Guaymas. A mere 20 miles, more or less, southeast from San Carlos. Hot, in May. Before arriving there about a month ago we had gunkholed about 10 miles north of San Carlos at Playa Chollado (nice snorkeling when the seas are calm)(which, after 24 hours, they weren't); moved a half mile north to Bandito Cove (great…
Funny thing about cruising in southerly climes. The water is warmer and the sun is brighter. Even as finely-insulated a vessel as a Malo has to expend more energy to keep cold things cold in its refrigerator. Even if GB has already insulated all the voids around and behind said refrigerator, it will still have…
We stayed at various anchorages in the San Carlos area for about ten days, having crossed from Santa Rosalia – a 80 mile trip almost directly east across the sea. We came over here a bit earlier than planned and anchored out in what’s left of the Bahia San Carlos anchorage because our toilet busted.…
At least, that’s what their little mining cart says, over there on the right: Santa Rosalia sits on the east coast of the Baja California peninsula, about halfway up (or down, depending on your direction of travel) the Sea of Cortez. It was a small town made bigger in the late 19th/early 20th century by…
With apologies to E.G. Brady, it’s not just Mazatlan; all of Mexico is loud. Brady wrote that since the invention of the amplifier, every local farmacy, taxi, wedding and 15th-birthday party blasts music into the street at a volume high enough to make your eardrums bleed. The public events in Santa Rosalia in late April…
There are lots of small sport fishing power boats zipping around the Sea of Cortez, taking what few fish remain in these waters. Mind you, some of our best boating friends are power boaters, but we prefer staying out of the way of the smaller, high speed sport craft. So we sort of cringed when…
The Propane Chef stocks The Fox well with all kinds of edibles. Costco, 99 Ranch Market, Trader Joe’s, Comercial Mexicana…whatever the country, the Propane Chef is there. Not even the smallest of local markets escape his scrutiny. The durable-food supplies we store in the bilge are extensive and could feed us well for a 3-…
Isla San Marcos is a short day trip from Punta Chivato and its northwestern side is a mere 11 miles SE of Santa Rosalia. Handy. Its eastern side is steep and deep, reputedly good for fishing for pelagic species like tuna but we will speak no more of such things. There are anchorages on San…
An extremely quick 22 miles due north out of Bahia de Concepcion is an anchorage providing moderate shelter from north winds at Punta Chivato – 27deg.03.920N, 111deg.57.678W. (OK; technically the anchorage is at Punta Santa Inez.) There is a nice-looking hotel overlooking the anchorage that cruisers can visit for a good meal, and the beaches…
There are few secret spots in the Sea of Cortez. No matter – some popular bays are large enough to accomodate lots of boats comfortably. Two such places are Caleta San Juanico at 26deg.22’N, 111deg.25’W; and Coyote Bay in Bahia de Concepcion, at 27deg.03.920N, 111deg.57.678W. Both are on the Baja peninsula side of things. San…