Day 3, Walk to Playa La Bonanza

Sunset at Bahia San Gabriel

After a very calm night we set off at 8.30 AM in the Zodiac. At the beach we had a chat with Matt, from Vancouver BC, who was kayaking the area with a friend. The walk to Playa La Bonanza on the other side of the island was a relatively long one - about an hour of brisk walking - along a valley through the hilly spine of the island. Brenda did her "bird watcher dawdle" and I pushed on to the beach, which was a splendid arc of sand about 1.5 miles long. To the left was the light at Punta La Bonanza. To the right I could see the San Lorenzo Channel that separates the island from the Baja peninsula, as well as the Cerralvo Channel which Arnold and I had sailed on our way to La Paz.

Another sunset photo

I then headed back toward our anchorage calling Brenda's name as I walked, expecting to meet her. Somehow we passed each other, although she did hear me call her name once. The intrepid bird watcher made it to the beach. I got to the dinghy and got worried, since I could not see how I could have passed her. I headed back to search for her and fortunately met her a few minutes later.
By then we had the bay to ourselves: the Canadian boat had departed and so had Matt and his wife. The tide had departed too, forcing us to carry the outboard motor and drag the Zodiac over 100 meters to the water's edge.

Playa Bonanaza looking south to Isla Cerralvo

At 2 PM we were glad to be back on the boat and soon I had my first bath since leaving La Paz, which consisted of washing in sea water while hanging onto the boarding ladder, followed by a soap and rinse using about 3 liters of fresh water. Brenda elected to have a bucket bath in the head. I can't blame her because the water was quite chilly. (This may be the Sea of Cortez, but it is still the middle of winter.)
We saw some interesting fauna and flora along the way. There was large and healthy looking mangrove surrounding a salt water pool at the beginning of the walk. I saw four goats walking the side of a hill, and Brenda saw two large black hares that according to a plaque are found only on this island. Brenda saw three new birds as well as a humming bird, which made Brenda wonder how it could sustain itself on this arid island.
This was another overcast day, with sprinklings of light rain here and there. However, on the way back to the boat we saw solid patches of blue sky and were later treated to a splendid red sunset.
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