April 13, 2008 -- Evaristo -- N 24 degrees 54' 50.2" / W 110 degrees 42' 10.8"
nm cruised for the day; 335.4 nm cruised on the trip overall

Last night's beach party was a memorable social event. We decided to fix up fried tortilla chips, coated with cinnamon sugar. I pulled out our folding chairs, extra seat cushions, and my backpack reclining seat. At dusk, David and Nancy ran over to Mija in their dinghy. I was hoping Eric and Terry would bring out their conch horns, so we dinghied over to their boat as well. They invited us on board and offered us something to drink. They wouldn't be coming to the beach, but Eric did haul out his collection of conch horns. Two were made from Bahamian conch shells, and one was a Mexican conch like the one I had made on this trip. I had brought my two along, and it didn't take long before we had 5 conch horns blowing more or less at the same time. Terry named this extraordinary musical event the "5 conch honk". We had more fun passing horns around and giving them all a try. I can only imagine what the coyotes on shore must have thought.

After the concert had concluded, we climbed into our dinghy, followed by David and Nancy in their RIB for the run in to the beach. As we ran by Exodus, we saw Brian and Lorrie climbing into their dinghy. David kindled the camp fire, and we set up chairs and cushions around the flames. We passed snacks around, and enjoyed the peace and solitude of a lovely Baja beach as night settled in. Under the stars, and with a bright half moon directly overhead, we shared stories and poked at the cheerful fire. David introduced us to his big project, an invention he calls the "glide cycle". It has 2 wheels and handle bars, like a regular bicycle, but instead of a conventional frame and pedals, the wheels are joined by a tubular arch, beneath which is suspended a sling type seat. The rider sits in the sling seat and propels forward with a running motion. It enables a rider to engage in aerobic running exercise without the pounding of regular jogging. David says he can do 5 minute miles on the glide cycle. He has big plans to manufacture in quantity, and is hoping it will really take off. He was most interested in hearing what we thought of his invention. We all agreed that it looked great, and we wished him much success with it.

I got up this morning around 7 am. While taking the sail covers off I noticed a panga approaching the anchorage. I figured it to be Manuel, the fisherman from Timbibache who visits regularly to sell his catch. He hadn't been around in a couple of days, because of the winds and rough seas. He motored by the other boats, but didn't see anyone up. He spotted me on deck and came over. The other cruisers had told me they all had blue marks on their hulls from Manuel's panga bumping up against them. It was calm, and he was able to grab onto my boom, which I had swayed out on the starbard side. He introduced himself with a friendly grin, and I responded likewise. I tried asking him if he could provide "dos lingusta" (two lobsters). He said "manana" and mimed a diving motion, suggesting that he would have to go diving to hunt them up. I got across that we would be leaving today. He then offered me a small sierra which was lying in a plastic box in his panga. I looked the fish over. It was very dry, very stiff, and I couldn't quite tell how many days it had laid in that plastic box. I politely declined the sierra. He then asked if I was interested in some cabrilla. I brightened and said "Si!". I asked when he might have some. He said "Ocho hora". I said ok and he ran out in his panga to try for cabrilla.

Sandy and I had our breakfast and were almost ready to raise anchor when Manuel returned. He had a disappointed look on his face. Obviously the cabrilla weren't biting. He then inquired "Gasolina?" It appears that Manuel is perpetually short of gasolina, and he conveyed to me that the nearest gas, at Everisto, is very expensive, and he has no dinero. I figured Manuel to be a hard working, honest fisherman of limited means, who isn't always lucky, but still burns his gas trying to supply cruising boats, and gave him a gallon of gas. He was very appreciative. He siphoned it into his tank, added a little mix oil, which I later learned had been given to him by Eric on Mija, and watched as he wiped the end of his siphon hose off. He stuck that end into his mouth and blew on it, thereby mixing the new gas and oil. Simple but effective. With warm thanks he moved off and went on his way. I enjoyed meeting Manuel, and hope I will be able to buy fish or lobster from him, perhaps on our return run.

Around 9:30, boats began pulling out. First, Exodus got underway, heading for Isla San Francisco. They were followed by Mija, bound for Evaristo where Eric and Terry planned on buying fresh provisions at the small tienda there. We were next to move, somewhat uncertain of destination, but heading south. That left Polar Bear as the last boat in the anchorage. As we motored by, David stood out on deck and saluted us with his diggeridoo. We waved farewell, with fond thoughts of last night's beach party and hopes that his glide cycle is a smashing success.

Our route south took us past the small fishing village of Napolo, tucked tightly in behind a rugged, rocky headland. We cruised into the San Jose Channel, between the Baja mainland and San Jose Island. At least 6 sailboats passed us heading north. Maybe Manuel will be able to sell fresh cabrilla to some of them. A fresh breeze came up, first out of the north, but swinging to the east as we entered the channel, and further along, it became a 15 knot following wind, perfect for unfurling the jib. The seas were big and rolly, 4 feet and sometimes higher, but fairly well spaced, and we had a comfortable passage. We decided to head for Evaristo, with its well protected anchorage. We got in about 3:30 pm, and once we'd anchored, we dinghied ashore. We walked up to the little tienda, with an ostentatious sign stating "Mini Super". The building was a low, flat roofed affair, and the front door was open, so we walked in. It was poorly lit inside, but was stocked with a surprisingly good variety of basic foods and snack items. We bought a half dozen fresh eggs, some dry cereal, and some fruit and vegetables. We were lucky we arrived when we did, because as we were walking back to the dinghy, we saw them closing up.

We motored back toward our boat, with a slight jog which took up past Mija, also anchored in Evaristo. Terry greeted us and we paused to chat. Sandy told her she wanted to fix chilli rellenos with the fresh eggs we'd bought, and the special peppers we'd gotten in Loreto. Terry had a Baja cookbook with detailed directions for preparing chilli rellenos, and she read the recipe to us while we bobbed in our dinghy. The description was making us both hungry, so we ran back to the boat. While Sandy was getting things ready, I went for a quick swim around the boat, followed by a foredeck solar shower. The shower water had warmed up well and felt great. We then went into serious chilli relleno production. They were a bit of work, but turned out great.

Tomorrow we'll make a lengthy run down to Isla Partida, which is about halfway to La Paz. The weather forecast is good through Wednesday, so it makes good sense to cross tomorrow. That will position us well for making La Paz on Tuesday. This destination for such a long time has seemed so distant, and I've always told people that our destination for this cruise is "hopefully La Paz", so as to not jinx things in the event that some problem arose which prevented us from making it all the way. Now, we're feeling confident that we will soon be enjoying a visit by water to La Paz.