At the last minute for the last chance to visit Makai on her big adventure, we had Saundy and her daughter Effie come for a visit through Loreto.  The 2 hour direct flight from LAX is a quick and easy way to jump into our cruising lifestyle.  Loreto is the perfect mix between tourism, a little Mexican town, services and stores all boaters need, and with the beautiful water of the Sea of Cortez at the front door.

While we have our whirl wind morning in town Topaz waits patiently for her chance to go swimming.  She doesn’t care about the tortillaria, or the zapataria where I dropped my sandals off to be reglued. It is of no concern that Eric needs engine oil and the beer bottles are empty.  She might be interested in groceries, but doesn’t think past her next pounce in the water.

As always our guest bring gifts.  I can’t think of any guest who hasn’t arrived with some type of Makai supplies.  Our American flag was a disgrace.  We seem to need one every season and it doesn’t seem to make the spare parts shopping list.

Its great fun having a pal in the kitchen as well.  You can never have too many hands when there is chopping, stirring and cleaning to be done.

Our trip had us revisiting a few anchorages we didn’t get enough time at.  Punta Mangles and then San Juanico were first on the list.  I’m not sure what the reason or cause of it was, but the water clarity really sucked.  Some theories have to do with the storm bringing in nutrient rich cold water from the depths, which bloomed green, or something like that.

The beach was still fun for bonfires.  The shallow water was warmer and clear so we chose to stay at the beach and collect shells.

As always Roy fishes all day long.

The storm also brought cooler weather with days up to the mid 90s and nights cool enough to cover up with a thin blanket. Rain in the desert prompts everything to bloom.

After a few days the water started to clear up a bit.  We anchored in La Ramada and hiked back over the hill for a view of San Juanico from the north side.

At this time of the year most boats have left the Sea of Cortez.  We mostly had the place to ourselves.  Every evening the manta rays would give us a show and schools of reef fish kept us occupied during the day.

Topaz is torn between keeping an eye on the activities in the water and lunch in the cockpit.

Since the storm we’ve had a few new bug visitors.  For several days in Santa Rosalia, we chased around ticks (oh yucky), then there were giant grasshoppers and dragon flies.

Lobster has been a rare sight this year.  In the 1990s, these pretty bugs were plentiful, but this season we haven’t seen more than a hand full.

Sea stars and other brightly colored fish really stand out on these brown rocky reefs.

For the first time in over a week Roy had an opportunity to spearfish.  The water was just clear enough at the deeper depths to see his targets.  Quickly he came up with a big snapper, then a bigger one and lastly an even bigger one.  That’s when we called it quits for the day.  Roy’s biggest obstacle to his fishing obsession is finding enough people to eat his catch.  It works out nicely when we’re buddy boating with a few other families, but one catch is too much for Makai only.

So when the fishing is over, he takes to harassing the puffer fish.

Marie got new fins to match her yellow snorkel and Eric got a set of blue fins and a snorkel as well.  I know it’s a little late in the trip, but at least they got to enjoy them before we go home.  The last time we were at the panga dock in Loreto, I dropped a bag of old gear off to the guys on the dock.  The looked like they had struck it rich.  Our gear locker was full of old snorkel gear Eric and I had from before our last trip to Mexico as well as gear that was left over from when Makai was a charter boat.  We kept it around for spares and back ups, but off loading it sure feels good.

I’m really working on the kids’ cooking skills.  Roy and Genny have many specialties.  Roy likes to make sweats like cake, doughnuts, and jello.  Genny is great at following the directions on packages, reheating left overs, putting together tacos, sandwiches and salads, and her specialty recently has been lemon bars, yumm.  Next, I’m trying to get Roy to branch out and use the BBQ.  He’s always in charge of clams, and the other day he did lobster and steak on the grill.  Marie is hopeless, she just wants to be cute and taken care of.  I told her with those skills, she can be replaced by a puppy, better come up with some other job security.

Roy and Effie did a great job with clams, garlic toast, and butter for our snack.

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The next new anchorage was El Refugio (V-Cove).  This place was fantastic.  We had great protection from any wind except from the North.  The shore had one small but nice beach with the sides of the bay protected by cliffs. Everything was dry here so there were few bugs to deal with and in the evening the winds funneled down the canyon and cooled us off all night long.

The special attraction here is the caves.  Some were big enough to take the dinghy in and some had hidden underwater air pockets.  The water inside was very clear but a little spooky to make it special.

Genny and I really dislike the stinging things in the water, so we cover up with wetsuits, gloves, a hood and I even put my finger over my upper lip to prevent stings resulting in a fat lip for everyone to laugh at.

 

Flashlights were fun to use in the caves.

The sandy bottom gave the cave a cozy feeling like a carpeted living room.

Some caves went way back under water.

Roy and Genny used their freediving skills to hold their breath and swim back to ‘high five’ the wall.

Orange Cup Coral was new to me.  It was like a field of wild flowers surrounded by brown and grey rocks.

I was so happy the water cleared up for Saundy and Effie.  When the conditions aren’t so nice, we grumble a little and spend the day catching up on chores.  But, I don’t like when guests on vacation loose snorkel days to murky water.

The scissor tail damsel fish caught our eye by tricking us. When we first saw them in the murky water all you could see was a long thing body with a white spot near the end followed by feathery fins.  We were sure it was a school of squid swimming backwards.  A closer look brought the gills and eyes into view.

Here is some more of that Orange Cup Coral thriving in the shade of the cave.

All the fish seem to be moving into new phases.  We saw stripy fish that now had spots, silver and yellow fish turning blue, tiny star fish, damsel fish protecting eggs, lobsters roaming around, tons of rays, and now that the sea is warming, it’s time for DORADO!

Oh YEA!  Every time Roy’s pole with zing with a fish taking line I would look out there for a blue and green body jumping in the sunlight at the end of his line.  Always disappointed by a bonito, but happy to see him fighting the fish and then releasing it.  This time I looked back and there it was.  I was so excited I jumped up and down too.

While this bull isn’t as big as some of the massive sea monsters we got in the Bahamas, he did provide quite a bit of meat.

As you can see, as soon as it starts to die, the color drains out of it.  Better get the picture before its too late.

Just as Roy went out to bring in his line before anchoring, he got one more hit.  Not jumping Dorado, but another bonita is fun to catch and release.

I got up early to get this post out as we’ll most likely be without internet until we reach San Diego.  This morning we’ll head over to Loreto and enjoy town and lunch before seeing Saundy and Effie off in a taxi to the airport.  Then Makai will set off for home.

We expect a 24 hour run to La Paz for fuel, then continue on right away to round the corner at Cabo San Lucas.  The prevailing north west winds are forecasted to be light the next few days which we’re hoping will make the trip north less miserable. There doesn’t seem to be anything cooking in the tropical kitchen, which is the area where hurricanes are formed off of southern Mexico.  If the weather stays calm, we’ll stop in Magdelana Bay around Tuesday.  From there we have a few stops we would like to make between overnight runs up the coast.  If the tropical kitchen starts cooking up a storm, we’ll bash on up the coast to the colder California water where we’ll be safe from hurricanes.

Keep an eye on our spot track and we’re looking forward to seeing old friends and new friends in California.