Petroglyphs and Ringing Rocks

"Little Lara" sailing on Bahia Concepcion

Peggy's Post: These are a few of my favorite things --

• listening to a violin concert (thanks John!) on the beach on a moonlit night with a bonfire, potluck appetizers, and good friends
• watching a gorgeous sunrise sneak over the mountains and wash the beaches in its shimmering glow
• listening each morning to “Amazing Grace” played on bagpipes before the Cruiser's Net weather broadcast (thanks Geary!)
• chasing giant Angelfish though mazes in the reefs while snorkeling
• watching Jay spearfish then eating delicious grilled fish or cerviche
• being amazed by stingrays and dolphins' display of aerial acrobatics
• bio-luminescence exploding in the water at night as fish swim around "Little Lara"
• exploring deserted beaches and finding beautiful sea shells
• hitching hiking to the closest town and discovering out how many people we can squeeze into a car (the record is 8!)
• learning about the interesting history of each village and town we visit
• attending church in Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, and Loreto (meetings - all in Spanish!)
• listening to the wind calm down at night so we can have a peaceful nights sleep
• finding "old" friends in new anchorage when we arrive … and meeting "new" friends there
• being with with my sweetheart (of 36 years) and enjoying these wonderful adventures together!

San Juanico Anchorage

Jay's Post: We left Puerto Escondido February 26, 2015 northward bound. We very much enjoyed nearby Loreto with its plaza and historic buildings, but the weather was beginning to warm up, encouraging us to move on. Because the waters have been cold (69 degrees), we have been unwilling to do much snorkeling. We are hopeful this will change soon. Our first stop was Puerto Ballandra on Isla Carmen. We had been here before, but we liked it so much, we decided to return. Last time we anchored here we snagged an underwater tree that had probably been washed down the nearby arroyo with the last hurricane. We had a hard time pulling the anchor up and were successful only after motoring “Little Lara” into shallower waters, dragging the tree with us. There, we were able to snag the tree with the boat hook and slip the anchor from underneath it. Having learned our lesson, we were extra careful where we anchored this time.

From Ballandra we motor-sailed 25 miles north to Caleta San Juanico. There are no nearby towns, no

Ranchito garden in San Juanico

stores, but plenty of RVs camped along the beach. We enjoyed getting to know them during the week we stayed here. Interestingly, most of them are Canadians—about three Canadians for every American. They come to Mexico each year to escape the harsh winters. There are also some small Ranchitos in the area, and we went to visit the families who live out in this desert wilderness tending gardens and raising goats. We were particularly impresses with their gardens. Using goat manure as fertilizer, they plant vegetables in raised beds, which they irrigate using water from a nearby communal well. This water is hauled in by truck and stored in cisterns. The organic vegetables plants were beautiful: large, leafy and healthy looking, unlike the vegetables we grow in our garden back in Redding. While in San Juanico, we went on several hikes, had bonfires on the beach with other cruisers, and hunted for “Apache Tears”. We picked up a bagful of them scattered along the roads and up the arroyos.

Some of the Apache Tears

Apache tears are smooth, glassy stones of natural volcanic obsidian. The stones generally range from pea to golf ball size. They are black in color formed when lava flows cooled rapidly. Because they can be chipped to an amazing sharpness, they were used by the Indians to make spears and arrow heads. Their name comes from a legend dating back to the late 1800's when the United States fought the Apache Indians in Arizona. When the warriors were defeated and killed, their families wept bitterly for their loss of their loved ones, and with each tear shed, it turned into stone upon hitting the ground.

Calm anchorage, Santispac, Bahia Concepcion

We left San Juanico March 9^th for Bahia Concepcion. Boaters, RVers, campers, kayakers, and fishermen come to Bahia Concepcion from all around the world because of the beautiful bays, clear waters and sandy beaches. Here we met Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, South Africans, Austrians, etc. The bay lies 14 miles south of Mulege along Mexico Highway 1. Due to its protection, the ocean swells and northerly winds are blocked, making for calmer waters. There are numerous anchorages all within an eight mile radius, with exotic names like: Santispac, Escondida, El Burro, Coyote, Santa Barbara, and Requeson.

Insect Petroglyph

We stayed long enough to visit them all. While here we went on hikes, caught rides into Mulege, made new friends, and enjoyed the beaches. It was in Bahia Concepcion that the waters finally warmed up enough (75 degrees) for us to go snorkeling and spearfishing without freezing. While hiking we came across many petroglyphs and “bell rocks”. These petroglyphs were carved by the Indians that once inhabited this area up to 3,000 years ago. We were able to easily identify carvings of fish, insects, cacti and trees. The bell rocks were interspersed among the petroglyphs. These fascinating rocks are reddish brown in color and the size of small boulders. Because of their high iron content, when struck, they resonate like a bell (see the video below). We enjoyed Bahia Concepcion so much, we stayed here for two weeks, leaving on March 23^rd for Santa Rosalia.

Note: Click on the pictures to enlarge. Comments and questions are always encouraged!

Whales, Whales, Everywhere Whales!

Jay's Post: One of the questions we are frequently asked is if we see whales as we sail. The answer is yes, predominately three types: Blue Whales, Humpback Whales and Gray Whales.

Blue Whales are found usually in the open oceans. In the Pacific ocean they migrate from South Chukchi Sea in the Pacific Northwest to Panama. In the waters of Mexico they mate and give birth to their calves. Their diet consists mainly of krill, a tiny shrimp-like animal. They each consume 2-4 tons of krill per day. When feeding they travel at 1-4 miles per hour, but can achieve bursts of speed up to 30 miles per hour. Blue whales are the largest known animal on the planet reaching 105 feet in length and weighing up to 196 tons. They are blue-gray in color. When they spout they shoot a vertical spray of water up to 40 feet into the air.

Humpback Whales are found primarily along the coast from the Bering Sea to Southern Mexico. In the waters of Mexico they mate and give birth to their calves. Their diet consists mainly of krill and small schooling fish. They are known to concentrate their food by forming a “bubble curtain”, created by swimming in circles while releasing air bubbles beneath the water's surface. Humpback Whales often “sing”, vocalizing a long series of repeated phrases. They can grow up to 53 feet in length and are mostly black in color with white undersides. They often leap clear out of the water and may slap their flukes on the water's surface.

Gray Whales are found primarily in shallow coastal waters from the Bering Sea to Baja California, Mexico. In the waters of Mexico they mate and to give birth to their calves. When born, the calves can swim immediately, but depend on their mothers for a diet of milk for at least 6 months. The adult's diet consists mainly of gammarid and amphipods which they grub off the sea floor. They are gray in color and can grow up to 46 feet in length. When spouting they do not shoot out a distinctive spout of water.

Peggy's Post: Fortunately, we are able to report that we have only seen Blue Whales from a distance. It is our goal to stay as far way from these “monsters of the deep” as possible. Frequently we see Humpback whales spouting as we move along the coast. We can see their spouts from a great distance as they shoot up into the air. A few times we have come upon their “bubble curtains” as they feed on fish they were rounding up. During these times they would either see us or hear us coming and would submerge as we sailed closer leaving only the disturbed water in their wake. Once, as we were leaving Abreojos, Mexico, a Humpback Whale breached right in front of “Little Lara” less than 100 feet away, startling us both. “Little Lara” rocked from side to side by the waves left behind. Sadly, we did not have our camera nearby, so we missed a great photo opportunity.

Though we have seen whales both in the Pacific and in the Sea of Cortez I convinced Jay into taking a whale watching tour. I had heard from some other cruisers that it was a new and completely different experience. So when we had the rental car, we drove back over to the Pacific side of Baja California to Lopez Mateo, near Bahia Magdalena, where the Gray Whales come to calf. We hired a panga (a small fishing boat) and were lucky to be the only passengers aboard, so we had a fantastic view of the spouting Gray Whales. This was very exciting as we got closer and saw their baby calves. We followed them along as they surfaced and then dove. As these whales disappeared below the surface of the water, our panga driver would spot another whale in the distance, and off we would roar over the waves. The best part was toward the end of our tour when we met the friendliest whale. She would come up to the side of the boat...and we were only an arms reach from the water. I swear, she wanted to be petted and she loved it! And we weren't feeding them so it wasn't food bringing them to us. She would go to one side of the boat, dive under, then come up on the other side for another head rub. Then she nudged her calf over for some attention from us. I was so surprised at how soft their bodies were. It was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience! You have to see the videos above and below to gain an appreciation of what we were able to experience. Enjoy!