March 7, Playa Bonanza

Still here at Playa Bonanza.  It is beautiful, quiet and I'm the only boat here.  Plus there is still more to do here that I haven't gotten to yet. The first item of business today was to check a couple more things off of the to-do list.  So today I continued with upgrading my running rigging.  I replaced the boom vang line and the two main preventer lines with new 3/8" Novabraid XLE.  However, I had to do yet another double braid splice.  My braiding skills are improving because this one only took me about 45 minutes and it came out super bueno.  The blister on my forefinger can attest that it isn't easy to get the line all smooth and "milked out" once the braid is complete.

After the line projects were done I decided to go for a trail run which again turned into more of a rock scramble/crawl up the side of the mountain.  Both Alberto and El Pelon said there were mountain goats in there are and they see them quite often.  So on this morning's run I had a mission to scour the rocky hillsides until I spotted a group of them.  After scrambling to the top of the first knoll, which was maybe 500' above sea level I stopped on top to catch my breath and also to scan the surrounding hillsides.  I couldn't see them but I heard them off in the far distance so I ran across the ridgeline in the direction that I heard their bellowing.  It wasn't long before I spotted one standing on top of a large boulder on the ridgeline in front of me.  I counted a total of 11 in the group.  As I ran in their direction they scampered up the ridge and around the corner.  I was pretty tired by then but was enthralled with these goats. lol.  We played a little hide and seek in the rock strewn hills for about 45 minutes or so before I decided that I was definitely tiring of the game much quicker than they were.  It was also clearly apparent that they were much quicker and definitely more sure footed navigating over and through the large granite boulders that made up this picturesque hillside above Playa Bonanza so I watched as they gracefully bounded off over the next ridge.  The last I saw of them was two smaller ones that were on a large boulder and leaped probably 15' down an onto another boulder and then they were gone.  Amazing animals.

After the run I came back to the camp on the beach where I left my paddleboard and El Pelon asked if I had any ice.  I told him I had a bag left in the freezer and we negotiated a trade for some fresh vegetables that he had plenty of in exchange for the ice that would keep some of the meats cold that he had in his ice box.  For lunch I added some thick, ruby red sliced tomatoes to my daily sandwich and enjoyed every bite!

The last item on the checklist today was to check into the Chocolata clams situation.  After a brief description of their whereabouts from El Pelon I paddled into the area he pointed out equipped with my mask, snorkel and a bucket.  It wasn't long before I was digging up some giant clams from the silty white sand bottom in about 15' of water.  Most of the clams were large white pismo type clams but there were definitely some brown Chocolatas in there as well. So currently they are in a bucket of water on the back deck, I am waiting for them to spit out the sand before I clean them.  Then I will saute them in garlic and add them to my potato cheese soup that I have leftover from the other night. Sounds pretty tasty.  I hope it turns out as good as it sounds.

Fresh clams

Well it is only 3pm here but I feel like I have had a full day.  I'm going to do some reading in my Harmony on the High Seas book, clean the clams when they are ready and then start on some fresh clam soup dinner.  Hope all is well up north.  Until tomorrow my landlocked friends!  Ciao for now.

Bret
SV Liahona