Calita Partida … February 18…. we are anchored along with four sailboats and Sea Level II in the Bay. This is truly a quiet anchorage, and luckily for us it is almost empty! Although it was pretty windy when we came in yesterday ( so much so that a couple of french sailors brought their kite board ashore and were attempting to use it in the bay)…this morning it is super calm.
Peter and I have gotten up and made coffee and are sitting on the back deck extolling the virtues of this wonderful life and drawing comparisons between cruising here and cruising up north.
Shorts and a teeshirt at 6:30 a.m. would be one big one. Jumping in the water February 17th and not succumbing to a heart attack would be another. There is, however, beauty in both situations. Here, the predominant colours are blue and red (or pink or orange or however you see this particular spectrum of colour)… with all shades of turquoise in between. The land is blasted, because this is after all a caldera, ex volcano cone – and it is hot, so anything that grows has to be able to survive in the summer months ( when prudent people like us stay north). We dinghy’d along the edge yesterday and explored the rock formations, with Peter giving us the geographical lo-down on what we were seeing. The amazing thing is with everything being rocks, and more rocks, there is still life – not just cacti, but several different types of beautiful trees with silver trunks and large leaves – and a few heron nests, with the occupants glaring down at us balefully, daring us to disturb them. A few nonchalant pelicans deigned to ruffle their feathers but were too lazy to actually fly away from us.
There are several abandoned fishing camps made up of corrugated metal and bits of doors and wood – and one camp that has fishermen currently staying there. We watch the pangas come and go with great anticipation but so far no one has come over to offer us camarons or lagostina or pez. or something like that.
The sun is now coming up over the edge of the hill, looks like another start to another amazing day. Do we stay or do we go? What’s the rush, say Peter. The kayaks await and there is much to explore. This perfect quiet hot beautiful anchorage or another perfect quiet hot anchorage??? what to do what to do!
We pinch ourselves and are indeed feeling fortunate to be able to do now what we have only read about – and start to understand how yachtistas get lost in the Sea of Cortez!
and a bit later..
It’s evening… the 18th…. we have been snorkelling and kayaking and just really really enjoying this new bay…. Ensenada Grande.. it’s three lobes of a bay, and we are halfway between the north and middle bay, off the point. The water is warm, the air was warm all day – one bay was full of pangas , in and out, snorkelers and scuba divers and umbrellas and lunches.. we just hung on our hooks and watched them go in and come out. In our little bay there was no one… we snorkelled along the walls and were totally amazed at the sea life here. It was like snorkelling in a salt water aquarium – just incredible. So I feel a bit salty, in spite of several showers… but what a day!
This afternoon we had Sea Level over here, and had appies on our boat for a change… fun! as we watched the sun set.. beautiful end to a beautiful day.
We watched the sunset together, and then the other gang dinghy’d back to their boat and we watched the end of the sunset.. and wow, does it get dark fast..
I look at the land, and enjoy the underwater views , and wonder why anyone would go somewhere other than here, to get warm and tropical? It’s dry ( i.e. there’s not a killing humidity really making life miserable)… the water is just the perfect temperature, clear and green and perfect for photography and snorkelling and swimming – tons of fish swimming around ( although catching edible fish has been an issue)…
For those of us who are used to rocks and christmas trees, it is a bit odd – blasted landscape and white sand and colourful little fish, as opposed to huge trees, massive rocks, green as far as the eye can see, and of course water that is marginally liveable ( don’t fall in or you will die in half an hour cold).. quite the contrast!
So for now, this is exciting and fun and exhilarating and wow, jumping in the water at 8 in the morning and not experiencing hypothermia in ten minutes…
priceless!