Wow Nelly, up and moving by 6:30am we made our way down into the mouth of Bahia de La Paz. Winds started calm by within an hour were building as was the wind wave chop. We put up with it for awhile before the loud bangs got on my nerves and we fell off 10 degrees to attempt a better angle – not to our destination but for the waves. It worked and the loudest of the bangs disappeared. We also had the jib out giving us a push in the 15-19 knot wind that just barely was at a workable wind angle. As we approached the mouth of Canal de San Jose the Baja began blocking the wind and we enjoyed a nice sea state and less wind. There was swell between San Evaristo and Isla San Francisco but it didn’t affect our comfort, our only thoughts were about swell into the anchorage. By 2:00pm we were the only boat in the anchorage and found a sweet spot inside the hook and enjoying a beer.
As the afternoon wore on more boats started to arrive. It being a Saturday I wasn’t too surprised. We launched the kayaks, Vicki for a bay tour me to hit the beach for some hiking. The tide was very low making the sand a great surface for getting to the trail head. I checked out the fire pit Shalise, Victor, and I built to protect the flames from the wind back in May. It was still standing but the sand we packed into the cracks was washed away, I guess no surprise. Behind the fire pit was the trail. It was pretty easy to make out until reaching the base of the hill. Where did it go? Isla San Francisco clearly had the same powerful rains that eroded the trail, couple that with all the plant growth and it was challenging to see and follow an established path.
Reaching the peak I was inundated with hehenahs. Ugh, they were thick and flying in my ears and eyes. A very short stop to take in the view and I was moving on. Just a bit further there was a stash of notebooks and colored pencils where hikers wrote inspirational passages or drew pictures. Sadly someone had stolen them. I had been looking forward to another read so this was a big disappointment. Oh well, I continued on to the peak to the east. And the bugs continued, now with mosquitoes mixed in. Oh my, jogging at times when safe and slapping my arms to became the theme. Heading up the other peak I found a couple spot with wind that gave me a break from the bugs and afforded me a chance to take in the views. At the top of the east peak it was a repeat, tons of bugs. So down I headed back to the beach.
We had an early dinner and were serenaded by loud music from a Mexican charter boat that anchored as the sun set. Then early to bed since we’d be getting up at 2:00am to head for La Paz.
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