Along with SV Fandango (Jo and Scott) we anchored in Playa Santispac, Playa Coyote, and Punta Santa Domingo. Had dinner ashore at the former, a very limited selection but wonderful to eat off the boat! Santispac and Coyote are really cool places where people can pull off Highway 1 (the only road that runs up and down Baja) and drive right out onto the sand where there are small bohios you can pitch a tent under or park your car next to. A few houses on the hills and apparently immensely popular with the gringos in winter. Did some snorkeling at an island off of Coyote but the water is so warm that it had a green tint similar to a lake.
At Santa Domingo the bioluminescence was off the charts! Would need a really fancy camera to capture it but when a 3 foot fish swam right past the transom, I almost jumped out of my skin because, with its trailing light, it looked like a hammerhead! We caught several skipjack tuna and a small Dorado, all of which we set free. Had a giant mahi bite and pull so hard that it broke the bungee cord holding the hand line! The whole rig went overboard and we could see him leaping 4 or 5 feet out of the water. Executed a magnificent man-overboard drill and rescued our rig. He had spit the lure so all was well. We did lose two lures to unknown giants of the deep so I have strengthened the safety line and bungee set up. We will be visiting our favorite fishing store and dropping some dinero in the local kitty when we get back to La Paz.
Speaking of which, we are back in Isla Danzante tonight and returning to Puerto Escondido marina tomorrow so that we can fly home for birthdays and anniversaries for Tess’ parents. We will be picking up the 75 or so Amazon packages and a few larger deliveries and driving them back down to the boat. We will be installing additional solar, batteries and an air conditioner!!! Hoping to have the work done in La Paz starting middle of October.
After writing the above we had a nightcap and went to bed. Because the sky was absolutely clear, there has been almost no weather at all since the hurricane and the newsletter/email we get regarding weather had said that Chubasco winds never happen after September 20… Maybe it’s because we only put out 4:1 scope (length of chain versus depth of water) due to the nearby rocks but we had one hell of a Chubasco last night! Enough lightning to power the United States for 20 years along with wind and rain. And it all started at, you guessed it, 0200! Didn’t get much sleep but it sure was an interesting night!
That 90.7° is the water temperature in Bahia Conception! The 124° is directly under our bimini. That huge pod of dolphins stayed with us for over three hours moving from one side of the boat to the other. Longest encounter we’ve ever had.
