Santispac – May 18 – 20, 2011

Sunrise

We left Pulpito at 6:00 am for an 8 hour trip up to Concepcion Bay.

On the way, the poles were in the water, as usual, but all of a sudden one pole bent over. We had a fish!! This was the first time we had caught anything from the boat. Rick reeled it in and I scooped it up in the net. Now we had to figure out what it was and what to do with it!! We checked the book and decided it was a Yellowtail. Rick killed it with Vodka and cleaned it on the back to keep the blood out of the cockpit. We put it in a bag and into the frig. A few minutes later Firefly caught a fish, then another. Waahoo! Fish for dinner. Maybe even Sushi!

We anchored in Playa Santispac to get out of the north winds. After anchoring, Firefly called to say there was a whale shark near our boat. We jumped in the dinghy and went near it. It didn’t seem to be afraid or mind the dinghy. I got a few pictures and a video I’ll try to post. Hope it works???

We headed over to Firefly and had some of their fish sushi style. We went to shore to try out the restaurant, but it was closed for the day, so we walked down the beach to the camping grounds. We hung out with the caretaker and his pets for a while before heading back to the boats.

Rick and a kitten and Ted

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sushi on Hotel California

The next day we had a fish lunch and Champagne on Hotel California then went to shore to try Ana’s Restaurant again. Today we are in luck, it is open, but the name has been changed to Lulu’s. We had great margarita’s and chili rellenos. We met up with a few boats from the anchorage, Di’s Dream, Miss Teak, and Loomba Loomba. Tomorrow we will move to a new anchorage deeper in the bay and try to get internet or phone service.

Ana's / Lulu's

Brenda, Pam and Ted at Ana's

San Juanico – May 11 – 17, 2011

The wind was blowing and the seas were rough all the way to San Juanico. It was a 20 mile trip which took 4 ½ hours. But once we got there the anchorage was calm and protected. This is a large bay and there were about 25 boats here. We went to Firefly for dinner.

Pam and Brenda

 The next day there was a pot luck beach party for all the boaters. There were a lot of people and a lot of good food.

Friday we hiked the trail up the hill. Rick’s foot was sore so we only went part way. Ted and Brenda went up to the ridge trail and we could barely see them at the top. That night, Ted and Brenda, Eric and Marilyn and Cary and Michele from Kialoni, came over for dinner on Hotel California and watched a beautiful sunset.

Cary, Gizmo, Brenda and Ted

Michele, Marilyn, and Eric

The next day, Rick and I took the dinghy around the point to check out the fishing area. These rock formations are amazing. There is a cruisers shrine tree on the beach, so we added ours to the collection.

Later, we went snorkeling with Jerry and Gayle from Moshulu and Ted and Brenda. We found a great snorkeling spot with a ton of fish. Ted even spotted a lobster. It got cold so we all got out to warm up. I’m still waiting for the water to get warmer. 74 degrees isn’t warm enough.

The next morning Rick went fishing and came back with a Hogshead. He filleted it and we cooked it up.

Moonrise

Monday night we watched the moon rise while having cocktails on Firefly. After 6 days here, we will leave for the next anchorage in the morning.

Isla Coronados – May 9-11, 2011

We arrived at Isla Coronados about 5 o’clock. The anchorage was tucked in away from the wind, so we had a good night’s sleep. The next day we all went to shore to swim and explore. The water is so shallow we walked out about 200 yards and were only knee deep.

That night the winds whipped around and rocked the boat all night. We left Wednesday morning for San Juanico.

Loreto –May 9, 2011

Loreto is not a good place to anchor if there is any strong winds. After leaving Painted Cliffs and rounding the corner, the winds picked up and we had white caps. It didn’t look like Loreto was an option today. Then Full Shell called on the radio and said he was anchored of Loreto and it was calm, so we went in and anchored. Rick and Ted ran around town looking or parts and groceries while Brenda and I stayed on the boats in case we drug anchor. No luck finding the impeller, but we did get groceries. All three boats took off and headed to Isla Coronados.

Salinas – Painted Cliffs – May 7-9, 2011

Firefly and Hotel California pulled up anchor about 10 to head to the east side of Isla Carmen. Full Shell headed north, we will catch up with them later. As we were leaving the bay, 2 whales cruised by. We have phone service in the channel and probably won’t have any on the other side of the island, so we called our Moms to wish them Happy Mother’s Day.

We pulled into Salinas and dropped the anchor. It is so sandy and shallow here the water looks aqua blue-green. There is an old abandoned town and salt mining operation which would be fun to explore, but the south wind came up and there is no protection here. We stay about a couple of hours then pulled up anchor to head around the corner. On the way out of the bay we went past a sunken 120’ tuna boat in 35 feet of water with one side above the surface. It would be a great snorkeling or dive site, but for now it is covered with birds. We will have to come back to this spot when the winds are better.

Sunken Tuna Boat

On the way around the corner to Painted Cliffs we saw so many rays jumping out of the water. They are about 2 feet across and jump up about 5 feet, then slam onto the top of the water and make a big slap. I’m not sure why they do this, I guess they’re just playing. Next, a pod of dolphin joined us for a few miles. There is so much sea life out here, I’m constantly grabbing my camera.

Rays jumping

Dolphin

We anchored in Painted Cliffs which is named for the colorful rocky hillsides surrounding the anchorage. I dove in and checked our anchor then swam over to Firefly to see the huge rocks they had anchored near. They were too close, so they moved to the other side of us.

Pam Checking the Anchor

The next day we went for a dinghy ride to the other side of the bay. A fog bank came rolling in and the boats were lost in the fog. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees. We headed back to the boats and as we got close the fog had cleared and it was bright sunshine again. A few minutes later another bank came in and hung there for about an hour. It felt like we were back in San Francisco Bay.

Boats disappearing in the fog

Fog coming in

We are having a problem with our small outboard dinghy engine. It needs a new impeller, so we are heading over to Loreto in the morning to see if we can buy one.

Bahia Marquer – May 5-7, 2011

Giant Eagle Ray under the surface in Bahia Marquer

We left Thrusday morning and sailed over to Isla Carmen. On the way over to Puerto Ballandra we got a report from Corvida that the anchorage was invested with bees, so we changed the plan and went to Bahia Marquer.  It was a beautiful spot with rocks hanging over the clear water. We saw a giant Spotted Eagle Ray and followed it in the dinghy. 

Later, Full Shell showed up and we all went to their boat for cocktails.

Clear Water in Bahia Marquer

The next day a large pod of dolphins came into the bay and played around for about an hour. We took a lot of pictures, but our camera is acting up, so not much to show. Maybe we can get some photos from Eric.

Eric and Marilyn with the Dolphins

Saturday we went to shore and walked and swam. The water here is beautiful. By evening the bees had found us so we stayed inside. Tomorrow we will move to a new spot.