La Paz update

Right after our arrival at Los Muertos, we got to experience one of the unique weather patterns of the Sea of Cortez..."the norther".  These weather systems, bringing high northerly winds down from the US south west, can blow for several days.  And this one did!  Even anchored snugly in the cove, it blew 20-30 knots steadily for over two days.  No worries, the anchor held solid, and we got a lot of reading done, movies watched, and navels contemplated as we waited for the wind to die down.  We had a local panga fisherman take us ashore, as it would have been a very wet dinghy ride, especially with the four of us.

Eventually the wind died down, and we made our way up toward the national park of Espiritu Santo.  On the way, while tacking the boat, we snapped a steering cable....a bad sensation indeed as suddenly the steering wheel just spun around like a pinwheel with no control of the boat.  Happily our auto pilot is a completely independent system, so we were able to continue on using just Otto, our trusty pilot to steer.

Made it to a large, pretty bay, San Gabriel, at the bottom of Espiritu Santo, and anchored near two other boats, Taking Flight and Panta Rhei, both from Seattle.  The water was picture perfect, light blue over coral sands.  We hadn't seen this color water all the way down the Mexican mainland.  Of course it demanded exploration.  Toys were quickly deployed, as we set out kayaking, snorkeling, and hiking.  Did a fun desert hike with the other boat crews across the island to the east side bay called Bonanza.

A strong wind came up that night out of the south.  This is another local weather phenomena, seen only in the La Paz area, known as a corumuel.  It blew 25 knots all night.  The wind wasn't very strong, but the short chop it created, perhaps 5-7 feet, really made the boats hobby horse at anchor.  Taking Flight took a wave over the bow and down the hatch, dousing their bunk.  They boogied out at around 3 a.m. for a calmer bay to the north, while we stayed put, as we didn't want to move on without a steering wheel!!!

Fisherman trying for a bigger fish!

The next day, we moved north to another bay at the north end of the island park, Caleta Partida.  Here we had a great time exploring, and bought a lobster and some fish from a local fishermans beach camp.  Tasty business!!!

Fossils in beach rocks.

Old greybeards never give it up!!!

  It was now time for David and Diana to fly home out of La Paz, so with that, we headed south to the city.  As luck had it, there was a festival in swing when we arrived, with dancing on a street stage, and the start of an off road desert race, the Dos Mares 500.  A good party for everyone, with the malecon packed full of racers, wannabes, and fans.  Hard to resist!!!

Geriatric mariachis!!!

Guys looked beat after 500 miles in the desert!

D&D flew out after a great visit, and we settled down to get our steering fixed.  We needed parts from the US, and Edson, the manufacturer claimed less than 50% success shipping to Mexico.  Best solution...Cindi flew up to visit her brother and his family in L.A. for a fun weekend, and was our "mule" for carrying boat parts back across the border.  Just took a couple of hours to fix the next day, and yeeee-hah, today we'll be getting back underway, heading north to explore the Sea of Cortez for the next several months......stay tuned!!!