Isla San Francisco

In the middle of the Sea of Cortez lies a small island with a big personality. At only 1.5 square miles, San Francisco Island is home to steep rocky hills, flat dry scrubland, white salt flats, pebbly beaches and rocky reefs. With a view of the majestic Sierra La Giganta to the west, the […]

Isla Espiritu Santo south

Caleta Candelero A popular spot for tourists arriving from La Paz by panga is Candlestick Cove. With its iconic detached rock topped with cardon cacti, Caleta Candelero makes for a picturesque campground, surrounded by easily accessible reefs full of colorful fishes. Arriving on the beach, the first thing we noticed was a large […]

Isla Espiritu Santo north

Dropping our anchor in the shallow cove surrounded by cacti studded cliffs, we breathed a sigh of relief. We watched the setting sun glow red against the undulating sandstone as we enjoyed the comfortable Mexican winter weather on deck. Gone were the sounds of traffic, to be replaced only by the occasional bird call, or […]

Todos Santos

One downside of cruising on the ocean is that our actual travel radius is usually limited to walking distance away from viable anchorages. So in La Paz, we were delighted to find bus services to Todos Santos, an art community on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. Due to steep ocean drop offs and […]

La Paz

Sailing down the Baja peninsula, we have seen many places relatively untouched by civilization. Dips in the coastline where wind and waves take a break and boats and their crew can find some rest, surrounded by silent stars and rocks standing as witnesses to the passage of time. Fishing villages only as big as utility […]

Balandra Cove

Squeezing thru the narrow, reef fringed San Lorenzo Channel that separates Isla Espiritu Santo from the Baja Peninsula, we sailed on in to Balandra Cove, famous for its beautiful turquoise shelf where clear water meets shallow white sand. Looking at charts of the cove, we knew that there would not be much protection from north […]

Los Muertos

Emotionally scarred by our experience facing heavy winds and opposing seas in the transition zone between the Pacific and Sea of Cortez, we were not looking forward to our next leg of the journey thru the Cerralvo Channel. Here, currents funnel and amplify between the Baja peninsula and Cerralvo Island, creating potentially heavy seas and […]

Los Frailes

Having rounded Cabo San Lucas, we were still not properly in the Sea of Cortez yet. In the transition zone between Cabo and La Paz, the weather is influenced by systems coming from the open ocean to the south and within the sea itself from the north. Cruisers who have sailed in these parts warned […]

Cabo San Lucas

Departing our anchorage this time was a little different than usual; we had to take into account the 120 or so boats that were about to trace the same path as us. Taking in to account how slow we sail; our average speed is only 3 or 4 knots or the speed of a person […]

Thoughts on fishing

In my university days in San Francisco, I had spent my days reading books on environmentalism, food production and animal rights, such as one does when living in California. Books like the Toolbox for Sustainable Living, and titles by Michael Pollan were my go to for inspiration, and I scouted out urban farms to volunteer […]