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Pink and Blue Jewels
by Capt. John E. Rains
Discover Los Gatos and Agua Verde anchorages in the Sea of Cortez
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I’ve always thought that the single nicest cruising area in the Sea of Cortez is the 125 mile stretch between the port of La Paz and the town of Loreto. This region has spectacular scenery, an abundance of interesting places to anchor, scads of islands and almost every kind of sportfishing and diving you could want. The weather here is usually balmy and calm.
This scenic region is where you’ll find what I call the “pink and blue jewels” of the Sea of Cortez -- the beautiful neighboring anchorages of Los Gatos and Agua Verde.
These two isolated jewels are closer to Loreto than La Paz. They have no fuel dock or tourist-oriented services on shore, so you’ll want to top off and provision at La Paz before heading north.
Think Pink at Los Gatos
Los Gatos lies about 75 miles north of La Paz, due west of Isla Santa Cruz. This indentation is small and the canyons behind it are steep, so Los Gatos is difficult to pick out from its dramatic background.
Marking the south end of this 1-mile-wide cove are the distinctly blackish-gray bluffs of Punta Botella (pronounced boh-TAY-ah), which means “Bottle Point.” The less prominent north boundary is Punta Prieta, which is higher and distinctly pink, but less easterly. No lights, houses or roads are visible from seaward of Los Gatos, but navigation lights may show on Isla Santa Cruz and tinier Isla San Diego.
My GPS approach waypoint about a quarter mile outside Los Gatos is at 25 degrees, 18 minutes north latitude; 110 degrees, 56 minutes west longitude.
Pink is the predominant color of the spectacular sandstone formations at Los Gatos. However, as you get close to the beaches, you’ll see everything from dark oxblood and reddish-coral colors to peach and white.
Punta Prieta’s south wall is a series of sandstone murals, sculpted by centuries of wind and wave action. At the base of this wall is a wide sandstone ledge, where locals fish and swim.
In the middle of the cove, a narrow pink bluff cleaves the sandy shoreline into two pleasant beaches. Behind each beach, a steep-sided canyon runs west toward a 2,880-foot-high tableland, inland.
Each narrow canyon is dotted with low, wind-warped trees and green bushes. You can climb along the sandy trails to reach an isolated collection of fishing shacks, a half-mile inland.
One of the most interesting features of Los Gatos is an excellent snorkeling reef on its south end. This straight line of flat-topped lava-like rocks juts north from the southeast end of the beach, extending almost a quarter mile from shore.
I sounded 25 feet of water off the reef’s seaward end -- and the entire length of the reef is a veritable aquarium of colorful tropical reef fish, large fans and sea stars.
Novice snorkelers will enjoy the reef’s warmer, more sheltered east side, where they can paddle to the beach quite easily. The reef provides good spearfishing opportunities, too, because many larger species come to the reef from deep offshore waters.
In moderate to strong winds, Los Gatos is not a good anchorage. In flat weather or a light northwest breeze, the best place to anchor is tucked as far as possible into the north end, sheltering below Punta Prieta’s pink facade.
I found swinging room in 10 to 30 feet of water, over sand, in the north end. Smaller multihulls may be able to anchor behind Los Gatos reef, but it has a rockier bottom and some sea grass -- not good holding ground.
In extended periods of calm -- such as during summer -- skippers with larger boats may want to anchor outside the reef in the south end. You can drop the hook in 15 to 25 feet of water well east of the reef, northwest of the low seaward tip of Punta Botella.
An old Baja California prospector once told me that Punta Botella is black because of the presence of uranium and some phosphate. Who knows?
The term Los Gatos translates to “the cats” -- and it refers to wild pumas that once lived nearby. Pumas can still be found in the mountains behind this pink jewel.
Lose the Blues at Agua Verde
Agua Verde lies about 16 miles up the coast from Los Gatos. If you’re traveling from Los Gatos to Agua Verde (or vice versa), it’s safer to stay 3.5 miles off Punta San Marcial in order to avoid all the shallow rock patches around Roca San Marcial (lighted), which lies 1.5 miles northeast of the point.
My GPS approach waypoint (25 degrees, 32 minutes north latitude; 111 degrees, 3.5 minutes west longitude) is about a quarter mile east of La Solitaria, the 115-foot-tall detached pinnacle marking the northern entrance to Bahia Agua Verde. Punta San Pasqual is the prominent headland that forms the northwest boundary of this bay.
Agua Verde is the Spanish term for the color “turquoise.” Clear water over a white sand bottom, illuminated by high sunlight, creates this color throughout the area.
This popular destination, only 23 miles southeast of Puerto Escondido, is not an all-weather refuge. However, it does offer three different anchoring areas to choose from, depending on changing weather conditions.
In moderate north to northwest winds, I’ve anchored in the small western bight, off what’s often called the Agua Verde Yacht Club beach. It gets the name from a couple of small buildings on shore that were once used by visiting boaters as a meeting and barbecue spot.
A dozen boats could anchor here in 25 feet of water, over sand and shell, by coming southwest of the little thumb of sand and rock that juts southeast from the south flank of Punta San Pasqual.
Another detached pinnacle in this anchorage is covered by 8 feet of water at low tide. If this bothers you, you’ll want to make note of its GPS position -- at 25 degrees, 31.416 minutes north latitude; 111 degrees, 4.391 minutes west longitude.
A low spot in the hills to the northwest allows some wind to enter this area, providing welcome breezes during hot summer doldrums.
Ashore in this bight, a gravel road leads to a small village and continues for 38 torturous miles inland before it intersects with Highway 1.
The broad central beach in the south end of Bahia Agua Verde is too sloping for close anchoring, and it’s open to north wind. However, in calm weather, you could anchor here and use dinghy wheels to get ashore.
The tiny village of Agua Verde is mostly tucked behind the palms. Its isolated inhabitants fish and raise a few pigs. Everything else -- even potable water -- must be trucked in. Gene Kira’s touching novel “King of the Moon” will remind many boaters of Agua Verde and its gallant fishermen.
Agua Verde’s third anchoring area is southeast of Pyramid Rock, which lies off the east end of the village beach and rises 50 feet from the water. Although Pyramid Cove also gets north winds, it offers more privacy from village pangas and their wakes.
Dozens of caves pock the hillsides, and a footpath and arch lead around the point, toward the village. You can anchor in about 15 feet of water, over sand and shell.
Scuba diving and snorkeling are good around La Solitaria and Pyramid Rock, both of which are steep-to and have a convenient sea level shelf on their fringes. Being farther out into the current, La Solitaria also offers great cabrilla and dorado fishing from a small boat.
Perhaps these pink and blue jewels of the Sea of Cortez will add some enjoyable local color to your next voyage in Mexican waters.
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This article first appeared in the August 1, 2001 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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