Day one of our adventure… we had a wonderful lay-day in Muertos cove… which is actually trying to change its name to dream cove or some such thing.. in Spanish of course.. will have to check that word out…
it is a beautiful place, no matter the name. The beach was lined with trucks and trailers and the pangas were launched early in the morning, heading out to the fishing grounds wherever they might be. I think this place has been attracting fishermen for a very, very long time. Now it also attracts people with money, because the hills are dotted with some of the most amazing huge haciendas I have ever seen, and on the beach – a restaurant! We had read all about it but had never had a chance to go to shore to check it out.
So our day with Sea level started with coffee and orange muffins a la Phyllis on Kim and Cam’s back deck – we haven’t been there for a while! It felt GOOD!!! Unfortunately I forgot the egg in the muffins but they turned out just fine, although a little flat.
Then Cam broke out his new toy, a hookah system for diving around the boat. They hadn’t had a chance to play with it yet and thought Muertos was a great place to try. The water there is incredibly warm … so good decision.
We took turns trying it out, but without enough weight to keep me down, I kept floating up to the hull of their boat and gently banging my head… and had to work really hard to actually get down more than ten feet. However, it seems to be a great system and once we get the weight thing down so it wasn’t so much hard work, I think I could get the hang of it!
After that, we broke out the kayaks and paddled to the beach for lunch at the restaurant. Great choice! beautiful place, cold beers, and very good fish tacos. A real restaurant, not a palapa on the beach – definitely worth the paddle.
Afterwards we worked off lunch by walking down the beach. At first it seemed a bit ordinary, the only things of interest a few dead eels and other carcasses from the fishermen’s catch. But then I realized the rocks we were walking on weren’t just sandstone, but rocks made up of millions and millions of shells all cemented together in the sandstone. Fascinating!
Further along there was a boat anchored close to shore and the owner was finishing off tying it out before he came to shore. On the beach was a tent, a truck, some chairs… and a big dog. As we passed the fellow, he called out ‘living the life!!! Living the life!!” What a happy character! We agreed, and waved at his girlfriend as we passed – a bit further down we heard him running after us, and when he caught up he said “ this is a pukah beach!!! if you look for them, you will find the greatest pukah shells – my girl and I collect them and make necklaces and sell them on Etsy for a thousand dollars!!! You have to find some!” We thanked him and of course down went my head- so that’s what those little shells I have been collecting are??? I had suspected but wasn’t sure, and had a little pile of lovely tiny ones. Sure enough we found a few, and there were also a few pretty pieces of different coloured sea glass for Kim’s collection.
Back into the kayaks, and to the boats. My kayak was a bit floppy, as I have been nervous about pumping it up too much since the “blow up”… sun and inflatables … you need to be very careful about letting air out when you aren’t using them.. so my trip back to the boat, in the fairly sloppy sea, was a little wet. rats! As soon as you get dry, you get wet again! Isn’t boating fun!!
I made the potato salad and greek salad for our contribution to dinner, pumped my kayak up a bit more to hopefully keep me dry – and then it was time to head over to Sea Level.
Of course… me in my pretty dress … and a towel to keep my bottom dry…. as soon as I stepped into the kayak it tilted a bit as a big wave washed over it and me.
Soaked to the waist… and I imagined that this is what happens to boaters who anchor out and have to ride the surf into shore in order to go out for dinner or shop for food and inevitably get doused by that last big wave before they make it in. Mother ocean having the last laugh, I guess.
I tried to wring everything out but Kim kindly lent me a sun dress and I was able to spend the evening in relative dryness… her margarita certainly helped take the sting out of it too!
And that was a great evening…. we made it back to our boat safely, and the next morning… bright and early… we lifted the anchor and headed south. Next stop…. Puerto Los Cabos…