Agua Verde - BCS, Mexico

People love Agua Verde, and every cruising guide for the area devotes pages on the village and surrounding areas, and for good reason. There is excellent northerly and southerly protection, a friendly village with some tiendas, a few taco stands and a small restaurant on the beach, and even wifi. (for a fee)

Ashore there is plenty of hiking, and the snorkeling is excellent around the various rocks and islets.

Ursa for some reason hates Agua Verde, and we've always had some kind of shit show here which has sadly soured it a little for us, we mostly laugh about it, but there are a few things in the bay which do put us off, mostly its popularity. It does tend to get quite busy, in northerly weather this means the small anchorage in the north gets packed (In Baja terms, if you're coming from the Med, it will feel deserted) the holding is good, despite that I never sleep well with a charter cat directly upwind of me, and if the weather turns when you are in the other anchorages, things can get pretty wild pretty quickly.

That said, we almost always stop here, usually for multiple nights.

If you like snorkeling, the shore around Pyramid rock, the rocky islet, and the north shore usually have plenty to see. There's good spear fishing around too if that's your thing, and kayaking (or dinghying) around the bay and surrounding area are a pleasant way to spend a day.

It's a great stop to pick up some some supplies, it's always a bit hit or miss, but you can usually find eggs, fresh dairy (some locally made cheese, milk, and regular store bought stuff) and some fresh produce, although you may have to wander around the various tiendas to get enough to stock up the store cupboard.

There's a couple of restaurants on the beach serving fish tacos, and typical Mexican fare, and of course you can get a cold beer or two if that's your thing as well.

You can hike all around the bay, there are trails going out to San Marcial, as well as between the various anchorages, and there are plenty of dirt roads you can wander along for a bit of exercise too.

Typically in northerly weather you'll anchor in the northern lobe of the bay, this is deep in the middle and shallow around the edges, unfortunately there's a massive submerged rock in the north east corner (check your charts) which makes anchoring there a problem, so it tends to get quite busy around the western edge.

Protection is good however, as is the holding. Watch out for outlying reefs from the various points however.

In calm weather you can anchor in the open roadstead from the village, you'll get some panga wake at night when the go fishing, and again in the morning when they return, and it can get quite roly.

In southerly weather Pyramid bight is generally the best option, but you can also anchor over the isthmus from the north lobe in 15-25ft over sand.

In all but the north lobe be careful if the weather changes to the north, even if you can't feel the breeze, if there's a norther coming the swell will be there before the wind which can have you bucking around in no time. Waves start to break on the beach, which can be a problem for a dinghy landing. (best to head over to the north lobe and hike back into town)