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| Augustine, Kelly and Linda and Bill (SV Tanque de Tiberon) |
Good Friday morning: blue skies, mares tails and wispies overhead and ripples in the water from the breezy night. Our south side anchorage has served us well, along with the flopper stoppers, as the wind did blow from the south as forecast. While eating breakfast, we noticed that SVs Dune, Mood Indigo and Otter had hauled anchor already and headed out; we were not in a rush as San Evaristo was our destination to spend the Easter weekend - 9 nm across the San Jose Channel. We knew it might be crowded but had bypassed it on the way down.
Our engine was on at 09:53, the main was up. Kelly went forward to raise the 110 feet of anchor chain. This was taking much longer than usual, even allowing for his routine of every 10 feet or so tapping down the chain in the anchor locker to ensure it flaked smoothly. The windlass 'tooth' was catching on the chain periodically; a new issue. He finally manually hauled in the remaining feet and we headed out dead slow into the channel as he worked on the windlass. A compensating treat along the way - a splashing ray! Never enough time to grab the camera for these fellows.
We motored up the channel with no wind and light south swell. Bill on Tanque de Tiberon replied from San Evaristo to our VHF call. He advised the anchorage was crowded, but there was room to squeeze in. By noon we were scoping out a spot, but after two tries near T/T and not finding good holding, we anchored further south in 20 feet where the sand was clear of seaweed. (24 degrees 54.506 N, 110 degrees 42.389 W). Eight boats stretched out along the shore north to south. It was indeed crowded. SV Marionetto had chosen the north lobe and seemed to be secure there; we don't trust the steep drop-off located there when a norther blows.
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| A very crowded anchorage - looking north |
This was another enjoyable visit; San Evaristo is a welcoming place for us. We joined Bill and Linda for dinner at Cipriana's later in the day; thanks to Charlotte of SV Willful Simplicity for making our 'reservations' with the engaging Cipriana. The new cantina is still 'in progress', so we sat under the old palapa and watched the catch of the day being cleaned and filleted for our dinner.
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| Catch of the day being cleaned |
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| Cipriana's - new cantina in progress behind current palapa on beach |
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| Waiting for dinner at Cipriana's |
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| Glad to be back in San Evaristo |
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| Water is warm enough for some! |
The village was more active than we'd seen in the past, being Semana Santa - Easter Week. Families returned to visit; children played on the beach and in the water (although we cruisers felt it was still pretty brisk!); dogs frolicked; the goats bleated and pangas took visitors on tours. Lively and celebratory. Our amigo Augustine, whose daughter Cipriana appears to have taken a more active role in running the cantina, came by to welcome us and assure us all was well. He delights in his grandchildren and had a big smile on his face as he zoomed around on jet ski giving them rides. What would an quiet anchorage be without a jet ski? It apparently belongs to the actual 'owner' of the cantina property and provided much amusement for all the families.
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| Jet ski rides for everyone |
The northers did blow as forecast. We spent much of Saturday onboard, foregoing a visit on T/Tiburon to ensure we were at hand if the anchor chose to drag in such close quarters. The evening brought the sound of church bells chiming for the procession to the church. It would have been a windy and very cool climb up the hill. Sounds of a more party-type celebration came from the north side of the beach; something for everyone. The full moon was rising well after 'cruisers' midnight', but we caught a glimpse of it rising during one of our anchor checks.
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| Full moon rising - almost Easter Sunday |
Easter Sunday: bright and beautiful! W celebrated with an Easter brunch of pancakes. By early afternoon it was calm enough to go ashore to hike south of the village. We were accompanied by our 'critters': Jabber the parrot has been with us on all our cruises and Jester the clown fish came along for the adventure this season. Finishing up our thirsty journey back at the cantina, we met with Tom and Jeanne of SV Eagle, who were taking pictures of all the activities. Jeanne had been taking local family pictures as well and presenting copies back to the pleased villagers.
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| Short climb behind village |
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| View over San Jose Channel |
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| View over San Evaristo village |
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| Jester and Jabber - where's the beach?? |
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| That was a thirsty hike! |
Happy Hour took place on Tanque de Tiberon with the two Captains comparing notes on windlass issues, while the Admirals shared stories about stowing gear and provisioning. Back onboard it was tme to prepare for moving on and sending messages back to family and friends via Winlink. Life is good.
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