Departure:	Marina Costa Baja, La Paz
Arrival:	El Mezteño, Isla Espiritu Santo
Distance (nm):	40
Engine Hours (trip end):	273.3
Crew & Guests:	Julian, Colin
Weather:	Mainly light, North and Easterly winds, sun & Cloud.

A weekend away, Julian came to the boat on Monday 9th March, having been away since mid January, Colin flew in on Thursday.

Friday 13^th:  Looking to get out on the boat again after Boundless had been ‘mothballed’ for two months, we headed out early with the intent of finding a little piece of paradise out at the islands.  With little wind, coming directly at us, it was a motoring day, but it was good just to be moving again.  With fishing lines out, we got a bite, but it got away, so no barbecue for us!

A bit of research In the books, we settled on El Mezteño as the destination, passing by the temptation of the sunken sculpture garden at Caleta El Candelero, with the promise of saving that for our ‘proper’ departure.  Arriving at the bay, there was just one other boat (a charter Dufour 421), but plenty of room. 

El Mezteño is a really pretty bay with fairly steep rocky sides and a beautiful white sandy beach at the end, with ‘swimming pool’ clear water.  We spent the afternoon checking the beach, and the evening enjoying the sunset, then the clear skies and spectacular stars.

Saturday 14^th:  The decision was to just ‘stay put’ for the day and enjoy El Mezteño.  The charter boat left, and we were on our own for most of the day until a few pangas arrived for a few hours later in the afternoon.  The morning was hot and sunny and we had the objective of hiking the path up the arroyo to the lookout at the top, apparent with a view over Caleta Partida.   It was not to be …  we could not find a ‘path’ anywhere, and with just large bolder to scramble over, we settled for just relaxing on the beach.  Back at the boat, the afternoon got cloudy but we enjoyed reading and relaxing.

Sunday 15^th:  A swim off the boat, then a dinghy ride over to investigate the rocks, inspired a snorkeling expedition.  We wet-suited up, anchored the dinghy off the rocks, and enjoyed  a short, but successful snorkel along the rocks.

The trip back to La Paz started with some wind which quickly died. The fishing was active with one big skipjack (we think) caught and released, and three other bites one of which took away the new cedar plug.

The wind returned for the last hour or so and we had a nice 10 – 12knots off the beam and a swift sail, much appreciated.

The weekend was definitely a welcome break, and a chance to connect with the boat an reaffirm the long-term plans, but finished with some stressful coronavirus related communications from work, and disturbing news generally.

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