Well, I can't say how our crossing of the Sea of Cortez would have turned out. The crossing itself probably would have been fine, but if the wind on the other side was like it was here, I doubt we would have been able to get across the bar into Altata. It was probably overly conservative to have changed course, but we're glad we did as we have been enjoying Ensenada Grande. We also realized that our next ports of call, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, are urban areas with all the "amenities". We really like the natural beauty and relative solitude of Baja and the Sea of Cortez and are glad we didn't cut our time here any shorter.
E. Grande is a larger anchorage with three lobes. We're in the longest and deepest lobe, tucked in near the shallow water at its end. The wind has been howling (again!) and the boat swinging on its anchor, which compromises our satellite reception. The few boats that were anchored here last night have left and we have the place to ourselves. So, near total isolation.
We took a hike up an arroyo to top of the east side of the island. This time we had bug repellent but, it figures, there were no bugs at all! It was a relatively easy hike up to the top where we had a picnic lunch on the edge of a cliff looking over a rugged coastline and whitecapped sea. The snorkeling around here is good, too, although the wind has stirred things up a bit and decreased visibility since yesterday.
Tomorrow (Monday) we head for La Paz to fuel up and then Tuesday we'll head across to Mazatlan in what looks to be good sailing weather.
