Isla Espíritu Santo

Our trip to Ensenada del Gallo on the island of Espíritu Santo was pleasant enough, although it could have been better with at least some wind.

There are three main anchoring areas on the island’s west coast, separated into three lobes. And as no one was in any of them when we arrived just afternoon, we had a free choice of where to park.

Liking the look of the beach, Maria made an executive decision to anchor in the middle one. Later on that day, we found that tour companies also like the look of this part of the island. By late afternoon, the beach was full of day-trippers enjoying the white sand and copious amounts of food and booze.

The trippers have arrived
The trippers have arrived
White sand
White sand
Get off my beach!
Get off my beach!
Clear water
Clear water

Isla Partida (Ensenada Grande) 14th Dec to 20th Dec

Coincidentally, our next anchorage at Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida is also in three main sections. And again, we chose the middle one. This time we thought it would offer double protection from the lively wind forecast for later in the week – which it did. Given the strong winds, we thought it an excellent time to start the upholstery with Maria dismantling one of the seats as a template. Exotic stuff in exotic places.

Unpicking
Unpicking
View from the beach
View from the beach

The photo below is of an Alaskan family who had anchored nearby. We met Lileth, Zephyr and their daughter Aven briefly on the beach in Ensenada del Gallo were in Mexico on a sailing holiday and had chartered a boat here. We invited them on board to look around – good company and a lot of fun.

Zephyr, Lileth and Aven
Zephyr, Lileth and Aven

San Franciso

After the wind fizzled out, we headed off to our last island: San Francisco. We are glad that we waited a day after the worst of the wind before heading out of Ensenada Grande. Even so, the sea state wasn’t exactly smooth.

However, the pilot guide suggested this as an excellent place to stop, and they weren’t wrong. This is a beautiful anchorage. With its turquoise waters set amongst a backdrop of pink-hued rocks and a white sand beach, it deserves a place on the front cover of a travel magazine.

We spent days here walking the beach and exploring the surrounding area. It’s possible to get to the other side of the island from here. And the view from the top of the hills is spectacular, although it’s a tad breezy up there.

View from the top of the hill
View from the top of the hill
The hill
The hill
Down the hill but not over the hill
Down the hill but not over the hill
Both sides of the island
Both sides of the island
Our place on the beach
Our place on the beach

The winds became more sensible on 20th December, just as well, given that we had to be on the mainland by the 22nd. So we de-anchored ourselves and set off towards Mazatlan.