Sunrise at Isla el Pescador (Isla Rocallosa)
Last night a light flickered on and off at one of the beach palapas. Otherwise it was still enough that the Milky Way was reflected in the water. Stars and planets shimmered on both spheres. This morning with the sunrise a small group of dolphins (the bigger kind, Bottlenose), porpoised quietly around the boat.
Yesterday we made a grocery run to Bahia de Los Angeles. Anchor, get Namo in the water, lug the groceries (including milk, drinks and beer) back. There are several places to hunt vegetables in this ramshackle little town. Saturday is the best foraging, Wednesday not so much. The biggest and closest sets off a road with broken edges and dusty shoulders up from the main boat launch. There, we were serenaded by a very drunk man sitting beside the checkout counter, snatches of what must be famous Mexican ballads. At least in his mind. It was two in the afternoon, so we had to admire his fortitude, if not necessarily his pitch. With a nod from the woman checking us out using a pocket calculator, we were granted a ride. Bags in the back of the old pickup along side sundry items including used kids paint containers and the battered remains of a pinàta.
Up anchor and a brisk sail out of the bay, to find the oddest wind and uncomfortable chop in Canal de Ballenas. The instruments at the top of the mast dutifully reported 12 knots aft of the beam, but on deck it was maybe 4 and dead aft. Add a little rolling in the chop and the genoa had no idea what to do with herself. We rolled it up and wind promptly jumped to 17 knots and actually felt like it. We were just contemplating unfurling when the certified cetacean addict on board belted out an emphatic “Thar she blows!” pointing between us and the “dangerous submerged rocks” along shore to starboard, by Punta Don Juan. A good Captain knows his crew, and doesn’t have to be told what they expect. Hard to starboard, damn the rocks. A whale! For anyone following our track closely, these odd detours rarely mean we are lost, generally they are motivated by whales, dolphins or birds diving over fish (and we power off course with yellowtail, sushi on our minds). This particular whale, a small humpback (we think), was doing some mighty tail slapping (‘lobtailing’) and it was dramatic. We were able to get pretty close and enjoy the show for a while, before the cetacean-lover who can never get enough, conceded that she also did not want to drop anchor in the dark.
