Isla San Francisco

October 9, 2012

I got up fairly early this morning, eager to hike to the top of the hill on the south side of the anchorage. It looked pretty rugged but doable. I found my hiking boots and small back pack which I promptly filled with a large bottle of water, an apple, a granola bar, sunscreen and my camera as well as a handheld radio. The plan was for Larry to take us to the beach in our dinghy then pick us up when we called later. I noticed that John carried nothing at all and Nickie had only a fanny pack with a small camera and bottle of water. I decided to leave the handheld and the apple with Larry.

Cresting the first hill

The plan was to climb the face then head west across the ridge line to the peak, then back and across to the east, then to wend our way down to the salt flats and across the isthmus to a cove on the other side. I did fine on the face but after starting up the ridge line I decided it would be too much. Maybe I was just

Waaaay above the Sea of Cortez

chicken but the narrow path with sheer drops to either side looked treacherous and I waved the other two on and rested on a rock. The view was spectacular and I took a number of shots before hiking back to the east along the ridge line. There were many drop offs on this trail as well but only one side at a time! The Seychelles couple joined me soon and we began the descent to the salt flats.

Looking down at salt flats and western bay

Alas, recent rain made a mucky bog of the flats and the standing water made for mosquitoes so thick I once counted 7 on my right arm at one time. Being a natural born hand wringer thoughts of dengue fever skittered across my mind. On the other side of the flats was another bay where I am told boats often anchor with a west wind. We retraced our steps then walked along the beach for another half mile or so, pausing to talk with a group of Mexican “hamsters” from Constitucion and La Paz. They were set up with tents, generators and enough ham equipment to talk with the space station…which was exactly what they did the following evening!

Larry picks us up in the dinghy

Tired after the hike I rested for a while then set to work to complete housekeeping duties. A little later it was sunset time on the deck then on to bed and one more episode of Deadwood. My language is becoming atrocious, even worse than the time I watched as many as three episodes of Sopranos at a time!

Contentment...