Anchored in Bahia Santa Maria
24 degrees 46 minutes north, 112 degrees 15 minutes west
You know we're out there when we just realized that Thanksgiving is this week. I had thought about it once or twice, but hadn't checked the calendar to see if it was this week or next… Well, looks like we'll probably either be (a) still here anchored in Bahia Santa Maria, (b) in next door Magdalena Bay or (c) en route to Cabo San Lucas for Thanksgiving. Bahia Santa Maria is a huge bay, just on the coastal side of another LARGER bay, Magdalena Bay (commonly referred to as 'Mag Bay' by cruisers). Both have lagoons/estuaries that run far inland. The first day here, I kayaked up the mangrove lined lagoon with our friends off the boat Balance. We saw lots of birds, and dodged the pangas heading up the lagoon to the fish camps where they stay and unload their catch. This must be a very productive lobster area judging from all the lobsters in the pens up in the lagoon. Tons of them. The fishermen stop by the boat looking to sell or trade their lobsters. Tim and I haven't gotten any yet - we've been happily eating lots of fresh fish. But one boat traded a snickers bar for a lobster tail, and another boat got 10 lobsters for four AA batteries, and a couple cervezas. Granted they're not huge lobsters - mostly it looks like the tails are 3 to 4 inches.
We scored on getting some fresh Wahoo and Yellowtail from a boat that pulled in yesterday. We had seen them surfing the point so we went out to say hi and check the wave out in the afternoon. They had caught lots of fish on their way down, and wanted to make room to catch some more fish on their way to Cabo. So while we didn't catch the good surf, we're now set with enough fish for several days of yummy meals! The tide was pretty low, so it was hard to sit where you needed to take off on the wave - too many rocks around. The tides have been over six feet lately with the new moon, so it can really make a difference. So Tim caught two waves, but I wasn't getting near! It was ok with me though, since we'd already caught a bunch of fun waves at the lagoon entrance in the morning. I had some really long rides, which meant really long paddles back out. Combined with kayaking the day before, and surfing again for several hours this morning, my arm muscles are very sore! Feels good to have the exercise though. Today's surf session was fun with the three guys from the other boat, and one guy from another boat, so it was a good little pack out there, and plenty of fun little waves to go around. Tim is still hoping to catch some larger waves out at the point here, and we'll be keeping an eye on it.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
