What do you guys do all day?

Isla San Francisco

No such thing as a lee shore here!

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We just did another 2-week off-the-grid jaunt, between La Paz and Puerto Escondido (south of Loreto), along a rather isolated stretch of Baja. No phones, wifi, grocery stores, and few boats, but several islands and roughly 115 miles of gorgeous coastline. 2 weeks? 14 days?? “What do you guys do all day every day?” Well, let me tell you. 😊

Before we head out, we’ll do hefty grocery shopping with rough attempts to get a range of ripeness for fruits and veggies. I’ll usually try to attend to all online needs (pay bills, download podcasts), Harry runs through maintenance checklists, and almost always finds some new fishing lure he just has to buy. We study weather forecasts and top off on fuel and water just before leaving. We also both spend some time flipping through the Cruising Guide to decide where we want to go.

This particular stretch of sea is very popular cruising ground because of the relatively short distances between stops, and lots of options for anchorages to accommodate shifty Sea of Cortez winds. You might only spend 2-3 hours going to your next stop. If you like it, you stay a few days, if you don’t, you move on. We anchored in 7 different places*. If we’d had another 2 weeks to play with, we could have easily stopped in another 4-5 spots.

Here’s a typical stationary day. Every morning, Harry is usually up around sunrise and off fishing in the dinghy. I leisurely get up, make coffee, wash dishes and make breakfast while listening to my podcasts. We both relish this bit of “alone time” as it’s all we get! Then if he returns successful there’s a flurry of family activity: Harry cleans the fish, Tuxie sits close by not-so-patiently waiting for her share, and I take pictures and bag up the fillets. Later, we may go ashore for a hike or walk on the beach, or head out for a snorkel/dive, or go for a kayak/SUP….it really just depends on what looks fun around that anchorage and what the weather’s doing. I usually read quite a bit and Harry fiddles with stuff around the boat. I’m still not entirely sure how he passes the time without reading much (I know he’s approaching boredom when he picks up a book). Dinner is often a lengthy affair as we have the time and energy to try new recipes, providing we provisioned for them. We’ll eat over a movie from our DVD & hard drive collection, and then I usually hit the sack. Harry will bait fish at night. Tux goes all hunter-killer during this portion of the daily itinerary – she now regularly swipes sardines/mackerel/other small still-flapping fish right off the deck or the line and crunches into them. We’ve learned to keep the companionway closed – otherwise she runs below and leaves a bloody, scale-y mess. Har usually hits the bunk around midnight. Rinse. Repeat.

Every 2-3 days I will get on the SSB/HAM radio to download weather forecasts, submit position reports, and check for messages from family/friends. Every 3-5 days we have to make water which is a bit noisy, so we try and do it when in transit. We’re always babysitting the solar panels, making sure they’re oriented optimally throughout the day. Every few days I make a new batch of yogurt, or Pico de Gallo, or Jamaica or tamarind concentrate. Usually at least once on a trip like this we’ll both hop in and scrub the hull.  

Even as I type this it’s hard to see how so little actually fills these long summer days, but it does. Every once in a while, I feel a twinge of boredom, but I used to get way more bored in my apartment on weekends than I ever do out here. I suppose our mental clocks get re-calibrated somehow, and it’s a lovely way to be.   

*Isla Partida @ Ensenada Grande, Isla San Francisco, Isla San Jose, Puerto Los Gatos, Agua Verde, Isla Monserrat @ Yellowstone Beach & on the East Side, Caleta Candeleros Chico

PS: On the day this is posted, I’m heading out alone for a few days – my first legit single-handed trip! I imagine it’ll be a touch less active than with Harry around, and Tux will wonder why fish aren’t magically jumping into her mouth, but I’m excited.