Los Gatos
We weighed anchor early the next morning in flat calm
conditions and motored out of the bay.
We saw no wind whatsoever that day as we puttered along at 5 knots
enjoying the stunning scenery unfolding before us.
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| Travelling with Witte Raaf in calm conditions on the Sea of Cortez |
We travelled about 30 miles and by early
afternoon had arrived at Los Gatos, rumoured to be named thus by puma sightings
in the distant past. This anchorage is
fairly open and is really only suitable in calm conditions, so we were only able
to stay one night. What a pity, as I
thought this was one of the loveliest anchorages we had found yet, and that is
really saying something in this landscape of beauty!
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| Looking south - Ka'sala in the middle |
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| Looking west |
There are two crescent shaped beaches here – one pebbly and
one sandy, but both covered with shells of all shapes and sizes, many of which
are intact. Along the points at either
end, reefs stretch out and we could see colourful fish and small fish in
abundance.
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| Notice my kayak on the pebble beach - crescent shell beach in the distance, reef in between |
The water is perfectly
aquamarine and we could easily see our anchor and chain below. Stacked along the north end of the anchorage
waves of rocks roll up a rounded hillside, their sandstone sides textured by
the wind and striped with many shades of coral and pink.
When investigating this area I found the
remains of a small whale being picked clean by buzzards.
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| Whale carcass - looks to be a baby |
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| Buzzard investigating the whale head |
On the other end of the bay, craggy cliffs
fall into the sand, fist sized, crystal filled rocks embedded into the
crumbling sandstone like old concrete.
Joanneke and I spent the afternoon in the brilliant sunshine gathering
perfect shells destined for her jewellery collection.
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| The spoils of our shell collecting at Los Gatos |
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| Beware the shell monster! |
Like San Evaristo, the ever present Gigante Mountains were
in the background. Here, they ranged
from pinnacles and crags, cliffs and mesas, all lined with variations of clay
pot colouring. As the sun set and rose
the next morning, they changed so much as the light passed by them that they
seemed to be moving.
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| Sunrise - worth getting up early to see |
At night the stars
were intensely bright on that moonless night and the smell of the desert
wafting very strong on the night time breeze. A new fragrance for me and hard
to describe as I have no yardstick to measure it by – perhaps burnt mesquite,
smoke and desert bloom? It was a pity we
moved on so quickly.
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| Strange cloud formations above the Gigantes |
Aqua Verde
The next morning we left at 7am, bound for Aqua Verde, 18
miles north. A northerly blow was due to
start that afternoon and Jan wanted us anchored well inside the bay before the
wind picked up.
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| Witte Raaf sailing along the coastline between Los Gatos and Aqua Verde |
The sky became overcast
and the air humid, but by 11 a.m. we were tucked in and secure again, ready for
the 30 knots of SW gusties we would experience later that night. We motored the whole way, encountering many
dolphins who joined us to play on our bow.
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| This is how clear the water is in the Sea of Cortez |
We spent four wonderful days in Aqua Verde and I could have easily
spent longer. On the second day we
experienced an unusual phenomena – rain!!
It began with a patter in the middle of the night and by early morning
we had a steady sprinkle that lasted throughout the day. What a treat to have salty
Ka’sala cleaned
from stem to stern without having to lift a finger! The flora on the hillsides surrounding the
anchorage also got a wash, and when the sun came out a day later, the whole
area just sparkled.
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| Anchorage at Aqua Verde under cloudy skies |
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| Same anchorage on a sunny day - we had the whole bay to ourselves (note Roca Solitaria in the distance) |
On our first afternoon, we went into the village to
explore. It is a tiny place, almost
invisible from shore, with small square cinder-block homes spaced far enough
apart that each could have a small garden.
Each place seemed to have a variety of outdoor “rooms” covered with
palapa or metal shetting. Many kitchens
were outdoors and had wood burning, stone stoves with blackened pots. Most were surrounded by rustic fences to
protect anything growing within from the hundreds of goats who were roaming the
dirt tracks.
The ground is sandy and
rocky – most of it looks like dry riverbed.
Dotted throughout are rough hewn circular stone wells with small pumps
and black pvc tubing snaking throughout the buildings.
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| Nope, not a lot of water down there - but if you look behind Doug, you can see from the flood plain that when the summer rains come, there will be plenty of it! |
Chickens, piglets and puppies roamed among
the goats and their offspring – even an enormous black turkey who gobbled
ferociously and incessantly staking its claim as it strutted its magnificent
ruffled plumage.
Throughout the village we saw many children running and
playing. Several of them followed us
around practised their English with us as we tried our Spanish with them. Many homes had elderly people sitting on a
makeshift porch or near the kitchen.
Mothers and wives were busy as there didn’t appear to be many time
saving devices. In fact, there was
minimum electricity, if any, to the little homes, and most cooking done from
scratch. We understood that many of the
men were fisherman, but needed to supplement the family income by working
during the week in construction in Loreto, several hours away. If the older children progressed past grade 8
they also had to go to Loreto, returning home on the weekends.
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| This photo from the internet shows the way the ladies of Aqua Verde cook in their outdoor kitchens |
One might expect that with so many goats that milk and
cheese would be readily available. There
was supposed to be a dairy, but I never found it. Instead, we bought a generous round of fresh
cheese from a lady who was also making wonderful looking tortillas. She made the delicious, mild pure white
cheese by hand and strained it in a press.
A few days later we came looking for more and were disappointed to find
out she did not produce a regular supply.
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| Where we bought the cheese (picture from Kialoa's sail blog) |
There were two little tiendas. One was not very well stocked and could have
used a good clean, but the second one, closer to the beach was well stocked
with plenty of fresh vegetables and chicken in a large ice-cooled chest. Inside was a variety of sundries, sweets and
supplies, including beer. On our way
back to the dinghy we stopped at a little palapa restaurant on the beach and
arranged to return the following evening for fresh caught fish tacos. Although the people of Aqua Verde did not
seem as friendly as those in San Evaristo, they were pleasant and welcoming.
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| Well stocked tienda (picture from Second Wind sail blog) |
The next day I launched my kayak and went for a paddle
around the point and circumnavigated Isla Solidaria and back along the
shoreline where I discovered a lovely, isolated beach only accessible by
boat.
As I paddled to shore, a great
school of yellow tailed fish (tuna?) leaped out of the water en masse in front
of my kayak, making me almost swallow my heart they startled me so badly. Once on shore I wandered around interesting
rock formations and green, frondy plants, feeling very much like some latter
day Robinson Crusoe. Breathtaking!
On another day, Doug and I snorkelled along the reef. Although there were lots of rocks, there was
very little coral. However we did see
sting rays and pipe fish as well as sergeant majors and a largish black reef
fish with white and orange accents. Off
in the shadows we could see larger “eating’” fish. Unfortunately, the water was still a bit
chilly and we had to cut our exploration short.
However, we did still swim vigourously around
Ka’sala every day and
taking warm fresh water cockpit showers afterwards.
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| Inquisitive seagulls around the reef |
Doug and Jan had fun trying to find a mythical anchor
rumoured to be lost on a sunken panga or a large rock in the anchorage. First Doug swam around in his 1mm shirt
trying to locate it, then later Jan used his metal detector to try to find
it. I think they concluded it was a wild
goose chase, even if it was a lot of fun.
On our last full day, Jan, Doug, Patrick and Celine (aboard
Viola) and I, along with the local dog, Aqua, hiked up to see the cave
paintings.
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| Looking back to the anchorage and the village in the distance |
We landed on the small beach
at the head of the bay and followed a path over the ridge to an old
cemetery.
We continued along to a muddy
“oasis” with date palms growing around it.
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| Muddy oasis at Aqua Verde |
A herd of spiky horned cattle were grazing nearby as we approached the
beach and wandered the pebbly shoreline to its end.
A large stick marked another path which we
followed along the base of another ridge to its far side. Here the rising elevation was less acute and
we traversed a rocky, shale covered track as it zig-zagged up the side and
around to the front where we arrived at the wide opening of a series of shallow
caves.
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| Looking out of the cave toward the pebble beach we traversed |
We could smell that some kind of
wild animal had used it – smelled like musky fox to me. The floor of the caves were powdered white
sand and we looked around in the contrasting light to find the paintings,
wondering if we were in the right place.
Eventually we found them above the cave entrance – we had been so
focussed on the cave itself we hadn’t initially looked up. We had lots of fun taking pictures and
imagining how the painted hand prints had got there. We took some time to also enjoy the view and
wonder if any person had actually lived inside the cave.
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| Jan with paintings |
We climbed back down the ridge and returned to the anchorage
along a floodplain where we found two rustic ranchos. These were where the
cattle lived and we encountered many more of these splendid, well cared for
beasts. Of course there were more goats
and I was most impressed with their guard dogs who protected them and kept them
in line. One mutt sat right in front of
the gate to a pen, woofing and not budging – no one would pass by him! Eventually we found the small, bumpy road that
led back to the little beach. Here we
met Tio Jose, an elderly fisherman who lived right on the shore and whose dog
it was who guided us on our walk.
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| Looking back across the flood plain to the cave on the ridge in the distance - above right |
Later that afternoon we gathered wood and readied a bonfire
for the evening. After a refreshing swim
we joined J & J aboard
Witte Raaf for a wonderful Indonesian dinner that Joanneke
had prepared. Sateys, peanut sauce, nasi
goring, beans, eggs and all the trimmings and sauces – so special and so
delicious! (I enjoyed the feast so much I forgot to take a picture!)
At sunset, Jan and Joanneke, Patrick and Celine, a Canadian
couple who had arrived that day in their 4X4 from Vancouver, Tio Jose and his
friend and family, as well as ourselves, gathered around the fire. Patrick played his guitar and sang for us –
he is a brilliant musician who favours blue grass and folk. He had played with a bluegrass band in Bend,
Oregon and entertained us with terrific songs, many of which he had created
himself. We drank rum, listened to
Patrick, watched the flames licking the mesquite wood as the stars blanketed
the sky, planets glowed and the ridgeline above us disappeared into the
dark. The anchor lights at the tops of
the masts of the 8 or so boats anchored made an interesting contrast. The fire crackled and smelled like the
desert. It wasn’t hot. It wasn’t cold. It was perfect. The time literally disappeared, seeming like
an hour, but more like three. Doug gave
his flashlight to the Mexican family so they could find their way home and we
watched it flicker along the blackened road.
Eventually, we all stumbled into our dinghies and later slept like
babies that night. What a perfect, never
to be forgotten, day!
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| Dinghy racing! Faster! Faster! |
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| Bogie ahead! |
