Crossing The Sea Of Cortez - Muertos and La Paz

We departed Mazatlan at daybreak on Easter Sunday for the 190 nm crossing of the Sea of Cortez. We are now traveling with s/v Andanzas and s/v Wind Song, both Catalina 42's from Ventura, CA.  We had waited in Mazatlan longer than we really wanted for a good weather window for the crossing....and it was sure worth the wait!!!  The seas were perfect for our crossing.... very calm with sunny skies.  We made landfall 29 hours later at a beautiful anchorage called Ensenada de Muertos (the cove of the dead!!).  Along the way we saw many sea turtles and schools of dolphins...but no whales his time.

Sunset on the Sea was simply georgous....we were mid-way across as the sun set over calm seas......

Several cargo ships passed nearby during the night...one crossing our stern and ahead of Andanzas and Wind Song who were following us about 1.5 miles.  A few anxious moments, as the ships are generally 300 feet or more in length and traveling at 12 to 15 knots...

Sunrise was even more gorgeous....note the flat seas!!!

We arrived in Muertos late morning the next day.  Ensenada de los Muertos was a major cargo port in the 1920's, bringing supplies to a now abandoned silver mining operation.  They also harvested salt from the area early-on.  Fishing, a remote tourist resort and a palapa restaurant/bar provide most of the income for locals now. The water is clear (much clearer than the mainland side) and the topography/geology is typical of the Baja...."desert meeting the sea".

We spent 4 days here waiting out another strong north wind in the Sea. Not a bad place to hangout though...swimming, beach hikes, cerveza's in the palapa.  Life is good!!!

The winds finally subsided so we pulled anchor and continued north up the baja coast to La Paz.

Along the way we enjoyed the "flying" mantas...again no whales sighted, however.  At times there were 20 -30 mantas jumping around us as we motored.  It is said that they are jumping to "shake-off sea lice".  We also were successful in landing a good sized Dorado enroute...dinner the next few days!!!

We entered Canal de San Lorenzo (San Lorenzo Channel) around noon, this is the entrance to Bahia La Paz.  We were now back in the cruising grounds we enjoyed almost 3 years ago aboard SeaScape, a sail boat we chartered in La Paz.  The bay shown above is called Puerto Balandra, it's about 5 miles out of La Paz.  When we were anchored here on SeaScape, Adam Sandler and a film crew landed to film Zohan...(part of the movie was also filmed in downtown La Paz)

We are currently moored at Marina Palmira, just a 1.5 walk to the heart of La Paz.  The city has a fabulous "Malecon" along the water, which is also the "meeting place" for locals in the evenings.  There are great places to eat here and music abounds.  We will stay in the marina until mid-week and then start north through the islands and on to Loreto....for the annual Loreto Fest celebrations.  Until our next update....