Agua Verde

October 11, 2012

Buddi enjoys the ride

Calm sea ahead

We slept in this morning then make the decision to head north to Agua Verde as norther was predicted for tomorrow. We were hoping to get to Escondido within a few days as we have business we need to conduct by phone and/or internet and we were concerned the norther might prevent us from getting there in time. If we get to Agua Verde this afternoon we should be able to make the 4-5 hour trip to Escondido before bad weather sets in.

The wind is already dead on our nose and only a few knots at that so we motor along at about 8 knots, enjoying the scenery and the cooler temperatures. We have seen very little sea life so far, a few sea turtles and fish “cooling” themselves in the shadow of our hull. This morning Voyager, who is somewhere ahead of us, announces they spied a pod of dolphins moving southward at a fast pace and showing no interest in playing with the sailboat as they often do. We scan the horizon hoping to see them as well but the dolphins must have veered off in another direction as we do not see them. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but not boring. The color of the water, the surprising green on these desert mountains (still seeing the Sierra de la Gigantia range to our west on the Baja), and the peacefulness of just being out on the water, away from everything and everybody, is wonderful. Larry isn't feeling well and goes below to take a nap. Or maybe he just wants to give me some  time and experience at the helm.

The desert is soo green after rare heavy rains

Pyramid rock at entrance to Agua Verde

We pull into Agua Verde around three in the afternoon and I am immediately won over. May I live here, pretty please?  The water in this cove is not nearly as pretty as Isla San Francisco's, but the surrounding hills, bright green  with some sort of red flowers sprouting here and there, are gorgeous.  There is a small fishing village here and a little tienda where you can get a few basic supplies. Ian, from the anchored boat Kasasa, dinghys by and we chat for a few minutes. He tells us he’s heard there is a fresh supply of fruits and vegetable at the tienda which sounds good to me, but as we will be leaving early tomorrow for Puerto Escondido we don’t want to bother putting our dinghy in the water.

Larry relaxes on deck

This was a difficult anchoring and it took us two tries as we were concerned about being too close to the  rock wall should we drift at all during what was predicted to be a night of strong northerlies. We sit on the deck for a bit then Larry goes below to start the water maker. After nearly a week off the dock we have used most of our bigger tank and will soon have to move to the smaller.  I fix dinner and we sit on deck enjoying the slight cool breeze. Our buddy boaters are complaining of noseeums and mosquitoes but we are, thankfully, bug free. They got into the anchorage before us and chose prime spots, better protected from the northerlies. Hah, the laughs on them. Tonight the breeze is minimal and the sea nearly flat but our position makes us less susceptible to insects.

Just before going to bed and the last (sniff) episode of Deadwood, Larry calls me on deck: phosphorescent jellies surround the boat, glowing bright green in the water. It is a magical, unearthly  display;  I could sit up here and watch all night.