{"id":18299,"date":"2017-12-16T17:08:20","date_gmt":"2017-12-16T23:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinecruisingguide.com\/stage_aug23\/free-luff\/back-down-the-baja-puerto-esco-to-la-paz\/"},"modified":"2021-11-08T16:17:43","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T22:17:43","slug":"back-down-the-baja-puerto-esco-to-la-paz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlinecruisingguide.com\/stage_aug23\/back-down-the-baja-puerto-esco-to-la-paz\/","title":{"rendered":"Back Down The Baja: Puerto Esco to La Paz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entering our second year of cruising found us back in Puerto Escondido (after a month in the U.S.<\/a>), rubbing elbows with a handful of cruisers who are in love with this area (and looking around, it\u2019s very clear why – the Sierra de la Giganta and the surrounding islands\/cruising grounds are amazing) and make PE their home for the fall and winter. There\u2019s a sweet community here; many are incredibly musically inclined and put it out there for all to enjoy at least once a week. Since we left PE for BLA<\/a> back in July, the new marina has come together with the construction of new docks, more marina staff, and the opening of La Pepegina\u2019s in a lovely space on the deck that overlooks the harbor and the mountains. After decades of starts and stops, this place may actually get it together, which would be wonderful for the locals and cruisers alike. The thing that remains lacking is reliable cell\/wifi, but that\u2019s not why we go cruising anyway – or is it? Rand does have to stay connected somehow, but we manage with what\u2019s available or we bug out.<\/p>\n

Once back on da boat, we were operating on a bit of a schedule, with the goal of making it to La Paz to connect with Thad and Kristin on She\u2019s No Lady<\/em> (after nearly 8 months without seeing them!) for the holidays. We had almost 3 weeks before we needed to be down south, so after scrubbing the top and bottom of da boat, getting somewhat caught up on work and the blog, and provisioning (thanks, Dawn on Manta, for the wheels!), we decided to goof around a bit more in the PE\/Loreto area and visit a couple of the anchorages on Isla Carmen, Bah\u00eda Salinas and El Refugio (Vee Cove), that we previously missed. Oh, and of course no outing is complete without a couple of boat projects. Then we made one last stop in PE for a day or two to wait out a norther (in which we saw 40-50 kts of wind through the anchorage) and so Rand could work a bit. FYI, northers blow every winter down the Sea; they’re strong and cold and may blow for days at a time. Oy.<\/p>\n

Anyway…while we pride ourselves on sailing whenever possible, we had to resort to motor-sailing a lot of the way (and into what little wind there was, of course) to Bah\u00eda Salinas on the northeast side of Isla Carmen, but it was worth it. This is a big, beautiful bay with a defunct salt mining operation, which left behind dilapidated ruins juxtaposed with a newish lodge for hunters (?) and fishers who enjoy the remoteness of this place. There is also a sunken 120ish-foot fishing boat in the bay that many snorkelers\/divers enjoy, us included. But, our blood is thin these days – what with the weather cooling down to the low 80s during the day and 60s at night and water temps dipping to the mid-70s – we weren’t in the water for long. Our snorkel around the wreck was truncated because of severe goosebumps, but at least we got some cool GoPro footage. This did make for awesome shore exploration weather though, which we enjoyed while snapping a few photos and getting harassed by bitey gnatty things.<\/p>\n

S\/V Adventurer<\/em> was also anchored here, and we’ve been dying to meet them because they know many of the same people we do and they have an awesome blog<\/a> and YouTube channel<\/a>! But alas, it was not meant to be – they bugged out of the anchorage early the next morning, so we would have to wait until La Paz to meet them. We did happen to meet a group of youngsters from NOLS<\/a> who were in the last days of a 3-month outing on the Sea, which consisted of a month backpacking, a month sea kayaking, and a month of sailing. We saw them sailing into the bay on four small longboats with as many as six per boat. They set up camp on the beach, so we invaded their rest and interviewed them about their goings-on. They were all so dang young and adventurous. Many attend NOLS courses to improve their outdoor and leadership skills, to BE outside, and to get away from the hustle and bustle of home. Pretty cool stuff. On their way out of the bay on our last morning, we called them over to FL<\/em> so we could give them some of our favorite cookies, Canelitas. They were stoked.<\/p>\n

After a couple nights in Bah\u00eda Salinas, we made our way to one of the northernmost anchorages on Isla Carmen known as Vee Cove, formally named El Refugio. Luckily, the breeze was favorable for this little gem of a spot, which is decidedly a southern anchorage (that is, it is fully exposed to north wind and swell). We spent one gorgeous night here, although again, and I’m not complaining (well, maybe a little), it was freezing! The temperature had to be in the 60s. What?! After a quick exercise swim\/snorkel and stroll on the beach, we headed out, thinking we’d stop in Loreto to do a little provisioning. But that wasn’t to be either, as once we were clear of Vee Cove, a dorado found itself on the end of our line. Dinner! After hauling it in and prepping it for the evening feast, we made our way back toward Puerto Esco, knowing a big norther was on its way.<\/p>\n\n\t\t