Back Down The Baja: Destination Puerto Esco

We knew our time in Bahía de los Ángeles had to come to an end at some point, and we had a plane to catch at the end of October out of Loreto, so off we went. The sail out of the BLA Village was sporty to say the least, and we knowingly took off into the teeth of the afternoon northeast breeze for the overnight to San Francisquito, where a few of our BLA-mates were already settled. Initially, we were a bit beam-to the wind chop, but once we turned south, it was a pretty comfy sail. The breeze pushed us along in a spritely fashion, which resulted in a pre-dawn arrival, but luckily, there was a big, bright moon that made dropping the hook a relatively stress-free proposition. We spent a few lovely days in SFquito with S/Vs Manta, Tao, and Volaré, where we enjoyed euchre, some hiking (but not the bitey bugs), a bit of fishing, and hunkering down while waiting for a wind window to make our move to Santa Rosalía.

Our window presented itself, and we departed SFquito in a fresh breeze. The overnight sail to SR was delightful, sometimes delightfully slow, and sometimes a bit more rambunctious; overall, I think we sailed all but 6 nm of the about 75 nm passage. Great fuel conservation. And for once, we beat Volaré to the destination, but only because they left the anchorage a day after we did. SR was as lovely as ever, and made more enjoyable by the presence of S/Vs Slipper, Dazzler, Volaré, and Manta. We enjoyed euchre, a road trip to Mulegé, the celebration of SR’s 132nd birthday, walkabouts in town, meals with friends, and, dare I say, tacos al pastor – twice (I’m sorry, Courtney!!). And, of course, Rand was able to take advantage of reliable wifi and get somewhat caught up on work.

After a few days dilly-dallying in SR, we were off to beautiful San Juanico, which we bypassed on the way north because the weather wasn’t cooperative (yes, there’s a San Juanico on the Pacific side, too, where we stopped and enjoyed the people and the surf!). This time, however, it was nearly perfect. The first night was like being on a lake (read: blissful); the next couple of nights were a bit rolly, but who cares about a little roll – when you’re on a cat? (ha! Volaré!) We enjoyed euchre, beautiful views, an aimless hike, long swims and snorkeling, and good company. So nice.

Finally, it was Puerto Escondido or bust. Another lovely sail into another lovely anchorage, where our friends on Volaré and Manta were already on a couple of moorings, along with many other boats – back to civilization, so to speak. As we sailed back into the area, we were reminded just how breathtaking the landscapes are – high, steep, rocky mountains whose vegetation had all turned green since TS Lidia. Just gorgeous. Our days here were spent road tripping to Loreto with Volaré, doing laundry, hanging out with other cruisers for afternoons of music and jabber-jawing, dashing across the channel for a quick visit to Isla Danzante, and prepping da boat for our month away. We also took advantage of one cool morning and hiked (scrambled) up Steinbeck (Tabor) Canyon with Volaré, which sported many pools and small water falls following Lidia. And Jason’s contribution was the construction of several, beautifully balanced cairns. Super fun!

OH! And this little vid from our last couple days in BLA – check it 🙂