British Invasion

Ricardo Amador, Co-Owner of Posada Luna Sol, Greets Janet and Sally

Jules is Training to be a Torch Bearer in the London Olympics

Our dear friends Janet and Julian Galpin arrived in La Paz from London a week ago. They had booked into the Posada Luna Sol, our favorite little La Paz hotel, for a couple of nights and Sally and I did too. It felt good to sleep on land for a change. We introduced Jules and Janet to the pleasures of walking the malecon (the seaside promenade running 7 kilometers along the town), real Mexican food, and the joys of provisioning a boat. The latter included a circuitous tour searching for perfect bananas. These are generally plentiful in this land of banana plantations, but Sally and Janet had only found green ones available in their three-hour foray for provisions into Chedraui (our favorite La Paz large supermarket).

Ensenada Grande

We got an early start on Thursday and headed for Ensenada Grande (24 33.500'N,110 23.868'W) on Isla Partida. As we motor-sailed along, we saw a whale, many sea turtles, dolhins, seals and leaping sting rays. We anchored with several hours of light left, It happened to be Julian's birthday that day, so we celebrated with a spaghetti dinner (sauce made from scratch by Sally) and a cake baked in our a small convection oven (made by Omnia) that can be used on top of our Origo alcohol stove. Lighted wooden matches served as the candles, which Jules blew out quickly to avoid burning the hand holding them. Lots of good cheer, followed by a quiet night at anchor.

In the morning as we sat in the cockpit having breakfast and watching the water, we saw what appeared to be a shoal. Then we were surprised to notice that the shoal seemed to be moving. When it got close enough, we could see numerous yellow fins just breaking the surface of the water. We were being circled by a school of yellow fin tuna. Oh for a long-handled dip net! In the afternoon we went ashore and attempted a hike that would have taken us to the other side of Isla Partida. The path was not much of a path, however, it was exceedingly hot, and we would have had to climb 400 feet. So we cut the hike short after half an hour and just enjoyed the view and the photographic opportunities. This was our first exposure to the waters of the Sea of Cortez in the springtime. The colors were extraordinary, from blue to turquoise to green. Immediately upon our return to NS Sally jumped into the cold clear water with Julian following soon after. Jules tested out his newly-acquired snorkeling gear, while Sally swam to a neighboring boat that had just come in. The boat was a 37 foot C&C named LIberty, manned by Russ from San Francisco. Russ recognized NS and said we had also been anchored near each other in Chacala, some weeks ago.

Sally and Jules Swim in Ensenada Grande

After a day of sea and sunshine, topped off by a solar shower, we retired expecting another quiet night at anchor. This was not to be, however. Perhaps it was the revenge of the ghosts of all of those Spanish victims of English pirates, but El Coromuel struck about midnight. The same local wind, named after Oliver Cromwell or a pirate named Cromwell, which had pinned the Spanish galleons into the coves of Espiritu Santo and made them easy prey for pirates, was blowing down on us, making the bay a lee shore. Sally was so disturbed by the pitching about of the boat and all the clanking and groaning noises generated by the anchor chain and deck equipment that I went on deck to check it out, and at one o'clock it was rough enough that I decided to spend the rest of the night on anchor watch. The winds sometimes got as high as 25 knots, but small waves were breaking all night, causing NS to pitch uncomfortably.

The next morning we raised anchor early and left for San Evaristo, 29 miles to the north, which the cruisers' guide said was well protected from both north and south winds. With a following wind and a beam wind, we made good time to San Evaristo, and again anchored with several hours of daylight left. Having recently discovered that our refrigeration has failed, Sally, Jules and Janet went ashore and managed to get some ice to hopefully hold us until we get through all the cold foods. When we went to bed the winds were light, but by morning a strong Norther was blowing.

The Beach at San Evaristo

Around noon on Sunday, a panga pulled alongside NS. It was Carlos and his two young daughters, Viviana, age 10 and Lluvia, age 8. Carlos had fish and lobster for sale. We decided to buy a red snapper, but no one felt like cleaning it, so Carlos was kind enough to take the fish to shore, filet it, and bring it back. We paid him the amount we had agreed upon, but then he asked for a beer. Luckily we had a couple of beers on ice, so we gave him one of those, plus a couple of cups of some Tang for the girls. They were all very pleased. Carlos was so intrigued by Julian's video camera that he sang a song about the wind for us to record. Very appropriate, because by then the wind was howling. Carlos said that he did not live in San Evaristo but rather in the next village to the north, called Nopolo which is only accessible by boat. He said it took his boat only 10 minutes to get there, but for NS it would take a year. He thought that was very amusing.

Still Training to be a Torch Bearer

After putting the fish on ice, we went ashore and walked up the road to the south. At the top of a hill, we looked back to an impressive panorama. Again that turquoise water and arid land. Everything in breathtakingly sharp detail in the dry air.

Approaching the Salt Ponds near San Evaristo

For dinner we topped the red snapper, grilled in the howling wind, with an onion-red pepper coulis prepared by Sally. With broccoli and wine to round out the meal, it was excellent. The Norther blew all night and continues today. San Evaristo is indeed a fine anchorage, because there is almost no swell rounding the point. We went ashore again today and this time walked north, past the little local elementary school, horses, donkeys, cows, and then some impressive-looking salt ponds with bright green water behind.

The Norther is weakening a bit now in the late afternoon, and is expected to be over by morning. Our current position in GoogleEarth format is 24 54.572'N, 110 42.318'W .
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