"Summer in the Sea of Cortez 2007 - Part 4"

Leaving Yellowstone Beach, we headed for Candeleros Chico. The perfect anchoring spot in the anchorage was already taken by SV Shore Looser but we dropped anchor anyway so we could investigate the anchorage for future stops. The anchorage is narrow with steep walls on each side and shallows at the head ending in a nice gravel beach. On the beach were survey markers so it looks like this will be developed too in the near future. We got to meet Frank and Jane on Shore Looser and found out,that Jane publishes a cruisers cook book with the proceeds benefiting a local school in Loreto.

In the afternoon we raised anchor and headed around the corner to Candeleros (Bahia Blanca). Passing by we noticed 4 boats in the anchorage. Remembering a tidbit of information from Don and Peggy on SV Interlude, we continued on to Pyramid Cove on Isla Danzante.

Pyramid Cove is a quaint one boat anchorage with crystal clear aquamarine water. And it was EMPTY! We spent two days there by ourselves, snorkeling, fishing, swimming and just relaxing. One evening we dingied over to HoneyMoon Cove (abouta mile and a half away) to see Jerry on MV Daymaker, who had friends aboard visiting from the USA.

July 30th we headed towards Bahia Salinas on the NE side of Isla Carmen. The bay is very shallow and one has to anchor about a 1/4 of a mile out in about 10 feet of depth over good holding sand bottom. At the head of the bay is an abandoned salt mining village. A few new buildings have been erected and when we spoke to the caretakers found out, that the island (which is owned by the mining company) is been developed for wild goat hunting in the winter time and fishing in the summer time. The newbuildings where resembling old style apartment buildings but with all the amenities like A/C, satellite TV and even a well stocked bar!

Continuing our circumnavigating of Isla Carmen, which we thought would take us a while, lasted only several hours. We looked at several anchorages, Punta Perico swells rolling in, Bahia Cobre same story, Painted Cliffs has one spot deep inside to hide but was taken already by SV Ceilidth (Jay and Janice plus Buster Dog).

Continuing north, we rounded Punta Lobos and headed for V-Cove and La Lancha. In V-Cove there were already 2 boats (Que Tal and Milagro), so we kept on and dropped anchor in LA Lanchanext to Tom and Diane on SV Imagine. It was still blowing 20-25 knots, but the anchorage is sheltered from swells. The wind comes blowing over the ridge leading to the salt flats of Bahia Salinas but doesn't get a chance to build fetch.

We spent 2 days in La Lancha trying to discover this new place. All we actually did was one day dingied over to V-Cove to say hi to our friends of SV Milagro (Lance, Jo, Rocky the guard dog and visiting family Keith, Mel and Sam)which we haven't seen in over a month and a half. The other thing we did was landed the dinghy and walked to the ridge overlooking the salt flats and the abandoned village in the distance. Other than that, we stayed on the boat since it blew continuously 20-25 knots. And the fishing was lousy anyway.

July 2nd we headed to Ballandra and dropped anchor in the NE corner of the bay. Anchored there were already Imagine, Sailsoon, La Solana and Flying Cloud. And in true cruisers spirit, Flying Cloud organized a pre 4th of July potluck party on the beach. They actually were a day off and thought they had planed a party for the 4th. But hey, we are cruising, so what day is it today? Nobody really knows unless we look at calendars or computers.

The high light of our cruise in Balandra was a besides some good trigger fish catching, a juvenile whale shark playing in our anchorage. Dropping everything we were doing, we hopped into our dinghy without grabbing any snorkel gear and picking up Sam on Milagro along the way, went to look at that kid (about 10 feet long). We are not sure who had more fun, Sam, 13 years of age, squeaking as she swam with the whale shark or us watching her having fun. The whale shark was very friendly circling outdinghy and giving us various opportunities to touch his sandpaper like rubbery back. The shark was playing with us as we were playing with him, circling the dinghy and diving under it to return repeatedly for more of it.

July 6th was time to hit town (Loreto) for provisioning. That day we did all of the regular store stops including Dali the meat place. Besides the gorgeous slabs of meats, chicken and baby back ribs, a score was made with Thomas's English muffins. YUMMY! Saturday morning was reserved for the local farmers market where you can purchase any fruit or veggie extra fresh. And score we did again.Sunday we went to a secret pinky swearing place for carnitas. He is only opened on Sundays. They are to die for.

Loreto is a quaint little town with a beautiful Mission (founded 1697). It is called the historical capital of Baja California Sur since it used to be the capital of Alta California (current California) and Baja California Sur. A hurricane devastated the city in 1829 and the capital was moved to La Paz. Today, Loreto has been rediscovered and besides being a big sport fishing center, is also been heavily developed on the real estate side, since many gringos find the climate and the surroundings very attractive.

Saturday and Sunday evenings we motored the 5 miles to Punta Nopolo. We thought it would be a quieter anchorage protected from the prevailing southerly winds. We were rewarded not only with a beautiful shore side setting (there is a resort hotel tucked into the corner of the very shallow bay) but also had 2 very pleasant and flat nights. It felt like sleeping in a marina it was that quiet.

Monday morning we renewed our yearly fishing licenses in Loreto and had a pleasant lunch with Jo and Lance in town at Arguies. We decided to stay anchored outside of town since Frank of SV Snow Goose is on his way from Los Angeles to La Paz and is bringing us some goodies. We plan to meet Frank Tuesday for lunch.