the dry desert dust.
Last, we celebrated my 14th birthday. A very pleasant meal, but the best present I hope for: continued remission. Fingers crossed once again for perfect test results from France.
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