Sometimes you get to a place where you have already been and although it is nice you have no real expectations of anything amazing. Then the day, the place, and even nature slaps you in the face as if to say "what are you thinking son"? Bahia Frailes, a typical Sea of Cortez anchorage with some beautiful waters, rocky mountains, cactus, fishing pangas on the beach...the usual. But no! Never expect the average, the mundane or the normal. Amazing things are there for us every day, in every place, anywhere you are.
After the long passage and being a little sleep deprived we slept in past our normal time when we listen to the ham net and enjoyed the extra bunk time arising slowly then enjoying the aromas and taste of fresh coffee. We began to look at the cruisers guide and decided to take a dinghy trip up to the Pulmo reef about 2 miles north of the anchorage. The Pulmo reef is the only hard coral reef in the Sea of Cortez and is a protected area as a national marine park. The water clarity around the reef was pretty poor so we headed back south along the rocky shoreline stoping at the northeastern edge of the anchorage where we had seen some sea lions basking in the morning sun on the rocks as we were heading to the reef. The sea lions seemed pretty non threatening so Marne got in the water with her snorkeling gear and the Go Pro to be blessed with an amazing dive with these awesomely graceful creatures. She swam with them only feet away as they curiously swam around her as if showing her around their home. She got some pretty amazing vids. You can look for those on her Facebook page after she gets back to Oregon next week.
Coming back closer to home I hopped in the water to do a little lobster night dive recon and in the middle of the day saw two small bugs within the first few minutes. I was able to get one of them and put him in the freezer hoping to add to that collection later tonight when Marne and I go back under better lobster finding conditions...dark! Will let you know how that goes.
After a very tasty lunch we went ashore for a little walk on the beach where we ran across 3 fishermen that had just come back in there panga with several sharks and other fish. They had a dorado (Mahi Mahi) that I negotiated to buy from them for a few pesos. Skinned, cleaned and filleted of course. We have that marinating in the fridge and will be putting that down on the dinner table later tonight. Later in the afternoon we took a hike/scramble up the steep mountain side made up of huge granite boulders. At the top we sat looking down on the boat in the beautiful bay as buzzards soared above us rising in the afternoon thermals.
Upon returning to the boat we put on a little Jack Johnson and sat in the cockpit enjoying the music and watching the sun fall behind the mountains that rise up to the west from the bay as the orange and pink skies lingered well after the sun was gone. The evening will be finished off with fresh fish on the bbq and then maybe a movie in the salon as we slip into the night and then into tomorrow. Life is good. Breathe it in.
Bret and Marne
SV Liahona
No comments:
Post a Comment