Man, Oh Mano de Dios!

It was hard leaving Sassona and Agua Verde, but we were running out of food. More importantly, we were also dangerously low on beer. Not one to shy away from tough problems, Capn Cerveza instituted strict rationing. He sat the crew down and declared, “I’m only going to drink two beers a day. Given that we have 6 beers, we can last 3 days.”

Well, I wondered why I didn’t fit into the equation, so I asked him about his reasoning- did he have a ration rationale? “It’s simple,” he said. “Every day, each crew member gets two beers for every Y chromosome he or she has.” I pointed out that women don’t have Y chromosomes, but apparently he had already considered that. “That will make the math easy for you,” he explained.

So, it was time to move on. We decided to make the short jump to Mano de Dios, a beautiful little cove that is named for its “Hand of God” rock formation. On the way we saw a number of jumping manta rays, and also an interesting pod of 6 to 8 bottlenose dolphins. They were moving very slowly, and staying close to the surface of the water. Koiya remarked that we could really see their faces and beaks, which is unusual. We were headed straight at them, but they didn’t ride our bow. When we got close to them, they seemed spooked and dove down, resurfacing behind the boat to resume their slow surfacing. I can’t be sure, but I think I saw a lighter-gray something attached to one of the dolphins. Could it have been a baby?! Dolphin births in the wild are rarely witnessed, but maybe we were very lucky.

Mano de Dios is gorgeous, and we enjoyed swimming and kayaking there. The crew of the catamaran Rapscullion invited us over for drinks and yummy chips, salsa and guacamole. We sucked down their gin and tonics, and I’m pretty sure we overstayed our welcome; they’re not likely to make the mistake of inviting us over again!

That night, we put the cockpit cushions down and Josh and Koiya slept up above. The next day, Koiya joined the crew of Theophilus for the sail up to Loreto. And we left the anchorage just in time, as a swarm of bees was descending on us (they often land on boats in the Sea of Cortez, in search of fresh water).

Loreto is a cute little town, but the anchorage is wide open to the wind and swell that pick up most afternoons, so we only stayed one night. We managed to squeeze in dinner, breakfast, and two shopping trips. I stocked up on our staples: cheese, tortillas, fruits and veggies. Koiya used her Tooth Fairy money to buy a sombrero for the Meleons. And Toro picked up a case and a half of Modelo and Pacifico, plus a six-pack of New Mix, which is a tasty concoction of Squirt soda and tequila. Every time he drinks one he shakes his head and asks, “Why don’t they sell this in the States?”

See all of our Mano de Dios and Loreto photos here:

20080514Loreto

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