Loreto to Cabo San Lucas

April 29 – May 28, 2024

We left our friends on Tino Pai in the anchorage at Candeleros Chico and sailed to the lesser known TnA anchorage just outside of Puerto Escondido. Upon arrival we were happy to see that friends on Cavu and Alegria were anchored up there with several other boats including Island Fox, Milagros, Ayala, and Remedy to celebrate some of their birthdays. They had planned a themed, boat crawl with signature drinks at each boat for the next day. We joined in for one boat but definitely couldn’t hang and bailed after that. We’re told it was a great time and that all survived. We instead headed for a mooring at Puerto Escondido to meet up with our friend Kristin who was flying in to visit. We spent a night in Loreto, showed her some of our favorite restaurants in the area, and did a day sail to the San Marquer anchorage on Isla Carmen. It was great to spend time with a good friend and give her a taste of our cruising lifestyle.

Soon enough though, Kristin had to leave and we had to start our way south in anticipation of heading north to San Diego. The hurricane season in Mexico runs roughly from June through October and we need to be north in order to get out of the danger zone. Last season we kept the boat in San Carlos, MX in the northern Sea of Cortez. This season we plan to return to San Diego for the hurricane season. So we said our goodbyes to Tino Pai and sailed from Puerto Escondido to Isla San Francisco for one night, then on to La Paz to stock up on fuel and provisions. We met up with friends on Liahona and enjoyed some nice meals and cocktails. So glad we could meet up with these guys one last time this season.

We left La Paz on May 10th and had a great downwind sail to Bahia de los Muertos. We enjoy this anchorage for its great beach and clear water. We met up with friends on SV Totem for cocktails before they headed off on their trip to Hawaii. It was great to talk with them and pick their brains for ideas. After three days in Muertos, we sailed to Los Frailes anchorage. We had stopped here on our way down to Mexico in 2022 so it was great to see it again. We enjoyed the huge beach here as well and even had the anchorage all to ourselves for a while. After a few days we were ready to move on to San Jose del Cabo.

We lucked out and were able to get a last minute slip at Los Cabos Marina in San Jose del Cabo. This is a super upscale marina with tons of huge, high -nd super yachts. It was nice to splurge and enjoy some time at a marina. We were now playing the waiting game. The trip up the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula is notoriously rough. The prevailing winds along this stretch are out of the north which means motoring directly in the wind and waves. Aside from being uncomfortable, it slows forward progress down significantly, and if too strong, can stop all forward progress. This means waiting for the right weather conditions before heading north. The weather typically starts to turn more favorable in June, or so we hoped. We met up with friends on SV Manna and SV Aloha who we had met during the eclipse in Mazatlan. We also met a great couple on SV Motu and enjoyed happy hour and a night in San Jose del Cabo with them. All in all we spent eight days in the marina but made the most of it. We washed and waxed the boat, added two coats of Semco to the wood on deck, serviced all the winches, and changed the gear-case oil in the outboard.

After these chores were done we rented a car and drove up the coast to Todos Santos. This is a small town that has become very popular with surfers. It has a cool, laid back, hippy vibe that reminded us a lot of Sedona, AZ. We spent a night in a very cool hotel that caters to surfers. We highly recommend a stay at the Hotel Perro Surfero if you ever visit Todos Santos. Highlights of this quick trip include checking the surf (huge and blown out), a fancy dinner at Restaurant 1890, delicious craft beers at Bajavaria, breakfast at La Esquina, and sushi at Kava in the nearby town of Pescadero. It was a great break from the boat.

Returning to San Jose del Cabo, we picked up crew from Aloha and Manna to do a last full shopping run to provision for the trip north. The supermarkets in San Jose del Cabo are insanely nice. Better than anything in San Diego by far. Finally, with full fuel and an extra 25 gallon of diesel stored on deck, we left the marina and spent a few days in the La Palmilla anchorage. This is a lesser known anchorage between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. It is just off the beach with high end luxury resorts. We spent a few days there with Aloha and Manna plotting our escape north while also enjoying beach time and happy hours.

Finally, on May 27th, it looked like we had a possible weather window to start up the Pacific side of Baja. So we picked up the anchor and headed to Cabo San Lucas which would be our last stop before heading north. After months of exploring calm and remote anchorages and small towns, suffice it to say Cabo was culture shock. We rolled away the day in the anchorage from the wakes of jet skis, pangas, fishing charters and cruise ship tenders. Entering the marina in our dinghy to grab a last beer and fill up another jerry can with diesel we were surrounded by more boat traffic than we had ever experienced (short of the Straights of Malacca perhaps). It was pure entertainment as we enjoyed our last evening in Cabo before we set off early the next morning.