Puerto Penasco to Bahia los Perros

Cabo Tapoca

We left Puerto Penasco at 0400 on Wednesday 4^th April. We motorsailed in mainly light SE winds avoiding pangas putting out fishing pots on the way. We had to fight off brown seabirds that wanted to hitch a ride on SD. Our destination was Bahia Tepoca, which we reached in time to watch the sunset over the village.

Sunset Cabo Tapoca

We were up early again the next morning and left at 0240. It was very calm. Long lines of reddish brown water indicated that the plankton had bloomed. SD passed through it with no problems. I saw a turtle. The pelicans and gulls must have had a feeding frenzy because they just drifted on the sea ignoring fish jumping all around them.

The Pond

 We anchored in The Pond on Isla Estanque, which is off the SE end of Isla Angel de Guarda. We stayed for three nights, completely undisturbed until quite early on the morning of Sunday 8^th April, when two pangas tied up ahead of us in thick fog. One came alongside just before they left and asked for batteries. Jeremy gave them four AAs.

Small lagoon within The Pond

 We had a lovely time in The Pond swimming and snorkelling and walking on Isla Estanque. Jeremy saw a fender and descended a rocky slope to retrieve it from the beach below. The weather was hot and the sea felt like it was warming up at last.

Sundowners in The Pond

We deferred leaving until after lunch when the fog cleared to give us over half a mile visibility. Cruisers have to be careful entering and leaving The Pond as there is only 5feet beneath the keels at low water. We sounded out and were soon on our way to Isla Partida, just thirteen miles away. We identified Roca Blanca which stands north of the northern anchorage and saw a rare sight ahead. It was a cruising yacht, the first we’d seen since Charlie in Punta el Alacran.

Pangueros

The yacht was called Tinmar and the crew, Ed and Charlene, came aboard and had sundowners with us. They had an interesting kayak powered by foot pedals. There was no fog.

Isla Esteban

That all changed the next morning when we woke to a pea souper. We left just before 0700 and used radar to identify Roca Blanca. We had about 100 yards visibility and blew the foghorn every few minutes as well as keeping watch. Some dolphins passed by. By 1000 the fog had cleared and we could see Isla Esteban ahead. We rounded the north end and anchored in the east bay at 1340. The gypsy on the anchor windlass jammed three times. Jeremy greased it later.

The arroyo Isla Esteban

We decided to go for a walk and rowed the dinghy to the shingle spit at the south end of the bay. There is an arroyo or dried river bed which leads to the interior of the island. Walking was tough on sand and gravel, but fairly flat for a change and there was lots of vegetation. We noticed many footprints but no-one was around and we were the only boat at anchor. We found a place where many stones had been carefully placed in geometric patterns and we wondered if it was a sacred place for the Seri Indians.

Spot the cruise ship

The next morning, Tuesday 10^th April, at first light, Jeremy looked out of the saloon window and said, “What would you say if I told you there were 15 picnic chairs on the beach and people on the bluff above looking at us?” I said, “I think you’re hallucinating!” I looked out and there they were with binoculars and cameras. There were no boats on the beach. If this were a pantomime someone would have said, “It’s behind you!” Sure enough, a small cruise ship called National Geographic Seabird, was anchored behind us with black inflatable boats tied alongside. We hadn’t heard a thing as it anchored and transferred guests to the shore to witness the sunrise, which was just beginning.

Roca la Foca

We left them to it and motored into the sunrise heading for Bahia los Perros (Dogs) on the SE side of Isla Tiburon, 20 miles away. We motored through the passage between Isla Tiburon and the amusingly named Roca la Foca (Seal), rounded the SE point of Tiburon, avoided pangas and fishing pots and anchored in the southern lobe of the bay. Some pangueros kindly removed a fishing pot that was close to the anchorage. They spent the night in tents at their fishing camp in the northern lobe. We swam to the shore and I wore my wetsuit. The underwater visibility was poor, but worth the swim. Afterwards, Jeremy scrubbed SD’s keels in the warm and sunny weather, while I checked the waterline. We did not go ashore as Isla Tiburon is a special island belonging to the Seri Indians. You need a permit to land and a Seri guide.