CHAPTER 13 - BAHIA DE LOS MUERTOS AND ON TO LA PAZ

I know, I know.  It has been a couple weeks since I last posted anything,  And, No, we have not fallen off the earth.  Just been busy and have not felt like doing this.

After Los Frailes, we drove further north to a place called Ensenada Los Muertos or Bahia de los Suenos.  There is nothing here but a couple resorts that were basically closed and a cool beach front cafe.  We came here and waited out a norther that lasted about 7 days.  We enjoyed the water and the cafe, long walks on the beach and just lazing around.

Ensenada de los Muertos, also known as Bahía de los Muertos, lies along Baja California Sur’s East Cape and bears a name that reflects the region’s early maritime hazards rather than legend. The cove is believed to have been named after shipwrecks, drownings, and pearling-era accidents in which sailors and divers perished, with bodies reportedly washing ashore during violent storms and sudden nortes. What was once a feared stretch of coastline is today a favored anchorage, known for its clear water and sandy bottom, serving as a reminder of how Baja’s dramatic seascape has shaped both its history and its names.

Coconuts!

The bay is now commonly called Bahía Los Sueños (“Bay of Dreams”) largely for modern, non-official reasons, not because the historic name was formally changed.

Bahía Los Sueños (“Bay of Dreams”) is the modern, informal name often used for the anchorage.The newer name emerged with the growth of eco-resorts, fishing lodges, and residential development in the area, reflecting a deliberate effort to replace the bay’s ominous historical association with shipwrecks and maritime deaths with a more inviting image for visitors. While Bahía Los Sueños is now commonly used in tourism and real-estate contexts, the original name remains historically accurate and continues to appear on nautical charts and in traditional cruising references.

Well, the wind finally let up and we upped anchor and headed the last 50 miles or so to an anchorage in front of the city of La Paz.

It is said that La Paz is a city that feels genuinely welcoming—calm, colorful, and deeply connected to the sea—where a walk along the Malecón at sunset, with families out strolling and fishing boats returning to harbor, captures the easy rhythm of life in Baja California Sur. 

We came here, not because we are interested in the "big city" but because of what it has to offer:  fuel, water, laundry, groceries, etc., so that we can get out of town and head out to local island anchorages. Nevertheless, while here, we enjoyed some night life, some good restaurants, and walks on the Malecon.

There used to be a significant pearl industry here, but they screwed it up.

One can swim with whale sharks here, though the locals say the sharks enjoy it.

The Malecon.

I guess some people just have to be told.

I thought Cabo was noisy, but La Paz is very close.  All night long, pangas race in and out and around the anchorages; thumping music from waterfront bars and restaurants plays until 5 or 6 in the morning; and then there is the seemingly ubiquitos car alarm that sounds on and off all night long.  Nobody seems to care.

We took many cabs and Ubers here to accomplish our reprovisioning efforts.  They were an experience.  I am all but certain that Stop Signs are mere suggestions.  Each of the cab drivers was deeply religious with seemingly endless displays of nativity and their Catholic faith.  One driver crossed himself at each intersection we went through.

We found an interesting museum devoted to the cultural and anthropologic development of the people and culture of Baha California Sur.  It was a nice display.

We went to where the mission was supposed to be and found a nice cathedral.  Somehow the mission didn't survive the 19th century and was replaced.  

We also discovered a Whale Natural History Museum.  The docent was a nice little girl who managed to communicate in English what little she really knew.  I did manage to learn a few things.  One of which is that Mexico values economics over conservation.  Whale sharks, dolphin, black sea bass liver, etc. are viewed as economic drivers and not something to be protected.  So, hundreds of pangas filled with tourists go out and find whales and whale sharks, dolphin and other species and lay on them so the tourists can see them.  I appreciate that exposure, in some cases, can enable awareness, but veritable zoos are not the answer.  The growth of marine tourism in La Paz has raised real concerns, as increased boat traffic, crowding, and close human interaction can stress whale sharks and whales, disrupt feeding and migration patterns, and heighten the risk of injuryThe folks around here could do more by removing garbage from the beaches and islands and limiting the exposure of rare sea mammals to tourists.  I guess I am just not into it at all.

After a few days of noise and pollution, we are heading out to Isla Espiritu Santu to enjoy the anchorages at this nearby island.

More soon.

Silly birds in Marina De La Paz.

Chapter 12 - Los Frailes at Cabo Pulmo

 Leaving Cabo was a relief.  It has to be the noisiest place on earth.  The constant boat traffic (especially jet skis) all day makes for very churned water.  Regardless, we enjoyed our visit there, but alas, a weather window opened up and it was time to go.

We left Cabo at around 0630 and headed left.  Very shortly, we realized we were now actually heading in a northerly direction.  No longer heading south, we pointed our bow towards our next destination - Los Frailes.

On the way, we saw lots of whales.

The story of Los Frailes.  

Los Frailes means “The Friars” in Spanish. The name refers to the rocky sea stacks and ridgelines south of the anchorage. Early mariners thought these tall, eroded stone formations resembled hooded friars standing in a row, watching over the cape. This type of religious naming was common with Spanish explorers and missionaries mapping the Baja peninsula in the 1500s–1700s.

Los Frailes sits near the southern tip of the Sierra La Laguna, forming a natural stopping point long before modern cruising.  Indigenous peoples (Pericú) inhabited the region, traveling along the coast for fishing.  Spanish galleons and explorers used the lee of the point as a rest or repair area when rounding the cape into the calmer waters of the Gulf. Its deep, protective bight made it one of the safest anchorages on the otherwise exposed East Cape. It was never a major settlement, but was consistently referenced in early navigation accounts due to its reliability as a calm anchorage.

Just 5 miles north sits Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, home to the only hard-coral reef on the West Coast of North America, a marine ecosystem 20,000+ years old, and one of the greatest conservation success stories in Mexico. Cabo Pulmo was definitively protected in 1995.

Through the 20th century, Los Frailes remained a tiny fishing outpost; a place where pangas launched for snapper, dorado, and marlin; and, an otherwise remote landing area with almost no infrastructure. Even today, aside from the cluster of fishing shacks and the dirt road leading north toward Cabo Pulmo, the area remains undeveloped. There is no cell service there whatsoever.

That's Tazzy at anchor in the background.

We enjoyed days sitting on the beach, walking and excellent snorkelling on the reef just out front; an easy swim from the boat.  The visibility was excellent and we enjoyed swimming with great schools of fish - tang, parrot fish, wrasse, angels, puffers, and more.  

And, I was not the only "toro" on the beach.

Not every day....

At the end of the day, the place was pretty magical; a naturally protected anchorage named for rock formations that resembled friars to early explorers. Los Frailles has served for centuries as a safe coastal stop and now sits at the edge of one of the most important marine reserves in the hemisphere. 

Parenthetically, locals sometimes repeat a soft legend that the stone “friars” represent priests watching over sailors — a symbolic safe haven after the treacherous waters off Cabo Falso. It’s not a formal myth, but a widely told Baja story that fits the look of the cliffs.

At the end of 4 days, it was time to go.  Our next destination is a place called Ensenada De Los Muertos (Bay of the Dead) —now often called Bahía de los Sueños (Bay of Dreams), a calm, historic anchorage once used for mining shipments, now prized by cruisers for its sheltered waters and quiet, scenic setting.

And, no sailing-with-cats story would be complete without mentioning how they found a dead flying fish on the deck and, of course, had to bring it down into the salon to play with.  UGGGGGHHHH!

And, Garmin has not been very responsive or cooperative in response to my warranty claim.  They guy assigned to the matter does not speak English and is not being very helpful.  I am still navigating with my phone.

More later - 

Chapter 11 - Cabo San Lucas and another Garmin disaster.

We left Mag Bay pretty early in the morning knowing we had another over night sail ahead of us and light wind in the forecast.  Mag Bay was a great stop and allowed usto rest a bit.

On the trip south, we sailed through and along with a pod of Humpback whales.  Some were breaching, some were fin slapping, and others were beating the surface of the water with their flukes.  The sounds were remarkable; a deep hollow boom heard from miles away, well after the event.

The night was otherwise quiet.  We motorsailed almost all night long.  The wind picked up in the morning and we shut the engine off and rolled out the headsail.  Before long, the wind was up to 20 knots and it was time to reef the headsail.  The main was already reefed.  We have been caught a couple times by inaccurate weather forecasts and since it is just the two of us on the boat, prudence dictated that we reef the main before needing to.

Well, we were clipping right along and as we were just approaching 20 miles from Cabo San Lucas, the evil Garmin deamons bit us again.  You may recall that when we got to Dana Point, our Garmin autopilot went nuts for no apparent reason.  But, with help from Joel at Beacon Marine and Electronics, we got it straightened out.  This time, the chartplotter at the nav pod (upper helm) decided to die.  It flashed and then was stuck on the Garmin logo screen and would not boot up from there.  So, fortunately, we have redundant systems on the boat and we made it into Cabo safely.  Unfortunately, and notwithstanding Joel's best efforts from 1000 miles away, this unit is nothing more than a paperweight and, the internal power supply having suffered a fatal contracture. I am now at the mercy of Garmin customer support.  We'll see how that works out. We need to have them ship us a new unit.  Apparently, they will honor the warranty - so they say.  It's as if they knew they had the potential for this problem, but did nothing about it.  Can you say, "RECALL"?  For now, I am forced to navigate from the helm with my phone. Why not just switch the units out - move the one from the nav station to the upper helm, you might be wondering?  I could do that, but then I would not have sonar.  So much for redundancy.

And that, folks, is all she wrote.

Anyways, our approach to Cabo was interesting.  I have never been here before so the scenes were all new.

So, we anchored in front of the town.  LOUD is an understatement.  There are hundreds of boats moving in every which direction - tour boats, pangas, water taxis and the ubiquitous water toys - jetskis, seadoos, etc.  It's hectic and it's chaos, but that's Cabo for you.  

In spite of the hectic nature of the town, we did enjoy several meals in the harbor and walks around the area, lots of margaritas and interesting spectacles.  Everyone on every street is a salesman and wants to sell you something.  Whether it's a hat or an opportunity to take a photo with a lizard, it's all there.  And yet, people are remarkably friendly and helpful.  It's easy to get the vendors off your back by smiling and saying, "no thank you."  We did some grocery shopping, and even found a lavanderia that did our laundry for us for a ridiculously low price.  That, to me, may have made it worth coming here.

I feel like I learned nothing about Cabo San Lucas other than it is an adult resort town.  There is little here other than resort after resort lining the beaches, the roads, and everywhere the eye can see. They take in 12 or more cruise ships per week.  There are a couple of remakable shooping malls within walking distance of the harbor - one of which is a very exclusive luxury item mall.  I am pretty sure that all clocks tick tourism here and that this is the entire basis of the economy of Cabo San Lucas.  Fun place to stop, but I don't see myself coming back here for any particular reason.

Our view from the anchorage.

Moonlight photo experiment.

So, tomorrow (Saturday) we will be heading into the Sea of Cortez.  Our first stop will be a place called Cabo Frailes (pronounced Fray-lez).  I'll be navigating there with my cell phone as I have no chart plotter at my helm for the moment.  Pray for us.  No, pray for Garmin! I understand it's quite pretty there with nice sandy beaches and clean, clear water for swimming.  We'll be there for a couple days at least waiting for the next opportunity to move north without bashing our teeth in.  Hopefully Garmin will have managed to find a solution by the time we reach La Paz - it is under warranty after all.**

** Just to be clear, Joel is my friend and will always be.  I do not begrudge him for this equipment failure in any way, shape or form.  The equipment is defective and that's what a warranty is for.  Were we in the states, this issue would be resolved in 5 minutes.  But, because we are a cruising boat presently in Mexico, things are more complicated.  Thanks to Joel for putting in the warranty claim for us.  That should help.