**** If you click on the 'coloured' place names a Navionics map opens so you can see where we were ****

*** You can use the zoom buttons to orientate ***

Following our return home from the UK we managed to get all our jobs done on Amelie and set sail to Ensenada to check into Mexico. Ensenada is known as the “Cinderella of the Pacific”, why?…..we haven’t got a clue. This was the first port of call for us along the western Baja of California, until we turned the corner into the Sea of Cortez, several weeks later.

Initially we gulped at the fee for staying in the marina but this included the use of an agent to transport us to the appropriate offices and deal with translation and paperwork. After two hours we were welcomed legally into Mexico.

We decided to be tourists for the day and arrived in downtown with the idea to finish off our Christmas shopping and find somewhere for lunch.

Stephen decided that one of his famous short cuts would allow us to see the local sights and end up at a recommended restaurant, We trailed along dusty streets, with gaping holes in the pavements covered in plywood, crossing stepping stones over a trickle in an arroyo, passing from the tourist area into the real Ensenada. Standing out like sore thumbs, checking periodically the iPhone maps we continued in the wrong direction finally making a huge circle back to where we started. After a fish lunch and gifts bought we returned to Amelie, planning to leave the following day for Turtle Bay (Bahia de Tortugas). 

This bay was our destination for Christmas based on the pilot book information. The text and the real thing were poles apart. Despite being a pretty bay but not dissimilar to others that we had experienced, we found that the village was dead. Firstly trying to get from the dinghy onto the pier was a mountaineering feat, via a rickety ladder with several of its rungs missing and this was the fuel pontoon! Once again plywood was a big feature on the pier and being elevated somewhat, we precariously tested each step before advancing. Several men of various ages hung around in the dust underneath a hand painted sign welcoming the Baja Rally, watching us alight onto firm soil, greeting us with “Ole” while an apparition passed in front of us. From one of the streets an individual of Mexican descent donned in a poncho atop a piebald pony trotted past. It felt like a Spanish Peaky Blinders episode and we were fully expecting a Mariachi (form of Mexican folk music) version of “Red Right Hand” as she passed. Christmas passed frustratingly quietly with our only contact with the outside world via Whatsapp or satellite telephone. Boxing Day we were out of there, sailing southwards and visiting similar anchorages until we arrived in Man of War anchorage, Puerto Magdalena for New Year. The port captain, Gregory was extremely welcoming and was thrilled when we handed over bags of goodies that Debbie had collected over the previous year. We hosted a New Year’s Eve party on board Amelie, falling into bed near dawn, waking at noon to the carnage from the night before. A day to recover then it was off to Cabo San Lucas to replenish our supplies, staying in the marina. We were surrounded by pangas, party boats, sports fishing boats, bars and restaurants but after the Christmas we had, this was just what we needed. Naturally we explored on foot, firstly for cigars and pipe tobacco, then a restaurant for supper and over the next few days we found an excellent marine store, a classy bar with the most amazing music, great restaurants from every culture and El Squid Roe! This is a party place playing Mexican and Western music, on various levels. Thanks to Sadie and Andy for this recommendation, it shouldn’t be missed. We both ended up dancing on the tables, bopping in a caged veranda with happy strangers and our next door neighbour, Carly, who was great fun. Following this exuberant behaviour from a couple of oldies we joined our waiter and his friends in an outside bar until it was time for bed.

Carly took us to Costco (our first and promising visit) to provision and we took her out on Amelie into the bay to enjoy a BBQ at anchor. After saying our goodbyes we got some rest and departed for Bahia Frailes, where we experienced some fabulous snorkelling off the only reef in the Sea of Cortez. Debbie got back on her SUP, surprised that after two years she was still able to keep her balance. Kayaking to this beautiful beach and walking the length of it was a huge treat with our friend, Alan. We could listen to Alan for hours, he has a beautiful voice and shares his experiences without being boastful. A kind, thoughtful and extremely interesting individual. We introduced two American families to Boules, although the soft sand surface was difficult to play on and we were constantly losing the ball. The wildlife here was spectacular, with predatory fish chasing shoals of smaller fish; hilarious Frigate birds attempting to catch the smaller fish as they jump and failing; small Manta Rays flipping as the sun went down and the 40 feet blows of Blue Whales far out on the horizon. Lying in bed with the windows open, we loved listening to the harmonious singing of the Whales. Strong northerly winds kept us in the bay for days but we weren’t complaining.

Eventually we left for Ensenada de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead, renamed Bahia de los Suenos; Bay of Dreams), a pretty bay with luxury homes including a Mexican restaurant called Restaurante 1535 that served fantastic Margaritas.

At 5am the following day Amelie left the bay and initially bashed into a choppy sea with the wind on the nose, we watched the sun come up and then had the best sailing in scorching sun, flying through the San Lorenzo Canal with 3G on the boat. Texts were flying between family and friends in the UK with obligatory pictures of our views and the stunning weather. They returned pictures of them on blustery, cold beaches, eating roasts in a pub or in their warm kitchens with rain pouring down outside. We were happy with where we were! The Bahia de La Paz’s coastline is so beautiful and our progress was such that we arrived in the anchorage mid afternoon, met by a local American welcoming us to the “Hood”, enjoying a Margarita in the cockpit watching the sun set over El Magote, (peninsula of land off La Paz) with the bells pealing from the cathedral in the city. La Paz translates as “The Peace” and as a city, it is peaceful, a little shabby but charming and the prices are non touristy. The Malecon (waterfront area) is in the process of being improved with craftsmen cutting stone, measuring and fitting the pieces together like a jigsaw. Later we discovered that this transformation of the Malecon was for the carnival during the second week of February. We walked around the back streets looking for cigars and came across a wonderful liquor/cigar cellar, great prices and good choice of wines, tequila, spirits etc. Stephen purchased his stash and lunch was next on the agenda. We ended up eating in a rustic fish restaurant with the locals, eating succulent fish with fresh salads and pickles.

Our amble back to the dinghy involved checking out the local supermarket and then strolling along the Malecon, avoiding the odd reclining craftsman and stone cutter machine. The dinghy was moored safely in the Marina de La Paz, closest to Downtown and for only 20 pesos a day (80p). This price not only includes a parking space, but fresh water if required and disposal of garbage, laundromat facility, use of the mini market, bar, restaurant and Club Cruceros, where you can book swap amongst other things. This club raises money for the less fortunate children of La Paz. This is all within feet of the dinghy and a beautiful clean beach. The next part of our cruise to the island of Espiritu Santo requires a permit since it is the national marine park. In true British tradition we marched two and half miles in the midday sun to the CONANP offices where we bought our fourteen day passes and were handed the marine information to help us plan our time in the park. Our last day in this lovely city was spent catching up with people that we had met along the way, enjoying an Al Fresco lunch, exploring the area around the cathedral, buying cigar, wine, tobacco and coffee provisions from various establishments, walking the length of the Malecon and retiring early on Amelie.

The next anchorage was Puerto Balandra. During the day fishing and tourist pangas would mooch around the bay, the odd party boat with the traditional punters from the local hotels experiencing kayaking, swimming, eating and drinking whilst music blared from a speaker on the deck. The local newspapers are wondering why the number of Whale Shark sightings have diminished over the past two years from 70 to 12……the evidence was obvious with fast moving, loud boats flying around all day. As snorkelers we had to constantly keep an eye out. Once they had all gone home, a few of us boats enjoyed the peace and beauty of the bay. This bay claims to have a famous rock resembling a mushroom, called “El Hongo”, unfortunately this rock collapsed and then was stuck back together again! Debbie visited it via her paddle-board to discover this tiny, pathetic “thing” after paddling past far more impressive rock structures.

According to the weather, we were expecting higher winds so we wanted to be tucked up safe in a bay on Isla Espiritu Santo. We had Playa Bonanza to ourselves, with the longest golden beach on the island as our afternoon walk, the turquoise shades of water changing as the sun went across the horizon, the craggy mountains dotted with Cacti and many different wading birds to delight us. The snorkelling on the northern reef was mainly boring with poor diversity of fish and the same old coral but the swimming was fantastic. The night sky was crammed full of stars the only unnatural lights being our anchor lamp, from fishing pangas and the odd frigate way out to sea. No light pollution…..bliss. For several days we were boat bound as the predicted strong northerly came in and it was impossible to launch any of the toys, nor was it safe to swim off the boat with white crested waves pummelling the hull, causing the boat to tango and eating through four snubbers.  We used the time to read, the odd jobs and finished watching series one of The Crown. Eventually the wind abated and we took the earliest opportunity to sail round the island to Puerto Ballena, with its high red striated cliffs, turquoise water, shallow coral and sandy bottom, for more protection. We sailed to the most northerly of the lobes to Ensenada de la Raza as more strong winds were forecast. We snorkelled, paddle boarded, kayaked, swam, walked the intertidal section of the beach, finding all sorts of treasures including many Porcupine fish skeletons, evidence of Oyster pearl harvesting with the foundations of dwellings together with stony ramps for the canoes/pangas, piles of oyster shells of various ages, sponges, coral, sea cucumbers, Brittle Stars and Stephen sighted a Hummingbird. We were joined by a couple of boats and their crew who we had met before. The Red Flying Omelette was inflated for getting over the shallow patches to the beach with its “Canadian condemned” outboard that worked almost immediately and continues to do so. Most evenings were spent eating aboard various boats in the bay, Debbie being introduced to “Apples to Apples”, a children’s game resembling “Cards of Humanity”. Naturally the first world  issue cropped up……zero cigars together with lack of gin, so the Skipper took to a fully fuelled M and scooted off to La Paz, 20nm away to replenish supplies. Debbie added a few more items to his shopping list and he kindly took everyone’s trash to be disposed ashore, bringing back some lovely treats and fresh bread from Carlos.

Several times we were prevented from moving on due to strong northerly winds, cabin fever set in and as soon as those winds passed we up anchored and moved off. The next anchorage was Caleta Partida, a volcanic crater separating Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. The passage between the two islands is too shallow for us to traverse but the beach was wonderful to walk along. There were signs of habitation, maybe during the summer months for the fishermen, resembling tumbledown accommodation, with Fisherman crosses erected in various areas adorned with shells. Several sandy mounds were obviously graves and close to the sand-spits that formed the narrow passage were stone circular shelters with signs of fires. The many Turkey Vultures nestled on the fences which appeared to mark the boundaries of the “township”. Finding a complete half of a Pen Shell (identified by Alan) was the highlight, never encountered before and a beautiful specimen which now resides in the cockpit. The anchorage was busy but not crowded and extremely peaceful. The reef at the entrance of the bay was designated for snorkelling. The visibility came and went particularly as the Red Tide was running, first encountered in Haida Gwaii. This was our first time swimming in it, together with the stings that Stephen suffered it was alarming, swimming without any focal points, feeling very vulnerable from bumping into rocks. Both of us were relieved to get into the dinghy. The red flying omelette had it’s sailing rig erected with Stephen, Miles, Katie and Matt enjoying hours of fun, adding to other boaters’ enjoyment.

Before leaving these beautiful islands we wanted to anchor in Ensenada Grande, choosing the North Bight. This is the smallest of the three bights, anchoring in crystal clear water close to the rock face and beach. This was our favourite bay to date, watching the tiny Horned Grebes, bop their bottoms up and swim “breaststroke fashion” to the weedy patches on the seabed, frantically charging around until they ran out of breath, then streamlining their bodies and thundering to the surface, fluffing up their feathers. Comical but so sweet. Snorkelling was a complete delight, watching the Sand Eels wave the upper part of their bodies in the water whilst their lower third is secured in the sand. As we cast shadows over them, they quickly retracted like a telescope, only to reappear when we had passed. The fish were bountiful and diverse, varying in size and colour. Debbie enjoyed a mammoth paddle boarding trip around the three bights enjoying the topography of bays which differed from one another. We read that on the Punta Tijeretas the Blue-footed Boobies nested in the hollows of the volcanic rock faces. Off we traipsed in our dinghies but saw nothing. The rock formation was amazing, various rays and turtles swam underneath us, once again the water was clear with sights of scurrying fish but no Boobies. Several nights were spent in the bight enjoying Mastodon and Astrologer’s company, thought provoking conversations that didn’t involve boats or sailing, lots of laughter and a friendly warmth glowed from the three boats. A memorable scene was seeing 13 year old Meg from Mastodon suitably donned in her faux fur coat, paddle boarding to Amelie for supper……and staying dry! Sheer class.

It is always hard to say goodbye to people that you gel with but maybe our paths will cross again and certainly we will visit the Mastodon family in their hometown one day.

Amelie alone motored gently to Isla San Francisco, having the south east anchorage to ourselves. What a disappointment……apart from the vivid red and green rock faces, poor visibility didn’t encourage us to get into the water. This anchorage didn’t do anything for us so we moved on the following day in blustery north winds to a secure anchorage in San Evaristo. The rocky headlands sheltered us from the brunt of the wind while we watched the white horses out in the San Jose canal. Punta Evaristo is a small fishing community with a desalination plant, tienda, Lupe Sierra’s restaurant and roads leading off into the mountain passes. The kayak was lowered as it was going to be another beach landing, except this time the beach was pebbles and sand. A beautiful old Shrimper had just anchored close to Amelie and a few pangas had taken supply of shrimps (to us Brits, huge prawns) only to sell to us, at a profit,  when we got to the beach. We did rather well in showing them our 100 Pesos (£4) and receiving a “good” ½ kilogram of fresh crustaceans. Our walk was quite brief as the beach is small but during that time we chatted away to various people off their boats, enjoying their company and sharing information. That evening we kayaked across the bay to Lupe’s shell decorated restaurant, (there were more shells on his walls than on the beach) shared a table with a couple who we recognised from some of the anchorages, Stephen collected a beer from a giant cooler and we chose our supper from flyers on the window. We were blown away by the welcome of Lupe and his waitress together with his culinary expertise. The food was the freshest and by far the best that we had eaten in Mexico, as usual accompanied by homemade flour tortillas. Before our meal was served we had our first experience of Trump voters preaching to people sharing their table, the language, content and volume became intolerable so we retired inside by the bar and kitchen, amongst Lupe’s menagerie of collectables and treasures. We enjoyed our meal with catchy Mexican music playing in the background and Lupe’s power drill charging via a cat’s cradle of electrical wires and plugs. Janty from Happy Island in the Caribbean and Lupe ought to meet one day, they would be soul-mates. We left this sandy grotto under a star encrusted sky, the sound of lapping waves on the foreshore and getting soaked as we paddled back to Amelie.

Stephen’s 63rd birthday started off with a calm sea, blazing sun, with predatory fish chasing reasonable sized Dorado (Mahi-Mahi, Dolphin fish) into our small bay with Pelicans, Frigate birds and Herons getting in on the act and soft boiled eggs with buttered toast soldiers for the Skipper’s birthday breakfast. Stephen had saved three of his favourite Cuban (Partagas) cigars for his special day with the “shrimps” cooked in garlic sesame oil with a salad together with a chilled bottle of Champagne for lunch and later a couple of Ribeye's on the BBQ washed down with a Freeman’s Estate Pinot Noir. Stephen reminisced about his birthdays shared with Sussanne from Pearl of Persia and we sent her an email message via the boat email for her special birthday. We lowered “M” and stormed across the canal to the mangrove area of Isla San Jose but due to low water we were unable to go through the grove. Unperturbed we motored around the spit, watching huge turtles glide effortlessly along the seabed, sometimes spooking the odd one just under the surface, Rays waving to us with their wings and the sweet little Horned Grebes diving. We switched off the engine and were taken with the current silently watching the Pelicans showing off and unidentified fish under our hull, swimming along without alarm. The only noise came from the splash of the diving Pelicans and the wavelets lapping the shore. Later we sang and danced to music on Amelie as the sun dipped, rounding off another memorable birthday for Stephen.

Since being in this idyllic bay we heard the call of a Peregrine Falcon but no sightings………until one breakfast time, Stephen mid mouthful of Muesli gestured excitedly. The “whoosh of feathers” moment happened right before our eyes. One of the afore mentioned Horned Grebes was minding it’s own business, happily swimming in the early Sunday morning sun, when from aloft, a Peregrine Falcon dive bombed the bird, stunning or killing it in a split second, swooped around and scooped up the floppy bird in it’s talons flying away at breakneck speed to get away from an interested Gull and enjoyed it’s breakfast on top of a huge cactus. Through binoculars, the periodic waft of plucked feathers could be seen with the Falcon spending about three minutes engulfing what it required and we assume leaving the rest, in true Falcon fashion, to the scavengers on the thermals. Stephen reported his findings via the Iridium to Alan from Goblin. This gory experience made Stephen’s day and he celebrated by roasting a duck that evening!

The freedom of our lifestyle with few “rigid” plans allows us to change our decisions. We had hoped to meet Brian and Doreen from Chinook on the mainland, also a trip to the Copper Canyon but both plans were not to be. Instead we headed south to spend a week with the Mastodon crew together with preparing Amelie for her trip across the Pacific. We achieved plenty and enjoyed evenings out at wonderful restaurants in La Paz. Another week was spent chilling in Caleta Lobos, together with Mastodon and the added surprise of Goblin staying in the anchorage for a short time.  We enjoyed watching the Night Herons making their nests on the rocky islet. We spent the last Sunday afternoon in the neighbouring bay enjoying a late lunch and entertained by a swimwear photographic shoot on the pontoon, the main model being Miss England 2012 who hailed from Torpoint! It was soon time to return to La Paz for our ordered supplies and provisioning, ticking off a few more boat projects before we leave.

Mexico - the snapshot that we gained over the past few months - is an interesting country. The weather was significantly warmer, lovely islands, dramatic scenery, a mixture of poverty and wealth, many Americans, “Mañana” mentality, women heavily encrusted with make up, loads of bling and high heels. We never felt threatened or unsafe although we were aware of the drug cartel battles and were cautious with our travelling plans particularly at night. The heavily armed municipal and federal police were a common sight in the larger towns particularly at carnival time.

Our experience overall from checking in at Marina Coral, Ensenada was efficient, easy but the most expensive marina anywhere in the world for us. Despite many people telling us to avoid Cabo San Lucas and to explore the west coast of the Baja Peninsula, our experience was completely the opposite. Given our time again we would have sailed direct to Cabo San Lucas from Ensenada and enjoyed more time in the Sea of Cortez.

As a place to over winter, we’ve had a pleasurable time seeing new places, making new friends  and enjoying a moderately benign climate. We certainly don’t regret our decision to visit Mexico and we are very excited about what lies ahead.