Second Wind Voyage: Gunkholing time!

Gunkhole, verb: to move from anchorage to anchorage exploring out-of-the-way places by boat

We're looking forward to meeting groups of family and friends in La Paz, so we decided to bypass the city for now and continue exploring north up the Sea of Cortez. Our first stop was Puerto Balandra--not a port, but a beautiful anchorage with long white beaches, turquoise water, and (YES! finally!!) a place to snorkel.

Mushroom rock at Puerto Balandra

Uh-oh, Art got the camera

The next stop was San Evaristo, a quintessential fishing village with about 30 dwellings. Walking to the school and the salt evaporation ponds passed by plenty of cardon cactus, some burros and goats, and a small tienda where we purchased some almost-fresh vegetables. (Though the tiny stores carry a surprising variety of nonperishable items, produce deliveries to this remote desert village are made just once a week.)

Morning light at San Evaristo

Burros roam freely in & around town

Roadside shrine

The school has 8 students drawn from a large geographic area

The wind picked up quite a bit and we hung out in the most sheltered part of that bay an extra day before moving on to Timbabiche, then Bahia San Marte and Bahia Agua Verde. The scenery got more and more spectacular; indeed, I ran out of superlative adjectives in my daily journal. The Sierra de la Gigante range along the coast has high mesas, jagged peaks and ridge lines, colorful rock layers, and plenty of cactus and shrubs. We had not expected the desert here to be nearly this beautiful; we gorged on the surroundings, with plenty of hiking and even more just sitting and absorbing.