Eitan’s friends were due to arrive in a few days, so we pulled anchor and started heading south from Bahia Concepcion. We made a couple of nice stops along the way. The first was at an anchorage called San Juanico, which is a beautiful bay hosting a few other cruisers and a handful of car campers along the shoreline. We stayed a couple of nights alongside our friends on SV Rhiannon and SV Nice Tri. Although the water temperature was already getting cold, I decided to brave it for a little snorkeling. Upon getting in the water, I was immediately greeted by an unusually friendly pufferfish. It followed me around like a curious little puppy and I asked Eitan to throw me the GoPro so I could snap a few pictures. It spent the next few days living under the boat and greeted us at the swim ladder.
The second stop we made was a return to Isla Coronados, a beautiful little island off the coast of Loreto. The wind was unseasonably coming from the east and it offered us good protection for our first night. The wind shifted early in the morning of our second night, which prompted us to move to the south side of the island before getting rocked by the coming wind swell. The island has really clear water and beautiful beaches that are packed with tourists coming by pangas from the nearby town throughout the day. During this visit, Eitan and I skipped the beach and decided to tackle the volcano hike, which offered great views of the surrounding area. Whenever we do any kind of hiking, I am quick to remember how horrible living on a boat is for your cardio conditioning, as I am huffing and puffing uphill. After the hike, the wind started to fill in from the north again and it was time to make the final run back into Marina Puerto Escondido. It was a windy trip, ranging from 17 to 25 knots and we even saw two whales, indicating the start of their migration through the Sea of Cortez.
After arriving in Marina Puerto Escondido, our friend Steve on SV Nice Tri asked if we needed a ride into town for groceries, since he was already headed that way. With Eitan’s friends coming to visit, we splurged on some imported American food, cheeses, and even a $15 box of brownie mix. Once back at the marina, I used the WIFI to look into travel plans for the holidays while Eitan coordinated with his friends, answering questions about what to bring, how much to exchange, and how safe Mexico is. While we were in the marina, Eitan and I were asked by the owner of a new coffee shop if we could take some promotional pictures for the store. We agreed in exchange for some free coffee and ended up with a couple nice pictures of us.
The following day Eitan’s friends, Whitney and Liz, arrived in the afternoon and we immediately departed for Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante, aiming to get there before the sun set. Whitney and Liz used to work with Eitan on the ambulances during his paramedic days and the evening was filled with all kinds of medical talk that I didn’t understand. My mind wandered back trying to recall a time when we had guests onboard that weren’t crew and I realized that after 12 months of cruising, they were our first!
To say Whitney and Liz saw our world through a fresh set of eyes is an understatement. I’m not sure how much experience they have traveling or going on a boat with Eitan, but everything seemed to amaze them. They rushed to the lifelines to watch as a dorado chased a bait ball into the bay and pointed out every single fish they saw under the boat. When the night fell and stars came out, they spent hours on the bow looking up, saying this was the most stars they had seen in their entire lives. It made me realize how quickly I take something like this for granted and how amazing our life really is.
Due to conflicting, first responder schedules, their trip was only two nights long, so Eitan and I decided it easiest to stay at Honeymoon Cove the entire time. I took them snorkeling for a couple hours and let them use my GoPro to take pictures of themselves and the sea life. After a few minutes, I realized they were no longer following me. I and turned around to see that they were diving down to take pictures of something. I asked what they had seen and laughed to learn they had been preoccupied with taking pictures of some starfish. For some time, I tried to see things through their eyes. Even the starfish here are beautiful and different compared to the varieties I am used to seeing in northern California.
Eitan’s friends were gone as quickly as they had arrived and I could tell it put Eitan in a good mood to have some visitors. Normally, having people visit is almost impossible unless they are very flexible with their schedule and willing to book a flight with only a week’s notice. I hope in the future we have more guests come to stay with us so that we can share this lifestyle with our friends and family.
