Cruising Adventures of the Red Witch

January 19-20, 2023   When we had arrived at Bahia Bonanza the wind had been blowing from the south, so we had anchored near the south end of the beach for the best protection.   With the forecast for the winds to switch to blow lightly from the north we moved to the north end of the bay to seek the best protection.   We were definitely protected from the wind, but as the waves built up out in the sea they began to wrap around the point that protected us, and our anchorage became more and more rolly.   On January 19th we pulled up anchor and headed around the south end of the island over to the east side so as to be well protected from the north and the west.   The forecast was for some strong northerly winds so we picked our anchorage carefully.   Before the strong winds arrived we had some time to head out in Kiki to explore our new area.   The coastline was very different on this part of the island.   There were smaller bays with beaches,...

January 18, 2023   The next day we once again packed a picnic and headed to shore to hike across the island.   We had not checked the distance of the hike as it didn’t look that far from up on the mountain, but it turned out to be further than we had expected.   It was over 5km one way, and being so flat and low there wasn’t much of a breeze until we got past half way.   It was a hot walk, but we had lots of water with us, and although the area was very interesting, it did get to the point that it felt like a bit of a hot desert trudge.   At first we were walking through a sandy plain, grown in with a variety of large shrub-like plants, and Jason carefully picked us a route through this area as most of the plants had large thorns.   The mix of large shrubs and small trees transitioned into smaller plants and larger cacti, and we followed the more open area along the edge of the red rubble rock that came down and formed a very clear ...

January 17, 2023   January 17 th was Falcon’s five-week birthday, and to celebrate we took him for his first mountain hike.   At five weeks old he summited a 220m (722ft) mountain, the highest point on the south end of Isla Espiritu Santo.   It was the first time that I had worn shoes in several months, and I am very glad that I did.   Almost every plant had thorns, there were small grass-like plants that had seed burs that stuck into everything, and the jumble of rocks would have been dangerous in sandals.   It was a very fun hike as we walked through many different areas of plants and terrain.   We noticed lots of tiny pooh droppings and we saw a very small chipmunk-like animal living up in the rocks higher up the mountain, and on the beach, the day before, we had noticed what appeared to be hoof prints, and we had also come across a partial carcass of a hoofed animal, perhaps a small deer.   Each level of the hike gave us better and better vie...

January 15, 2023   On Friday, January 13 th , one month after Falcon’s birth, we finally completed all of the paperwork that we could do, and now have to wait to receive both his Canadian Passport and his Mexican Passport.   With these things completed we became free to leave La Paz, so we did a couple of grocery shopping trips, got gas, and stowed the boat ready to head out.     La Paz is a lovely city, and it was a perfect place for giving birth to Falcon and getting his papers in order, but we had been in La Paz for over two months, and we were eager to head out and explore some new areas.     So, on Sunday morning, January 15th, we pulled up our anchor, radioed the port captain on the VHF to tell him of our departure and of our travel plans, and headed out of the La Paz Harbour.   La Paz would still remain our base port for the next month or two as we would have to pick up Falcon’s Mexican Passport there, and we were also having his Canadian P...

January 12, 2023   One afternoon, as we explored the shoreline outside of the La Paz harbour in Kiki, we spotted a large and glistening fin.   Upon closer inspection we discovered that it was a whale shark.   Long, sleek, and graceful, it travelled along at a surprisingly quick pace, accompanied by a large school of smaller fish.   I put on my mask and snorkel, and hopped in to the water beside the whale shark.   Swimming steadily I kept up along side of it, able to see its large gills that were open as it swam along feeding.   I saw the large school of fish that kept it company, its beautiful spotted appearance, and its large fins.   What a beautiful animal.     Back in Kiki, Jason and I spotted another whale shark, and this one was a lot bigger than the first one that we had seen.   This one was massive, and it was feeding with its mouth high in the water such that its upper lip was often above the surface as it swam along with ...

January 8, 2023   Seeing dolphins in the La Paz harbour is almost a daily sighting.   Usually they are just passing by, although one time when I was pulling Jason on the foil board, back when he was first learning, they seemed very interested in what we were doing.   They hung around us for a while, swimming along behind Jason several times.   It is too bad that they have not been around recently while I was towing Jason as they would probably porpoise along with him now that he is much better at a sustained ride on the board.   One time, as we were enjoying some relaxing time in the cockpit, we saw the dolphins coming our way.   They came right around our boat, so we went out on deck to watch them.   They were feeding, and they appeared to be using our boat to help corral the fish.   They would swim off towards the mangroves and then return chasing a school of fish.   We could see into the water from the deck of our boat and we watched ...