Andanzas Adventure: Sea of Cortez

The Sea of Cortez is a blend of geological formations of the desert, the changing colors of the ocean and the contrasts of the sky. The Sea is approximately 700 miles long with an average width of 93 miles. Years (and years ago) the Sea of Cortez actually went as far north as Palm Springs, California. The Salton Sea is the remnants of the Sea of Cortez.

There are about 100 islands within the Sea of Cortez and on the outside of Baja. Many of these islands are preserved as natural parks. According to the Nature Conservancy “the Sea of Cortez is the second most diverse marine body in the world.”

We have been without internet or cell phone coverage for the past 2 weeks. It is the first time we have experienced not knowing the date or day of the week. It is great!

We have been buddy boating with our friends John and Rosie on Serena Ray, Ed and Annette on Wind Song and new friends Trudy and Del on Island Grace. We have enjoyed many Happy Hours, Pot luck dinners, picnics on the beach, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and a new game – Bocci Ball. And at each new anchorage we have met new friends and seen old friends.

Our first anchorage after La Paz was at Caleta Partida, which was a cove between the channel of 2 islands, Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. Its origin is from a volcano as it is a crater of an extinct volcano. We spent time kayaking and hiking. The water looks like pool water around the shores, so clear. We went on a hike through one of the canyons on Isla Partida. It was hard work climbing over huge boulders and rising elevation. The climb was well worth it for the scenery and also the absolute quietness. The surrounding rocks are layered of dark brown, black and ivory. During our snorkeling we saw many scallops which we would of loved to have, however, it is against the law.

We experienced winds which we have found is common in the Sea. The winds around these islands are called the Coromuels. These winds usually begin in the evening and blow all night.

Surprising it is much cooler in the Sea than we expected. When under passage in the morning we have worn sweat shirts. Day temperatures are not much hotter than 80 degrees, night time has gone to the 60’s and the most unfortunate part is the water temperature is only about 71 degrees.

Our next anchorage was Isla San Francisco, which I think is our favorite so far. It has a crescent shaped bay surrounded by white beaches and views of red rocky cliffs. When we hiked to the top of the ridges on the islands we could see both sides of the island. It was a magical view. We were also able to walk to the opposite side of the island for good swimming. Shell collecting has become one of our favorite past times. There are so many shells.

Next stop was San Evaristo (on Baja). So far this is our least favorite anchorage. Evaristo is a very small fishing village. On our walk the village was very dry and dusty. There are limited activities at this anchorage. We had to stay longer in this anchorage due to high winds. The winds always seemed to come at night. We clocked 44 knot winds, (we heard some areas clocked 87 knots) thus a miserable night.

Onward to Puerto los Gatos. This was a very rough passage. Wind was on our nose. At times we were taking water over the Dodger. The uniqueness of this anchorage is the dark red cliffs and rock formations. We took many walks along the beach rocks, again the views are beautiful.

We are currently at Puerto Escondido. We have arrived here earlier than we planned due to our alternator has gone out. Thank goodness for Wally’s mechanical ability to diagnose a problem. We are about 14 miles from Loreto where hopefully we can get it repaired. We will be in Escondido for about a week. We are participating in a fund raiser, Loreto Fest. Actually it will be filled with social activities with fellow cruisers, games, eating, crafts, and special workshops.