Month: June 2018

Hola Amigos! After Bud Light came through the sea it was time to head south to Agua Verde. We previously rushed through the area and wanted to take a closer look. Our guide book mentioned a tienda (market), some beach restaurants and some goat farms. What we didn’t realize is that a couple of boats that we met back in La Paz would also be there!

As we pulled into the anchorage we spotted Magic Dragon and Tabula Rasa. We gave them a call on the radio and plans were made the next morning to go explore the town. We were in search of a cemetery but had a tough time finding it. We tried to decipher the info the locals gave us, but we failed. In the meantime we walked by a couple of goat farms, an adorable school and managed to buy some goat cheese.On the way back to the boat we tried one last time to locate the cemetery. It was across the soccer field and beyond some cactus- we never would have found it! I admit it was a bit eerie looking and walking around the graves, but also pretty fascinating. The next day we made plans to find a cave with some hand paintings inside. It was in our guidebooks but listed no directions on how to get there. We heard from friends where they thought it was, and we ran with their advice. Well, it turns out we completely missed the cave and were asked by a cowboy to go back to our boats.

Our friends on Magic Dragon scoped out another cemetery on shore and we all decided to take a look. We had to walk up a steep gravel path and walk down the other side to get to the cemetery. I know what you’re thinking, why were we so obsessed with viewing cemeteries? I was asking myself this same thing! The oldest person we could determine was born in 1900.Enough about the creepy graves. Let’s erase those images and look at some beach photos…Brad in hiking action…Agua Verde was a charming little village and we made good use of the market and enjoyed a fish taco dinner on shore.Our next stop was Bahía Candelero, located just south of Puerto Escondido. Our main goal for staying here was internet access, and it was a well protected anchorage. At first glimpse I was not a big fan. There’s something about dark green, murky water that is disappointing but after paddling around we started to enjoy it a bit more. Tabula Rasa and Magic Dragon joined us the next day and we all planned a get together on Perspective. We invited a single hander, Jason, on Volare to join us. We met him at the dock in La Paz and were excited to cross paths once again. Over the next few days we enjoyed several potlucks and just great company! We also did quite a bit of fishing too. While the boys fished, the girls enjoyed a beautiful snorkel. I think this is what we all thought cruising would be like. Getting up, planning an adventure and sharing the bounty for dinner along with a nice sundowner. Thanks to Kathy on Tabula Rasa and Jamyne on Magic Dragon for the extra photos!

Here’s the small village on the other side of the anchorage. The town has about 200 people who we found to be extremely friendly! Thanks to Kathy here are some photos of the local medical facility and their church. Both charming! Next up for us is a place called Puerto Ballandra and Loreto! We may not have internet for awhile, but I will update the blog as we can. Hope you are all doing well. Cheers from Perspective!

Hello there! In the last post I mentioned Hurricane Bud wrecking our plans to head to the states. Well, he succeeded, but his great plans of being a hurricane also fizzled. So we will call it even. This was our first storm, ever, so we were taking things seriously. Which meant we would be leaving the La Paz area and heading north to a “hurricane hole” known as Puerto Escondido. We would be happier there and our insurance company would be too!

Our storm avoidance plan had us heading north, stopping in Isla San Francisco, Agua Verde and finally to Puerto Escondido. Puerto Escondido is just outside of Loreto. We were days ahead of the storm and enjoyed beautiful, downwind sails all the way up. It was hard to believe a storm was on its way with the nice conditions we were experiencing.When we finally made it to Puerto Escondido we secured a mooring ball for 3 nights. This was a much cheaper option than renting a slip. At this point we knew Bud was fizzling to a tropical storm and that the mooring would be sufficient.We took the time on shore to socialize with other cruisers and to have meals/drinks. It was a really nice change. The cruisers all joked about hurricane Bud turning into Bud Light. The next morning Bud Light came along and washed our boat in plenty of fresh water, about 6 inches. This was great except we had to stay on top of the leaks inside. Otherwise we could incur water damage and discoloration to our wood. Brad even made a mid rain repair to our chain plates that were being super naughty! Here’s a look at Bud in action…After a few hours of rain it was time to take all the laundry to shore. Puerto Escondido is expensive for pretty much everything, including laundry. For $5 a load the laundry added up quickly. But after weeks of rationing clothes it was a real treat to have everything clean again!

Brad and I also met up with our friends from Silver Wings while we were in Puerto Escondido. Their boat will be there for the next 6-8 weeks while they visit family in the states. It was SO nice to see them again! We all hiked the Steinbeck Canyon together and enjoyed a refreshing dip in the waterfall. Bud Light brought plenty of water for us to play in! The hike included some bouldering and even Sydney made it up there with Brad’s help. She soon discovered frogs and froze in her tracks. She could not understand what they were or what they were doing. It was pretty adorable. Eventually we made our way down the hill and back to the marina. It was time for us to ditch the mooring and head back out to the sea.We had our hearts set on heading south to Agua Verde. I’ll tell you more about that in our next blog. So until then I hope this post finds you well! Cheers from Perspective!

Ensenada Grande is located on the northern portion of Espiritu Santo and has three lobes to drop anchor in. There was a small, private beach near where we dropped and we promptly took Princess Sydney to shore. Having her on board is a pleasure. Because of her demands we have the opportunity to slow down and observe while she fetches her heart out. Here she is in her element…Brad checking out the views from above…More views of Ensenada Grande…We took a dinghy tour the first evening and made plans to snorkel the next day. We scoped out some amazing stops and couldn’t wait to explore the next day. As nature would have it, we did not get to snorkel the next day. Instead we quickly prepared to pick up anchor and set sail. Why the sudden change? One by one we were invaded by bees looking for fresh water. The swarming sound as you descended the stairs was unnerving. Luckily they were not aggressive, and even better, they left us as we sailed away! We chose a small fishing village called San Evaristo on the Baja side of the sea. Our guidebook told us there was a small market, restaurant and a place to drop off trash. We arrived and settled in to green, murky water. Gone was the beautiful blue water that we saw on the island. As I sat in the cockpit I noticed some serious splashing going on in the cove across from us. Upon further investigation I determined it was the mobula rays making all that ruckus. Brad, Sydney and I loaded up into the dinghy to get a closer look. We were shocked to be in the middle of a school of jumping rays. Here, let me show you…Sydney was a little startled by all this action and we are afraid it has made her skittish about swimming in deeper water. Don’t worry kid, I’m with you on that! Can you believe how much air these guys catch?!After grabbing lots of photos and videos we went back to the boat for the night. We stayed in San Evaristo for a couple of days and utilized the trash facilities, the restaurant and small market. We also hiked over to the salt flats on the other side of the cove.We took the dinghy to the salt flats beach and were met by a pod of dolphins. Sydney was once again overwhelmed by all the action. Naps on cuddly pillows always help her out. 😜Eventually it was time to head south back to La Paz area. We anchored in Candelero and then down to Balandra. We had big plans to dock the boat in La Paz and drive to the states. But Hurricane Bud had other ideas for us. I’ll catch you up on all of that on the next post! Thanks for stopping by and I hope this post finds you well. Cheers!!!

Well hello there! It’s time to catch up so let’s pick up where we left off. We had no issues picking up our anchor and leaving La Paz. The only difficulty was choosing where to drop the anchor next! Along the way we were escorted out by a pod of dolphins. There were so many heading our way that it looked like a wave breaking over a shallow reef. They proceeded to play in our bow wake and kept us company for a few precious minutes. I am always in awe whenever we see them, they are magnificent and oh so graceful.Espiritu Santo Island is full of great places to visit and drop the hook. After reading about the different stops in our guide, we chose Candelero. It’s a large anchorage divided by a small island with great holding on either side. We got settled in and went for a swim to cool off. The water was so clear we could see the anchor chain all the way to the bottom…We planned to stay a night or two at Candelero but were charmed enough to stay 4 nights. We spent our time snorkeling, taking Sydney to shore and trying to exercise by swimming laps around the boat. These laps were full of giggles, ankle grabs and cheating.

When it was time to snorkel, we anchored the dinghy next to the small island and I wasn’t prepared for all the fish we would see. We were immediately surrounded by Sergent Majors that had no fear of humans. We also saw trigger fish, angel fish, puffer fish, coronet fish, rooster fish, mackerel, and a moray eel. All the fish inspired Brad to bust out the spear gun! It turns out he is a great shot and we enjoyed delicious fish tacos!The main island had two wonderful beaches for Sydney to play on. In the middle is a rock formation that we saw as a photo opportunity…Others before us laid out shells beautifully on the textured formation…Candelero was so full of life. Dinghy rides were a great way to see the rays nestled below in the sand. Turtles would pop up every couple of minutes and Sydney made a new friend. She had her first encounter with a sea lion. We assume she visited our boat to hunt for the fish taking shelter underneath Perspective. Sydney couldn’t stop staring at the sea lion and we can only imagine what she must have thought.Candelero was just what we needed. Clear water and plenty of wildlife to observe.I hoped you enjoyed checking out Candelero with us and we hope this post finds you well! PS, if you’d like to see more, then check out our Instagram: SV Perspective. There we have videos of snorkeling and Sydney diving for sticks. Cheers til next time!