La Paz: Isla Coyote, Isla San Francisco & Isla Partida – Remote Islands

Early November, 2011 - Continuing south from the Loreto area, we enjoyed some

downwind sailing and stopped for a brief overnight at Bahía Salinas at the base of

Isla San Jose.  This is a small bay that used to be home to a salt mine.  The ruins

of the buildings and even some old vehicles are scattered just up from the beach.

The Sea of Cortez has many abandoned structures, from buildings once used in

small industries like salt mining and fishing to tourist hotels and housing

developments that never got off the ground.

There is one unique, tiny island, however,

that is covered with dollhouse-sized buildings

that are still lovingly maintained.  Just a tenth

of a mile or so across, it is clear even from

out in the anchorage that every possible

square inch of Isla Coyote sports a small

building or patio.

Sculptures, sea shell

arrangements and

other creative

decorations are

scattered about the

grounds.

As we motored ashore

towards the two-

dinghy-sized beach,

we were met by a man

who introduced himself

as Manuel.  He

graciously tied up our dink and invited us to

walk around the island and explore.

He told us that he had lived on the island for

fifty years and had raised his kids here.

A few steps from the beach he showed us

the "Whale Museum," a collection of whale

bones with a little sign listing the kinds of

whales:  sperm, finback, pilot.

Only the sheer cliffs on the east side of Isla

Coyote are bare.  The rest of the island is

packed with the homey signs of a simple life

well lived.

Isla Coyote is tall enough that

each one- or two-room building has a

wonderful and unobstructed view.

A little trail snakes up the hill

between the buildings.  It is a

three minute walk from the

beach to the bluff at the peak.

There is a whimsy and

charm here that speaks of

a happy group of families

that made a life here on

this miniature island for

many years.  At one time

this tiny island was home

to 30 people.

Manuel told us his wife was

currently living in La Paz while

his son attends university

there.  He stays out here on

the island to keep an eye on

things.  "It's just me and my

dog Luna here," he said to me

in Spanish, although he did

have a friend Roberto staying

with him when we visited.  His

only other company is occasional cruisers that drop by and daytripping

tourists that take a four mile boat ride out from the tiny seaside village of

San Evaristo on the Baja mainland.

He keeps in touch with the

world via VHF radio and cell

phone, but he doesn't have

a TV.

Each building has a solar

panel on a stick outside,

and down on the beach

there was a collection of

large drums that held the

fresh water he had just

received from San Evaristo.

San Evaristo is also the source of most of his provisions.

A tiny chapel has a commanding view of the bay, and another building is covered

with a pretty mural depicting the undersea world.

Around the corner from Isla Coyote is a favorite cruiser

destination, Isla San Francisco.  We had loved this

classic anchorage last spring and thoroughly enjoyed

visiting it again this fall.  The water was amazingly

clear, and when I went snorkeling I saw several large

brown eels cruising around under the anchored boats.

They had mouths like moray eels and they swam with

them wide open.  I kept my distance!  A beautiful

mobula ray also flew past me slowly under water.

The mountains in the distance cast dramatic shadows in the morning light,

and we sat in the cockpit in the mornings and evenings, mesmerized by

our surroundings.

Up on deck one afternoon I heard a faint

chirping and watched a tiny bird land in

our cockpit.  We were in the midst of

moving Groovy from one end of the

anchorage to the other, and when I

started the engine the bird vanished.

Once we dropped the hook again he

suddenly reappeared in the cabin.  He

had taken the cross-harbor ride with us down below.  He seemed

unsteady on his feet and kept closing his eyes and nodding off as he

perched on our table in the cabin.  I offered him a dish of water and

some bread but he kept his eyes closed while I looked him up in our

bird book.  He turned out to be a female yellow-rumped warbler, a

migrating bird that spends summers between northern California and

British Columbia and winters in Mexico.  This tiny fluff of a bird had

just flown 1,200 miles or more.  No wonder she was tired.

We went about our business that evening, but our little bird friend got weaker and weaker.  Finally she

stretched out on her side and closed her eyes for the last time.  We were both very sad.  We had

hoped a good night's sleep on Groovy would revive her spirits.  Mark made a little coffin from a yogurt

container and the next day we went ashore and buried her on a ridge with a beautiful view.

Ensenada Grande (on Isla Partida, the northern island of Las

Islas Espiritu Santos) had been another favorite stop on our

way north last spring, and we dropped in for a few nights on

our current trek south.   We had been seeing more and more

charter boats in the last few anchorages, and at Ensenada

Grande we parked right next to a beautiful big power boat in

the middle of the turquoise bay.  We watched the crew get out

the snorkeling gear and launch the kayaks and mix the drinks

and break up the bags of ice and all kinds of other things

while the guests kicked back on a high deck with a view.

A crew member dinghied

ashore and set up some

beach umbrellas and beach

chairs.  Soon the guests were enjoying a shaded cocktail

party on the beach.  What a life.

That evening we saw the same beautiful sunset from our

cockpit as they did, but we'd had to launch our own kayak

and dig out our own snorkeling gear earlier in the day.

Mark and I snorkeled along the rocks, admiring the many

brightly colored fish.  They come with all kinds of trim, from

stripes to polka dots to loud, flamboyant patterns.  All of a

sudden Mark pointed at the sand and I saw the corner of a

blue 20 peso note waving slowly from under a rock.

"Cool!!" I thought, "That's enough for a beer at a beach

bar!"  (20 pesos is about $1.50).  We grinned goofy grins at

each other through our masks.  Mark reached for the

money and then pointed excitedly at the corner.  It was a

20 Euro note!!  Wow.  Make that beers and dinner for two!!

(20 Euros is about $27).  Cruising is paying off.

A swell came in overnight, making the boat prance in the waves and keeping us up all night.  In the forward berth

you were tossed in the air as the boat jumped and fell in the waves.  In the aft berth you were in a perfect

soundboard that magnified the crashing thunder of the stern pounding the water.

In total frustration we

got up at 3 a.m. and

watched the movie

Terminator with the

volume turned way up.

It is an interesting

experience to get

absorbed in a movie

like that while your

theater seat and movie

screen are flying all

over the place.

The weather was

getting iffy, and we didn't want to risk another sleepless night, so we continued south along

the spectacular cliffs of Islas Espiritu Santo.

We made one more stop at

lovely Puerto Balandra as we

continued towards La Paz.  This

bay is the quintessential tropical

anchorage that lies at the heart

of most cruising dreams.  The

water is an exquisite shade of

aquamarine, the white sand

beaches are truly white and

almost powdery, and the rocky

mountains undulate around the

bay in a snug embrace.

More charter boats showed up to enjoy an

afternoon of perfection in paradise, and we sat in

the middle of it all with binoculars, cameras, drinks

and snacks in arm's reach.  This was our delicious

prize, our reward after a sleepless night.  The thing

about these moments of bliss in nirvana is that you

can earn them from the workaday world and jet

down to the tropics where a crew or resort staff

caters to your every need.  Or you can slog it out

on a small rolling boat, at the mercy of the weather,

snorkeling for Euros, and repairing the many things

that break on board.  Either way the price is paid

and the handsome reward of a few precious

moments in paradise becomes emblazoned in your

memory forever.

Those moments are brief, however, and an impending Norther sent us into safety and the urban thrills of La Paz.

Read about our experiences in Isla San Francisco, Ensenada Grande

and Puerto Balandra in April, 2011 here and here.

Find Isla San Francisco, San Evaristo, Ensenada Grande, and Puerto Balandra on Mexico Maps.