Family Time, Frailes Bash, and East Cape - Fun in the December Sun!

We left the hustle and bustle of Cabo San Lucas on December 9^th, 2021 and headed for San Jose del Cabo where we welcomed a sweeter kind of hustle and bustle! We had a very nice, albeit short, sail to Puerto Los Cabos and prepared to meet our children. Five of our six kids with their respective kids in tow flew in to San Jose del Cabo on December 10^th. We had rented a very nice villa for a week to share an early Christmas with the kids and grands. The night of the 10^th, we went out to a traditional Mexican restaurant called El Ahorcado (“The Hangman”) to welcome the kids to Mexico and to celebrate number 3 child’s 28^th birthday! A fun time was had by all. The rest of the week was highlighted by trips to the beach to play in the surf, time in the jacuzzi, snorkeling, eating scrumptious food, playing games, and enjoying one another’s company. One day at the beach, 8 of us took a surfing lesson and everyone caught waves!

Mexican Restaurant Outing

Family just before heading to the airport

                    

Birthday Celebration

View from the upstairs porch

Everyone Enjoying the Warmth!

Grandma time

A day at the beach

Sunrise...indescribable

Outer entry to the villa

Surfboards ready to go!

Another amazing sunrise

Lush green garden at the villa

Someone got a new beach cover-up!

It was a sad time on the 17^th when we had to take everyone back to the airport because we knew it would be a while until we would see one another again. But we were, admittedly, happy to be back on Infinite Grace. We had hoped to be able to stay in the marina until the 19^th but our reservation ended on the 18^th and they did not have any slip availability so we were forced to head out into a “Norther”. We beat upwind in 25-28kts and steep, square seas for 8 hours. It was pretty uncomfortable and Michelle had developed a cold to boot! We made it to Cabo Los Frailes on the night of the 18^th and anchored with 3 other boats. The Norther was still blasting but we were well-protected and the anchorage was lovely. By the 20^th, Jeff was feeling under the weather so we just laid low until Wednesday when we both felt well enough to paddle to shore and walk on the beach. We enjoyed a moderate hike up to the top of Cerro los Frailes where the view was spectacular. We also did some snorkeling here as it is part of the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, the only living hard coral reef on the west coast of North America. The park was established in the 1990’s by the Mexican government in hopes of restoring and preserving the delicate marine balance in this area. We were treated to some beautiful whale activity including songs, breaching, and bubble net feeding…they are truly remarkable creatures! We also witnessed a type of stingray that propelled itself out of the water…we’ve never seen flying stingrays! Our week in Los Frailes was the most isolated we have been since starting this journey with no cell phone or internet but it allowed us to get caught up on chores, projects, and relaxation.

Truly spectacular sunset at Cabo Los Frailes

Flying stingray

Whales breaching and...

Bubblenetting

Fin slap

Breaching...

...again...

and again...

and again.

Cabo Los Frailes (Cape of the Friars)

Hike to the top of Cerro Los Frailes...I love this lady:)

View looking north from Cerro Los Frailes

Infinite Grace at anchor (seen from Cerro Los Frailes)

"Are you coming down?"

At anchor in Frailes

Alas, we left Frailes on Christmas Day and headed to Los Barriles. We anchored in front of the resort where we had stayed in 2019 when we came down to windsurf. It brought back memories of a great time. We also were able to contact all of our family to wish them a Merry Christmas. We rowed to shore and went to the restaurant at the resort for a very nice Christmas buffet dinner.

Christmas dinner

On the 26^th, we headed to La Ventana in hopes of finding a suitable anchorage that would allow us to windsurf. However, the anchorage was too exposed and we did not feel comfortable leaving the boat. La Ventana has surely sprouted since Jeff was here last and there were an unbelievable number of kite boarders with a few windsurfers sprinkled in between. So, we turned around and headed back down the Cerralvo Channel to Ensenada de los Muertos. Once again, we arrived at night and anchored in the dark. There were a couple of other boats in the anchorage and we were not sure of the “lay of the land” so we were not as sheltered from the wrap-around swell as we had hoped which made for a rolly night. In the morning we moved to a spot that was much more comfortable. After going for a swim and making plans to go ashore for some exploration, we looked at the weather. Once again, the weather forecast looked much more promising for an afternoon departure on the 27^th than for the next day! So, instead of heading to shore, we made preparations to cross the Gulf of California (aka Sea of Cortez) and head for Mazatlan on the mainland of Mexico.

Sailing the East Cape of Baja
(...sorry that the exciting passage to Frailes had us too occupied for photos; maybe next time)

Next Post: Crossing the Gulf of California, Mazatlan, and points south.