AND THAT'S A WRAP ON SEASON 2

JUNE 26 - It’s odd to have arrived at the end of our time in Baja for this season. We extended our cruising into late June this year and have been grateful for our extra time in this beautiful part of the world. As “sophomores” we’ve been far more comfortable in our cruising skills in our second season, though we’ve been no less awed by Baja’s wonderful landscapes, wildlife, sunsets and starry nights than we were the first time around – while still challenged by its idiosyncratic winds and tides. It’s a special place.

Tino Pai is back in Bahia San Francisquito, prepping for our crossing to San Carlos tonight. We’d prefer to have crossed from Caleta Blanca, however forecast northerly winds into that anchorage made it a poor option. We had a calm motor down to San Francisquito in glassy waters, unremarkable but for a nice whale sighting. We celebrated our last night in Baja for a while with a couple of Baja Old fashioneds in the cockpit, watching the sun set into a warm and brilliant starry night.

The bees are, as anticipated, out in force here. That’d be a problem had we wanted to hang out outside, however we’ll spend the day mostly indoors prepping Tino Pai for tonight’s crossing; engine checks, stowing gear, prepping meals and planning out our time in San Carlos. We plan to depart late afternoon in order to ride the strong nightly westerlies that blow across the sea from just south of here. We’ll make southwest for about the first third of the crossing before taking a more easterly heading into San Carlos. We hope to sail for about two thirds of the crossing. At least that’s the plan!

So, for now, farewell Baja. We’ll look forward to returning to your beauty for our third and final time this Fall. It’s always hard to leave.

JULY 07 - And that’s a wrap on our second season of cruising. Tino Pai is tucked up in her slip at San Carlos Marina for the next couple of months, and we’re on our way to the US for the hot season.

We had a nice crossing from San Francisquito to San Carlos, sailing most of the way as planned in winds ranging from 7 to 23 knots. On arrival in San Carlos, we spent a few days in the anchorage waiting for our slip and watching the daily loco parade of “yate de rentas” passing to and fro from the marina, with blaring music and the occasional disco lights. It’s a popular pastime for the locals, and they party loudly! One near miss aside, the noise and boat wakes had us ready to get into our slip.

JULY 07 - We spent 5 days working on Tino Pai, putting away sails and canvas, stowing gear, cleaning, and generally getting her ready for a couple of months without us. We’d learned from last year’s heat and humidity and had booked an airconditioned hotel room for this time - cooling AC, a shower and a good night’s sleep makes us much more productive! We’re a lot less nervous about leaving her this year, with experience and knowing what a good job our caretaker Manny had done for us over summer last year.

We like San Carlos. We enjoyed being back in this scenic harbor and visiting a few of our favorite restaurants from last year, as well as getting to the amazing sushi restaurant in the marina that we’d failed to get to last time we were here. So - that’s it! We’re looking forward to catching up with family and friends in the US, getting in some mountain biking and mountain time!