As I plunged into the water, I knew I wouldn’t make it to the whale shark in time before it swam away. The magnificent creature continued to glide back and forth, savoring its feast of plankton. But the refreshing water was too inviting to leave so soon. After the warm waters of Conception Bay, I was reluctant to climb back onto New Life. We had headed towards a sandy beach along the rocky foreshore to drop anchor, knowing we could expect decent holding in the sand flats in front. And sure enough, the anchor gripped well when we motored backward to set it properly.
Earlier that morning, we left Coyote Bay in the gulf of Bahia Concepcion and sailed around the outside peninsula with a bit of motoring until a couple of hours before sunset. We knew the afternoon Southerly would die off after sunset as it did every day and the roll from the waves generated by the wind should ease off. Anchoring with an onshore breeze, knowing it would turn into a light offshore wind overnight, didn’t worry us too much.
Two weeks earlier, we had crossed the entire Sea of Cortez from Guaymas with a night and day sail. Before leaving the busy commercial port, along with our supplies for the next few weeks, we had bought a roast chicken to feast on as we passed the commercial ships on anchor outside.
As soon as we had reached the entrance to Bahia Concepcion, we found several boats with friends whom we had not seen since our departure from Puerto Penasco, 3 months or so earlier, about 300m north.
This set the pattern for other encounters with old and new friends on beaches around the Bahia over the coming fortnight.
But it wasn’t all just fun and games. We still had more repairs and maintenance jobs to do. Nonetheless, Nico had much to enjoy, with plenty of outings and new friends.
The clear water was inviting, and we would set off in the inflatable on small adventures. Swimming, snorkeling, kite flying and sand castle building can occupy a lot of time!
Or we would go exploring on land, like the numerous pre-European rock drawings we found here.
Nico found himself welcome everywhere, and was keen to bring friends back on board when possible.
Most time we spent at El Burro beach, that is Donkey Bay. Thanks to new friends living locally, we had a chance to visit the local town of Muleje where we could get fresh produce that was for sale there thanks to the surrounding market gardens.
We look forward to returning and exploring more around this delightful bay and, of course, to see our new friends again.
