San Evaristo: 20 June 2023
Route
| Location | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|
| Isla San Francisco (East) | 24.829 N | 110.566 W |
| Isla San Jose, La Amortajada | 24.868 N | 110.570 W |
| San Evaristo | 24.913 N | 110.702 W |
Journal
In the morning, wind fresh and building from the north, we motor, wind on the nose to La Amortajada, a mangrove-forest lagoon encircled and protected by a massive sand-spit. Enroute we spot jumping Dorado propelling their turquois-yellow-green masses out of the water, either in pursuit of prey or being pursued as prey. We arrive to La Amortajada on a flooding tide and take the dinghy in 2 shifts to explore the mangrove forest, Neumann Family on Trip 1, Popov Family on Trip 2.
Inside the sand-spit bastion lies a vast mangrove ecosystem ranging from clear sand-bottom shallows to dense mangroves cut with tidal channels, silty and tannic dark waters. We see many sea tutrles, unidentified fish, rays, potential baby hammer-head sharks, sea birds and raptors.
Neumann Family arrives at the opening of the lagoon during a strong flood-tide, channel unnavigable with no depth, water heavily rushing over a rocky bottom as the morning exchange with the sea begins. Michael, Amy, Asher, and Tobias exit the dinghy and drag the tender across the rocks and into the lagoon, then falling into the deep drop-off just inside the entrance. We scramble back into the boat and explore the mangroves sometimes under power, sometimes drifting silently under paddle, or walking slowly in sand-botom, or silty-muck bottom, pulling the dinghy. Exiting the lagoon is equally chaotic as the flood tide is still strong and water depth not navigable. We slightly miss-time the exit from the dinghy to walk it across the laggon entrance and in the seconds of miss-timing Asher and Tobias exit the bow, Amy and Michael off the stern into shoulder deep, rushing water, that renders us useless in moving the dinghy and threatens to sweep us back into the lagoon. Mild panic ensues and the boat also begins to be swept back into the lagoon. Asher and Tobias have to pull the dinghy, Amy and Michael holding on, to a point that all can work to move the boat through the entrance. It is slow going as the under-powered dinghy struggles against the flood. We beleive we spot juvenile hammer heads also transiting the entrance.
During Trip 1, local fisherman approach Grieg in a panga and ask the Popov Family for some water, they share a 6 liter jug, a precious commodity for us on a boat in 100-degree temperatures. The fisherman retreat to shore and the shade of foiliage along the crest of the sand- spit, seeking refuge from the scorching temperatures and strong north winds.
As we leave La Amortajada, on our way to the fishing village of San Evaristo, the wind is gusting above 20 knots from the north. We again motorsail, wind on the nose.
We tuck into the northern lobe of the bay and anchor in sandy bottom in 3 fathoms of water. There is a large white cross at the top of the steep hill engulfing the cove. Maybe it is a reminder of colonial history, maybe a symbol of protection for the fishermen, but not the only one we would encounter. We enjoy afternoon swimming and snorkeling with decent visibility of 20 feet, various fish, among rocky bottom interspersed with sand. Asher hones his diving skill hunting for shells.
We discover a large grass hopper lounging on our bimini and name him Pin. We wonder how long he haas been transiting, could he have been a co-resident with us from La Paz? We carefully move around him as to not scare him into the water, and then decide it is best to release him on land. Tobias spearheads plans to hold him in a container and make a trip to shore to release him.
17:05
Mild panic ensues as the continuous running water pump, and gurgling sound of an empty water tank, alerts us to the fact that we have exhausted half our water supply in 3 days. We switch to the second tank, and thankfully realize we can take the dinghy into the only town on the itinierary, or really anywhere, to scrounge for water. We first re-inflate and restructure the plastic water bottles we have been crushing and storing as we use our potable water supply, it is, afterall, Mexico, which means one must only drink bottled water. Then, off we go, under the sputtering engine of the dinghy, into the fishing village of San Evaristo; Michael, Zarko, and Tobias, with 6, 6-liter, empty platic jugs, in search of water. Upon arrival, there are kids of all ages playing soccer. Here, again, is a reminder that people around the world live differently, but also the same! After some conversation with the kids on the beach to convey our need, we meet Augustino, local fisherman, who happily shares water. Karmic loop, given the water we shared with the fishermen earlier in the day. An hour later we are headed back to Grieg with 6, full, 6-liter jugs, and a 40-liter carboy that we have borrowed from our new local fisherman friend. Tobias releases Pin. An hour after that, we have partially filled Grieg's watertank, forced 200 pesos into the hand of Augustino, and parted with 2 bottles of wine for his deeply human kindness to share one of his most precious assets in this extreme desert environment. Deep thanks for the kindness of this human, an interesting full circle moment as we have today shared the precious commodity of water and recieved a ten-fold kindness.
20:17
Our first moon-rise of the trip presents as a waxing yellow-orange crescent accompanied by Jupiter rising over the encircling, rocky, hills. It sets equally beautifully and, as the boat swings, comes back into view gracing us with a second moon-set. Another windy night at anchor, and our trust in the rode and anchor is beginning to build. As darkness spreads, bioluminescence fills the bay.
