Monday morning we left in the wee hours of the dawn again, still headed north. We didn’t exactly have a plan in mind but as the day progressed we formed an itinerary based on weather reports (and the lack of marina space in Mazatlan) that we would strike off to sea and head for the Gulf that day instead of several days down the road. So we made a sharp turn to port near Cabo Corrientes (Cape of Currents) and struck off for Baja.
It was a two night, two day motor sail to Los Frailes (the Friars), a quiet bay northeast of Cabo San Lucas away from the touristy crowds of the Cape. Approaching by night we could see the lights of a couple of cruise ships heading out of Cabo towards the Mexican Riviera, and by midnight we had dropped anchor at Los Frailes and were ready to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
There was zero wind during the crossing and the sea was glassy and flat – ideal for observing marine life on the surface. Whale season is obviously over – we did see two humpbacks hedaded north but compared to the dozens and dozens that accompanied us south last January it was pretty anticlimactic. We spotted quite a few sea turtles sleeping on the surface in the sun – each with a seabird perched high and dry on their shells. We also scared up scads of fling fish and I actally had some success photographing them – although they were pretty small and far away. In addition we spotted the fins of a pair of cruising sharks, a large manta ray flying up out of the water, and a small wahoo leaping to snap up a flying fish for supper.
Each evening the sunset over the glassy sea produced the elusive green flash – I missed the second (of course better, the guys tell me) by trying to photograph it and failing on all counts (great sunset shots, however). The only photograph I’ve ever seen of a green flash was printed in a book in black and white!