Victor was excited by the fishing in the area so early I took him out in the dinghy to a spot where fisherman had been the day before. Checking on him 45 minutes later I earned that there was a strong current which pushed him back to shore, better than out to sea I suppose… He put in another fourty-five minutes before I picked him up. He took two shots but due to the lobster fishing (spear hitting rocks) both the large yellow tail tuna and cabrilla were spared.
Up came the anchor and we putted along to Agua Verde. I attempted to anchor in my usual area but after three attempts to get the anchor to set I gave up and headed to the “multi-hull” bay to the south. I shared this bay with Jolly Dogs and Moon Drifter a few years ago. Again more problems setting the hook, but on the third attempt it grabbed. When diving the anchor I could see the area was mostly rock with small patches of sand, leaving the anchor poorly set. Blerg. My guess is summer storms washed out the sand. Oh well, good enough for now I decided.
After a nap I woke to find three boats anchored very close to us, decision made, we were moving. There was plenty of room in front of the main beach and dropping the anchor it set like a champ. Whew. Throughout the day more and more boats arrived until by sunset there were 21 boats. What the fuck. The Baja has become saturated, it blows me away how crazy it has become. No fault or criticism to other boats but this spring the Baja has lost much of its shine. Whether it is due to having been here three years now or the crowds, I cannot say for sure but this has been a disappointing spring season for me. Something that even typing makes me sad. Okay enough negativity, on to the good stuff!
We closed out our time in Agua Verde, well Shalise and I with a hike to the cave paintings. Ari was looking for some more paddle boarding while Victor was keen for some quiet time on the boat.
In the afternoon We piled into the dinghy to snorkel the pinnacle rock. Victor wanted a nap but borrowed me his dive watch and the challenge of seeing how long I could stay below at 15 feet. Game on. After securing the dinghy anchor Ari and Shalise went one way while I found a good place to work on my spearfishing skills. It took a few dives before my breathing, patience, and body aclimazation aligned. I managed to stay down for 57 seconds. It was frustrating to not make a full minute as I left the bottom with plenty of breath left but started my ascent to reach the surface at a minute. What I didn’t realize is that Victor’s watch cuts off the dive time once coming to the surface. Duh! For depth I didn’t push it only dropping to 30 feet. Back on the boat Victor was impressed that with so little practice I could come back with those stats. Still nowhere near his abilities.
While dinner was being cooked I made one more hike along the hills protecting the bay. And with that I was officially exhausted. However plans had already been made to visit Delta Swizzler – so Shalise and I dinghied over for some more games of the Great Delmudi and conversations on the top of their boat while watching the sunset. Good times, even for an exhausted man.
Final hike in Agua Verde for the season
Final sunset in Agua Verde for the season
Final sail for Victor for the season
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