Each day cruising has some kind of surprise. Sometimes the surprise is not so fun, such as when the head (that’s “toilet” to you lubbers) is broken, and sometimes it’s the kind of delightful surprise we had today when we had the privilege to go for a hike on Isla San Francisco with Reno (“my first name’s Rex and I don’t like it, so I go by Reno, which is may last name”) and Mark Richardson who we met because we anchored next to his boat when we got here yesterday.

We had been hearing about Reno for a few weeks now from a number of other cruisers. Apparently he’s a bit of a legend in the area for the amount of knowledge he has about the people, plant and animal life and geology of Baja. Turns out he and his wife Cathy (hope I spelled it right, she was on the boat working on a book about their cruising adventures so we didn’t get the opportunity to meet her) have been cruising for at least 30 years. They have been to the South Seas several times and now spend winters here in Baja and their other months in a cabin up in Montana. Anyway, we have been hearing; “you should have been here yesterday when Reno was here”, for some weeks now. Finally we were in the same place at the same time on Isla San Francisco and were introduced by another cruiser we met (Mark) who was anchored next to us. He was a fun character in his own right. He’s been cruising some years now in the Sea of Cortez and had a wealth of information to share. As he motored past us last night in his dinghy (he had been fishing), Ann asked him if he caught anything. He came closer so they could talk a bit and one thing led to another and Ann invited him aboard for a beer as we were sitting watching the sunset. We had a nice chat getting to know him and as one thing led to another, it turned out he was going hiking the next day with Reno and invited us to go along. We jumped at the chance. The other bonus from the whole serendipitous meeting was that Mark also makes the best looking hammocks we’ve ever seen. We are now the owners of a extremely well made and great looking “Deckhand Hammock” (check them out on www.deckhandman.com I haven’t seen the website, so don’t know if it will do them justice, but the actual hammock is gorgeous and extremely well made.)

Anyway, back to Reno and our hike. I could go on and on about how much information he imparted today, but two examples will make the point. The first is that he showed us some of the Mexican Indian artifacts on the island. There are large rocks up on top of the hills that the Indians used to grind seeds into a paste. We would have never “seen” them for other than just rocks if he hadn’t shown us where they were worn smooth. As we progressed up to the top of the hill and now inspired from my newfound knowledge that there were Indians on these islands, I found several arrowheads on the ground carved from the local equivalent of obsidian. Treasure! The second thing I would pass on about Reno was Mark’s comment that; “he doesn’t just go fishing, he gets fish!” Sure enough, Reno and wife Cathy go dive for fish with their spear-guns (judging by when they started cruising and such, I would hazard a guess that they are in their early 70’s, although you’d never know it be the spring in his step or his looks for that matter). Reno’s spear is one a native Polynesian in the Marquesas made for him when he was there!

So, on a day where we thought we were likely going to just sit on the boat and read books, we instead left at 1000 and didn’t get back till 1530, and found treasure along the way in both the company we were honored to be able to keep in the persons of Reno and Mark, as well as artifacts and stories collected along the way.

Serendipity is a way of life down here and it’s really, really fun! (A big P.S. to Stephanie: Your Mom and I wish you a very happy birthday this coming 13th of January. Have a great one!)

The start of the hike across Isla San Francisco. You can see "The Hook", our little bay in the background

"The Hook"

Leaving The Hook behind for the other side.

Reno, Mark and Ann

The view North from the other side

View from the top of Isla San FranciscoAnn at the top of the island