Baja California Sur Part 3: Isla San Francisco to Los Gatos

Our buddy boat, Sea Again, pulled into La Paz Bay on the afternoon of March 14th, and thus began one of the most delightful episodes of our journey to date. On board Sea Again live a wonderful family of five (kids ages 6, 3, and 5 months), whom we were fortunate enough to meet last year at Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. Through a series of serendipitous circumstances we were able to connect again in La Paz this year and spend an exhilarating month cruising north together through the Sea of Cortez.

Sailing with kids is an incredible experience, but it can be lonely and challenging at times. Traveling with like-minded friends added a rich layer to the adventure and filled us up to the brim. It's amazing how the presence of even just two actively engaged families creates a sense of community. Our days and nights were punctuated with shared outdoor adventures, group meals, cooperative learning experiences, sleepovers, and a whole lot of laughter.

The first few days together were spent in La Paz, exploring some attractions and waiting for our laundry over a long weekend (oops), and then we were off to Isla Espiritu Santo, where we waited out our first 30-knot gale. Despite howling winds just beyond our protected bay, we were able to dinghy to shore and enjoy some hiking excursions together. Being anchored also provided a perfect opportunity to collaborate on some homeschooling projects!

Isla San Francisco

When the gale ended, we were all eager to get moving. Our first stop north of Isla Espiritu Santo was Isla San Francisco. En route, we paused at Los Islotes off the northern tip of Isla Espiritu Santo to observe a wild colony of more than 500 California sea lions lazing on the rocks, bellowing at one another, and somersaulting frenetically through the waves.

Isla San Francisco is a small island that offers cruisers a sheltered anchorage with stunningly turquoise waters. A steep track winds its way up to the summit of a rocky peak, where trekkers are rewarded with panoramic views of the bay below and glittering sea beyond. The kids scampered up the trail like mountain goats while the grownups took slightly more measured steps on the loose volcanic rock. From the top, we could see what appeared to be a massive shadow undulating across a significant portion of the anchorage. Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a bait ball of tens of thousands of schooling fish. Back on our boats, we could hear them creating a rain-like rhythm on the water's surface as they leapt and dove throughout the night and early morning.

Isla San Jose

The tiny fishing community of Isla El Pardito

Despite its natural beauty, we found the Isla San Francisco anchorage to have a bit too much of a party vibe for our liking and set off early the next day to discover somewhere less crowded. As we journeyed north, wind filling our sails, we passed by a few brightly-painted fishing shanties on a windswept rock--the remote fishing community of Isla El Pardito.

Dolphins danced around Mohini's bow late in the afternoon as we glided into our next anchorage at the southern tip of Isla San Jose, a protected natural preserve that is part of Espiritu Santo National Park. The island is known for its biodiversity and is home to coyotes, foxes, bobcats, more than 50 species of birds, and the critically endangered San Jose Island Kangaroo Rat.

We immediately noticed what appeared to be a dense cactus forest stretching from the beach to the feet of peaks that rose dramatically skyward several hundred meters away, shading the otherwise barren landscape with green depth and texture. The following day, as we wound our way between telephone-pole sized cactuses, we discovered that the forest was actually much less dense that we'd originally perceived, but still magnificent.

The kids (who, for once, weren't allowed to be barefoot) fell under the spell of this unfamiliar landscape and spent at least an hour creating homes for themselves within tangles of spiky branches. We were amazed at the abundance of tiny flowers we found when slowing down and looking closely. Could there have been a recent, localized rainfall event, we wondered?

Back on the beach, we stopped to investigate the remains of several large, desiccated stingrays in the sand, and then it was costume party time on Sea Again! Burgers in homemade buns were hungrily devoured by a unicorn, a ninja, and Moana as the sun set on another stunning day.

Los Gatos

Heading north from Isla San Jose, we stopped for a night to provision in San Evaristo, a tiny fishing village where cows ambled placidly along the beach, grazing on tufts of seagrass and low-hanging tree branches. We also enjoyed an evening anchored near La Cueva. Here, mangrove trees brightened the landscape with a lively green, contrasting strikingly with the the pale grandeur of sheer cliffs above.

On the third day, we found ourselves in light winds and decided to try out our spinnaker for the first time ever. This huge, parachute-like sail is extremely lightweight and ideal for winds in the 3-10 knot range. I always enjoy witnessing Nico's concentration and determination when he's trying something new and nautical, and his deep satisfaction when it succeeds. In this case, our sails were as full as our hearts as we pulled into Los Gatos, an anchorage widely known as one of the prettiest on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez.

With red, wind-smoothed rock formations twisting down like giant paws to bookend a protected stretch of beach, Los Gatos lived up to its name (which means "the cats" in Spanish) and its reputation for natural beauty. As we pulled in, a local fisherman approached us in his panga to sell his fresh catch, which was filleted before our eyes, and then we paddled to shore to get a closer look at the incredible scenery.

The kids were captivated by the invitation of rounded stone nooks, crevices, and natural platforms, and immediately became cave people, defending their territory from intruders. This game continued the next day until we tore Aaron and Yael away to summit a nearby peak. Zigzagging upward, we had the impression we were balancing along the narrow spine of the earth to reach a dizzying overlook with 360-degree views of land and sea. Here, we breathed deep, truly feeling like we were on top of the world!

To continue following Mohini's journey northwards through the Sea of Cortez, read our post: Baja California Sur Part 4: Agua Verde to Bahia Concepcion.