Sunday beautiful morning’s sunrise in La Paz

On Sunday morning, our first chore of the day was plan the logistics of moving Kosmos. The ideal time to leave seemed to be 1800 (6:00 pm), when neither the tides nor wind would be too strong against us. We picked an anchorage 18 hours away, which meant we’d pull in around noon, when visibility would be good.

With logistics planned, our next goal was to procure the remaining items on our shopping list that hadn’t been available at the farmer’s market on Saturday. We took the dinghy to shore, then walked to a store called Chedraui, which was similar to Walmart. The walk was longer than anticipated. Not far from the store, we saw an inviting bakery called Anastasia’s. We decided it would be a good idea to sit down in the air-conditioned shop to enjoy yummy desserts and cold beverages. 

Shopping was uneventful, but shopping always takes longer in an unfamiliar store. We took an Uber back to the dinghy dock, then took the dinghy back to Kosmos. All in all, it took three-hours to go to the grocery store. People always ask what we do with our time, and we try to explain that in cruising life, everything seems to take longer than in land life. This is a perfect example.  

In the afternoon, we got Kosmos ready for sea. While getting the dinghy secured, we noticed a stowaway on top of the paravanes. We think it’s a hawk.

Leaving La Paz was stressful. The channel is narrow, it was packed with boats, and the sun was blindingly bright. But once we were out of the channel, all was calm and smooth for the rest of the passage. It was a pretty sunset. 

The moon didn’t rise until almost midnight, and the stars were especially brilliant until then. Even though the supermoon was only half-full, it was still unusually luminous and provided great visibility in the wee hours of the morning.

Navigating the channels near Bahia Candeleros was stressful because the charts were incorrect. We were told the cruising guide is right on the money, and that if we followed the coordinates in the cruising guide, we’d be fine. That said, there are lots of little islands and rocks sticking out of the water, so knowing the charts couldn’t be trusted, we were concerned about potential hazards. Fortunately, we came in and dropped anchor with no issues…. other than the fact that the charts say we’re anchored on land.

Bahia Candeleros is a small bay. There is a large, upscale resort nestled between the water and the mountains.

Here is the other side of the bay

We went to shore in the late afternoon for an early dinner at one of the restaurants. As we pulled up the sand, we were greeted by an employee, who escorted us to the front desk. We were told we were free to use all the hotel amenities except the pools, but we had to leave a driver’s license with the desk clerk. We could see Kosmos from where we were seated

Dinner was great. Eric ordered a salad with Roquefort cheese ice cream. It tasted like Roquefort, but the texture was like cream cheese and it was lightly frozen.

Before leaving, we swung by the on-site store to see what they had to offer. Given the upscale product selection, we would have sworn we were in a small Whole Foods. Here is the sunset. The lump to the right is a tiny island outside the entrance to the bay.