Isla San Francisco to Los Gatos

San Evaristo

We were off again the next day for San Evaristo. This leg was a short one and so we were all settled in by early afternoon. The anchorage is a snug little nook between two ridges and initially we had it all to ourselves. We had almost no wind and a nice blue sky, a great little treat. A couple of cervesas rounded out the package for a perfect start to the afternoon. We even had a nice couple row their dingy over and give us a freshly spearfished snapper they had caught. They were Reno and Catherine from the Sailing Vessel "Star". The day just kept getting better and better.

Once we were all warmed up we set off for a quick snorkle session. Unfortuately, even in the Sea of Cortez, the water is pretty cold this time of year and so wetsuits are still a necessity.. In another few months everthing will warm up but till then we just have to suffer ;-)

After the snorkle it was back to the boat and a few more cervesas. In search of another adventure we decided to go and check out the "town". A town in this part of Mexico really just means a few houses in the same general area. There is no gas station. There is no pavement. There are no signs. And of course no city planners to keep things organized.

So you walk around a bit on the path or the first dirt road you find off the beach. Soon you get to an intersection. At the intersection there is a dirt road going off in four different directions with no real clear indications as to which one is the main road. You might like to take the road less travelled, but it isn't clear that any have been travelled at all... So you just pick one.

At this point you either come across a dog or a child. Either way, if you can't speak spanish you won't get very far. Thankfully the people that are here are all really friendly and you don't have to speak much spanish to get your point across. In our case all we were looking for was the small local store rumored to be around here and so we just kept walking.

Eventually we found it. A small cinder block and concrete house with a shaky roof on top. Out front the owner was working under the engine of his pickup truck while his two young daughters were playing on the porch. The girls were pretty smart and came over and led us into the small house / store. There was a decent little selection here and we managed to restock on a few essentials such as chips and salsa. as well as some other boring stuff like vegetables.. After that it was back to the boat to devour our new loot.

Los Gatos

The next morning we were off for Los Gatos. We cruised by the fisherman in their panga. We cruised by more pretty coastline. We did some fishing. It was just another rough cruising day. Pretty soon we were approaching our destination.

This isn't a super well protected anchorage but it's really pretty and we had settled weather. There are red sandstone cliffs at the north end of the anchorage giving the whole area a nice tint.

This is where you want to go if you are looking to get away from it all. There is nothing else around here, no houses, no roads, nothing. Adding to the sense of isolation we had the anchorage all to ourselves. It was really a spectacular setting in which to spend the day. To top it all off we had another beautiful sunset followed by a full moon.

Cruising is hard....