Bahia de Los Angeles (english)

 

We are now in the Bahia de Los Angeles. There is a “hurricane hole” here known as Puerto Don Juan and so, for safety reasons, we have decided to spend a little more time in this area. As I write a tropical disturbance is forecast to form into a cyclone and threaten the southern tip of Baja California. We fervently hope it doesn't find it's way into the Sea of Cortez.

Bahia de Los Angeles

 

Most yachts with an American crew sail the remaining 150 NM of the Sea of Cortez to Puerto Penasco, the northernmost harbour of refuge, earlier, because they like to travel across the border to the USA and thus can escape the hot months of high summer in the Baja. This gives them a chance to keep in touch with family, friends, or job, while we are roasted in the heat. It's amazing how much the heat brings on a lethargy that makes it difficult to motivate one's self towards activities or chores. In the morning at 6:30 the temperatures in the ship are already around 30`C. During the day they rise to 37`C and it takes a while until the still night air is cool enough to be able to sleep naked and uncovered. Shade is very important. Our cockpit feels cluttered with all the shade material in place but it is essential to keep us out of the sun, we even leave sun shades in place while sailing; something I would never do in New Zealand. An unshaded cockpit would be a brutal endurance here in Mexico. With so much sweating it is difficult to drink enough water to maintain a healthy colour of urine. We are so grateful for our water-maker that provides us with plenty of good drinking water and water for washing our clothes and sweaty bodies. It is also nice not to have our movement determined by water availability.

We got a message over the VHF radio that the yacht"Indy", that was sailing northwards to Puerto Penasco, had, by way of returning some borrowed items, left us a package as a treasure hunt on the inactive Coronado volcano. We sailed to Isla Coronado, anchoring in the narrow channel Isla Coronado and Isla Mitlan. There was a strong tidal stream through the anchorage but there was good wind and wave protection.

 

 

Taiko anchored below the Isla Coronado volcano.

 

The next morning, early, we tackled the steep tramp up to 500 metre high summit. Loaded with extra water, the ascent took 2hrs and 15 minutes. The loose rocks and uncertain footing made the upper third of the ascent difficult and strenuous. This was particularly so for me as my 85kg of body weight seemed to cause a landslide of stones much more readily than Renate's diminutive 52kg.

The route is marked by stone cairns that are difficult to see amongst all the rocks so we built a few extra cairns in an attempt to make the route more plainly visible for those who follow. On reaching the summit plateau we found the small cairn next to the extra large one, exactly as described in the radio message we received earlier, with our little treasure buried there. We quickly dug out our little treasure and read Indy's short letter of thanks and good wishes. It was an imaginative and fun way to give us back the borrowed items.

 

 

 

Treasure hunt.

 

On the last few metres to the summit we were enveloped in cloud, while it was pleasant to be shielded from the hot sun, we were deprived of the expected magnificent view. We explored the summit plateau for half an hour while we waited for the cloud to disperse. It didn't, so we began the descent to avoid walking in the hottest part of the day. Back on board, tired but happy with our outing, we were able to view the summit that continued to covered in cloud until mid-afternoon.

We liked the anchorage and we stayed there for a week. It is not only protected from the east and south by the volcanic island, the island of Mitlan also provides protection from the west. However, the strong tidal flow in the narrow channel twisted our anchor chain with each change of direction which made retrieval of the chain and anchor difficult for our anchor windlass.

We planned our snorkeling trips to coincide with the current returning to the ship so that we easily swam with the current while towing our dinghy behind us. We saw a lot of fish, but the water was rarely clear enough for good visibility. 

Susimi came across to the anchorage for a farewell stop on their way to Puerto Penasco. For our dinner together, we decided some fish would be nice, so we set about catching some. Trolling a lure while I rowed against the current proved to be productive. It took less than 5 minutes before Renate had a strike. Unfortunately we lost the fish, but the next one was a pan sized "Cabrilla", as the Mexicans call this fish. A second fish was needed, because the cabrilla wasn't enough for 4 hungry diners. I rowed once more through the current whirls, because I was sure that we would hook another fish there. We didn't have to wait long before there was another strike. It was a heavy strike on small telescopic rod Renate had brought back in her luggage from NZ. Even though I rowed backwards to follow the fish's flight Renate had difficulty handling the rod and line from her awkward sitting position. When she almost had the fish in the dinghy she allowed the rod to rest on the dinghy transom creating a hard spot at which the rod broke with the fish's final struggle. We were able to get the yellow tail aboard which gave us enough for a delicious meal for four. That was the end of our trolling. Happily we have been given replacement rod with which to resume our fishing.

 

 

A nice yellow tail caught trolling a lure while rowing.

 

At the foot of the volcano is a small lagoon that we explored with the dinghy. We considered that New Zealand real estate sharks would probably want to build a marina here, but the clocks tick differently in Mexico. Mexican fishermen sometime use this as an overnight shelter for their shoal draft pangas. There is a dry stone wall built around a pit to shelter their cooking fire from the prevailing SE wind. In this fireplace, other sailors have collected all the plastic waste that can be found on the stony spit.

 

Garbage dump on the beach

There were 2 plastic produce crates amongst the rubbish. Renate grabbed one of them right away and walked along the stony beach with it and picked up all the rubbish. In 10 minutes she had filled the box twice. Plastic waste is a big problem here in Mexico. Stray dogs, birds or the wind help the garbage to spread over the sea, but often the careless Mexicans leave their garbage in the camps creating an unsightly blemish on beautiful landscape. On another hike on an island in the Bahia de Los Angeles we found the illegally caught, slaughtered and discarded carcasses of the Totoaba fish on a beach. They are being killed for their swim bladders, which are then illegally exported to China for sale in that county's traditional medicine market.

 

 

 

Illegally caught Totoaba – the gutted carcases are simply discarded.

 

If you would like to learn more about the practice of the illegal Totoaba trade, we recommend the documentary entitled: Sea of Shadows!

But the Sea of Cortez, especially the Bahia de Los Angeles, also has its fascinating side.
It is an area where the whale sharks come to feed and breed. We saw one right next to our dinghy as we were about to anchor. We hope that we will have more opportunities to see these fantastic creatures.

 

Whale shark behind our Dinghy