Shocker, but we made an early morning departure from San Evaristo. Yes, there is a theme on Strikhedonia… We had a nice trip north, and managed to sail the last few hours without the rumble of the engine. When we arrived in the anchorage we waved to our friends Nancy and Mike on Shanti, then found a good spot a bit further from shore, due to the bigger tidal swings from the full moon. Not to worry, it was still within swimming reach.
Summer is clearly approaching with the afternoon heat cranking up, cleaning the bottom served as a good way to cool down and cross a project off of the never ending list. After my work I paddled over to our friends. It was enjoyable catching up on their travels over a beer. Funny how hanging out for hours frequently happens when you just stop to say “hello.” Not to worry, the crew of Strikhedonia still had enough time to get ashore for the sunset. Which was amazing. At times separately and others together; we drifted over the rocks, shuffled through the water to the now exposed land created by the low tide, watched the small crabs scurry away when we got too close, jumped from boulder to boulder, and simply soaked in this moment of time.
With the sun below the horizon but light in the sky we returned to Strikhedonia where I noticed some fish jumping nearby. I quick grabbed my rod and a few casts later had a barracuda on the line! But damn if that wasn’t the end of my luck. So I went about cleaning and storing the fish in the fridge for another night.
Up early the next morning I climbed the hill in the middle of the bay to watch the sun creep over the horizon. The colors on the rocks, sky and sea were enchanting. The scenery still takes my breath away, but I find myself taking less pictures, sorry for that. Stiff legs got me moving and being not yet satisfied with my exercise I headed up more hills to enjoy the view of the anchorage. On the second hill was a plateau, I worked on a rock cairn and I spent a few minutes repairing cross. Getting hungry it was time to head back and see what the ladies were up to.
Sabrina announced that this was the day she would catch a fish. The previous night she had scouted a few shore spots to fish and was pumped to get going. Jess and I were content to relax for awhile. A few hours later and Jess was ready to explore the shore/snorkel so we kayaked in. My plan, after checking with Sabrina, had been to grab the single kayak and return to Strikhedonia.
Unfortunately after two hours, Sabrina still had not had a bite from a fish. Yet her determination was still strong. I asked to borrow the pole for a cast or two, and on my first cast caught a hawkfish. Damn it, that was not suppose to happen. I felt so bad for Sabrina. It was a good size for dinner so we put it in the bucket. Not ready to give up Sabrina took over and a short while later, much to my relief, she caught her first fish. Whew! We kept fishing a bit longer but eventually called it a day taking our bounty back to the boat.
Together with the barracuda from last night we had a good meal coming up. We went from good to great when some fisherman came up asking if we wanted lobsters or scallops. Umm, scallops please! Off they went and we watched them work for the next forty minutes diving for scallops and then cleaning them, delivering the ultimate fresh catch for tonight’s meal.
A night in Los Gatos is not complete without watching the sunset from shore so with our bellies full we headed back to shore. Unlike in the fall (when it was very rolly) we sleep like babies with calm seas and a bright moon – a Perfect closing to our visit.
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