Hiking and Sailing with Eyoni, one last time

In early June we were glad to see our dear friends, Nancy, Ethan, and Zada, aboard their boat, Eyoni, arrive into Puerto Escondido, our home port.  We spent a day hiking a nearby canyon none of us had hiked before.  We found tadpoles, mountain goats, and a swimming hole in the middle of the trail!?!

A break in the shade

How does it do that?

Blue gecko

Mountain goats scrambled above us when they heard our footsteps on the gravel.

To continue on the trail we had to swim through the pond.

Finding tadpoles!

The next day we sailed alongside Eyoni to Isla Monserrat, a few miles off the shore of Loreto.  We had the beach to ourselves, the kids had a blast snorkeling in clear and warm waters, Ethan and Doug caught tons of lobster and fish, and that night we feasted! Good friends, good food, good days!!

Chandler and Henry Wyatt on the bow - taken from Eyoni, thanks Nancy!

HanaCrew heading out to the island

HanaCrew anchored off shore

Nancy strolling the shore of Isla Monserrat

Snorkeling

Catch of the day...or should I say the week!!

And a sleepover on Eyoni after it all!

                                 Nancy, thank you for the wonderful photos of our hike and sail. 

April 4, 2011 Homeward Bound

 As we headed north in the Sea, getting closer and closer to Loreto, we felt the nearing end of this sailing adventure.  We made sure we stopped and enjoyed each moment, appreciated the stillness of each day, and the freedom this lifestyle has offered us.  Yet even freedom isn't without responsibility and chores so as we pulled into our home port, Puerto Escondido, we went through the necessary check list that will help us secure the boat while we step off and get reacquainted with land life.  

We arrived late in the afternoon; deciding to spend one last night onboard.  We unpacked most of our belongings into our car that was waiting in the parking lot of the marina and ate a quick dinner before a calm night's sleep in the beautiful protected harbor of Puerto Escondido.  Once at anchor, Chandler and Henry hoisted the dinghy...not an easy task.

Punta Salinas Salt Mine

The next day, March 30, we sailed to Isla San Jose and one its anchorages, Punta Salinas, where a defunct salt mining operation sits.  Its vast area of low lying land with pools of dried salt made us feel like we were walking on the moon.  Crunch, crunch, crunch was the sound underfoot as we traipsed through the salt beds.  The kids climbed up a pile of salt, "skated" across ponds of crystallized salt, and found salt particles globed together like branches covered with ice and snow.  We even found a discarded plastic jug and collected salt in it to bring back for friends who might want to have the "real deal" (sea salt) after we boil it and put it in jars. 

Isla Seashells

Home schooling enroute to a secluded cove

We anchored at an island where no other boats were.  As we approached the beach the kids ran ahead and returned with arms full of sea stars.  They covered the beach! 

Petrified baby eel found among seaweed.  It's approximately 2" in length.

Henry back onboard and practicing knots.

Swimming with sea lions

Sailing north from Espiritu Santo we knew we would pass by a small island, Los Isolotes, famous for its sea lion rookery.  We took the opportunity to sail by closely, hoping to see the lively creatures.  Once we were within 150 yards of the land mass we did indeed see numerous sea lions swimming and sunning themselves on the island, which was actually just a very large rock jutting out of the water.  We'd been told by reliable sources we could snorkel around the rock with the sea lions and decided, "Why not?" So into the water jumped Chandler, Henry, and me!  It was harder to see the lobos (sea lions) once we were at water level so Doug, stirring the boat, told us where to swim to get close to them.  As we came within 10 - 20 feet of the wild creatures we could see their heads pop up out of the water and they would make eye contact with us.  Pretty cool!  They didn't seem to mind our presence and in fact they seemed as curious about us as we were about them.

I must admit, it was a little creepy when I first jumped in the water; I wondered if the sea lions would slide up against me.  I tried to keep my legs on the surfboard as much as possible while still kicking to move around the bay. In the end none of us ever did touch a sea lion but the experience of swimming alongside them will stay with us for a long time to come.

Henry approximately 10 feet away from a sea lion with Chandler behind him

Chandler and Mom on the surfboard with Henry in the background

Gulls diving at fish below the surface and sea lions chasing the gulls away.

The last eight days

We set sail from La Paz on March 27.  Knowing that in 7 - 10 days we would drop anchor in our
 home port of Puerto Escondido made us all somewhat giddy yet we didn't want to rush this final chapter knowing we had some of the best anchorages to visit between here and there.

Our first night out we stopped once again at the well-known Caleta Lobos.  This was our fourth visit to Lobos and we had the navigation of it down pat.  After sailing for the majority of a year we certainly had learned and grown in our roles as cruisers.  Doug and I smiled at one another as we entered the anchorage.  We would always remember our first visit here back in December (check out the 12/20/10 post).  But tonight this would serve as an easy anchorage where we would drop the hook and enjoy some water time before heading north tomorrow.

The next morning we headed to Isla Espiritu Santo, a favorite island for cruisers with its many deep inlets serving as protection from winds and offering an away-from-it-all environment.  We chose the bay of El Mezteno.  The chaos of La Paz would soon be far behind us.

Once we neared the anchorage the kids wanted to go fishing off the dingy but it needed some air and required being pumped up manually so Chandler jumped in and got the work done. This required balance, persistence, and lots of energy and she gave it her all.

A job well done!

In the meantime Henry splashed into the water and paddled off on the surfboard in search of fish.  And fish he found!  Doug and he enjoyed the fruits of his labor right away.

Spearing fish

Freshest fish around!

Meanwhile Chandler relaxed from her dinghy pump-up by finding a quiet, shaded place to enjoy a good book.

 Afterwards we went ashore to enjoy the beach and the lowering sun with its sunburned glow on the land and it's soothing effect on the water.

Doug, Henry Wyatt, and the cardon cactus all splashed with sunlight

Chandler, Henry Wyatt, and Doug enjoy a jog along the shoreline

A boy and his stick, uh, well, his stump!

Chandler enjoys a tranquil moment.  (Photo taken through Ann's sunglasses for pink effect)

Back to HanaCrew/Windfall as night falls.