Bahia Concepcion Update Weeks #4 and #5 - Telitha Drops Anchor and the Bomberos Blast Into the Bay

Our first 3 weeks in Concepcion were all about friends and family visiting from north of the border. Things got a little lonely after Mati left, then our hostess Stephanie also had to leave for a week, then with Sonja and Erik leaving it felt like our "family" was doomed to shrink and things might become gloomy.

No worries...new Eagle Scout Kelston kept things exciting by shooting this rare big game Roosterfish. They are known as huge fighters. Nice job!

Luckily our cruiser friends Kitty and Joe aboard the sailing vessel (sv) Telitha would soon arrive to liven things up. Kitty and Joe are from Taos, NM and have been coming down to the Sea of Cortez every year for the past 12 years or so.

We met Kitty and Joe from sv Telitha in this very bay last year, had a stupendous time hanging out with them and sv Iolanthe last year, and they even came to visit us in San Francisco last summer, pictures  HERE. 

Joe, Tom, Sylvia and Kitty watch the America's Cup/Louis Vuitton cup and bicycle from SF to Tiburon

The day that Tom and I drove Sonja and Erik to the airport, Mike and the kids went for a dive, got some more fish and scallops...

Savanah and scallops

Kelston cleans the scallops

Mike and Dogtooth Snapper - Can you see why we ate so well?

...and the kids even used up their tanks cleaning Cinnabar’s bottom! Hooray for Kelston and Savanah!

Bottom cleaning crew reporting for duty!

We had been expecting Telitha, so I kept a pair of binoculars handy. That afternoon Kitty and Joe sailed into the bay and dropped anchor in time for dinner. They were blown away by the selection of fresh seafood and immediately hit it off with Mike, Kelston and Savanah.

Lots of fish prepared lots of ways (Kelston, Tom, Savanah, Sylvia, Joe, Kitty)

But would they pass the famous (or infamous) McGuire tests? The next morning we all piled into Mike’s panga to see if Kitty and Joe were Jump-Off Rock worthy.

Kitty goes first!

Then Joe!

No problem with jumping off rocks! So were they part of the McGuire clan? Well…almost. The ULTIMATE test would come the morning Mike zoomed over to Telitha in his panga, dragging a SUP, and challenging K&J to a morning “surf” tow. Minutes later Kitty and Joe were zooming around Cinnabar performing all kinds of stunts for their adoring spectators. Talk about hams!!

Kitty and Joe - both up for the challenge

These guys are good!

In addition to jumping, snorkeling, and surf towing, we also enjoyed a night at JC’s restaurant at Burro Cove where Savanah and Kitty took a supply of clothespins and “pinned” numerous unsuspecting victims at the restaurant.

Savanah gives us our tutorial

That night we had a surprise when we ran into cruisers Leif and Lisa of sv Finisterra. We met them in 2011 while racing aboard Tivoli in the Banderas Bay Regatta. Imagine our shock to re-meet these fun folks 3 years later in a completely different location.

What a surprise to run into Leif and Lisa after 3 years.

In the next day or so we would also connect with our friends Ben and Lucie from sv Georgia, whom we know quite well from the SF Bay Area, and Dave and Merry from sv AirOps, whom we met in the Sea of Cortez last year.

Week #5 promised to be extremely interesting as Mike had booked a spearfishing charter with 5 bomberos* (*Spanish for firemen)/spearfishers, aka The Spearos (well, 4 bomberos and 1 bean counter with cojones) from the US (Sacramento and SF Bay Area) who were coming to perfect their blue water free-diving and spearfishing techniques. 

Phil, Mike Curtis, Will and Ethan

Tom and Mike’s son Kelston would assist with guiding the dives, and Stephanie, Savanah and I would be the chefs with Joe and Kitty providing backup. Luckily the Spearos were VERY competent and comfortable in the water, which made the spearfishing days fun for guides Mike, Kelston and Tom.

Guides Kelston and Tom (left) with The Spearos and Captain Mike (right)

The week was jam-packed with the guys leaving in the early a.m. to drive out to the fishing pangas, diving their brains out all day in both Victory at Sea and Lake Placid conditions, then coming home to clean their fish and gear before dinner.

Trip leader Will demonstrates that hunters eat EVERYTHING they shoot.

Phil and Ethan with dinner!

Looks like Mike will be taking home some fish

Curtis shot this monster 48# amberjack on the last day

Meanwhile the kitchen crew did our best to cook up a variety of tasty seafood dishes.  

Pasilla Pepper Princesses Sylvia and Stephanie

Tataki Tutoresses Kitty and Savanah

That week we prepared wahoo, cabrilla, yellowtail, snapper, pargo, grouper, roosterfish, rainbow runner, amberjack, clams, scallops, cockles, octopus, and lobster. We steamed seafood, boiled seafood, served sashimi, sushi,  tataki (where Savanah almost caught fire!), tiradito and crudo, ceviche, Hawaiian poke, on the half-shell, seafood stew, marinated and grilled fish, salted and grilled fish, al mojo de ajo (lots of garlic), fish cheeks, fish teriyaki, ranchero-style, fish tacos, grilled fish on pasta,  pibil-style, and Chilaquiles! 

Breakfast is served!

And that’s not even counting Stephanie’s amazing smoothies and desserts such as banana bars, chocolate decadence, strawberry-balsamic cheesecake, chocolate chip bars, puddings and fresh fruit. Whew!!

Galley staff loving their work. Literally.

The utter irony of the Spearos trip, however, is that they came down to shoot yellowtail, and the entire week they were here the guys didn't even SEE one yellowtail. Hey Spearos, were you making those heinous faces underwater? Is that what scared off the yellowtail?

Tom surprises the guys with local microbrewed beer. Note that Kelston is not excited.

As we approached the end of week #5 it seemed that everyone (except Tom and I) was busy making their preparations for departure.  On Friday May 2^nd Tom and I drove the Spearos to Loreto with all their fish frozen and packed on ice for the trip home.  When we got back to Concepcion both Telitha and Finisterra had left the bay. That afternoon as we helped the McGuires  pack up their beach toys Georgia raised her anchor and also sailed out of the bay, planning an overnight crossing to San Carlos on the Mexican mainland. We had a final dinner with the McGuires at Armando’s restaurant in Santispac, and very early the next morning they left for their long drive back to the states.

Things were a little lonely for the next couple of days, but on Sunday we discovered that someone left a bag of lobster tails, so at least we had a great lobster dinner (2 in fact) to console ourselves. 

Classic retro meal of steamed lobster with garlic butter and wedge salad with avocado green goddess dressing. 

(Our noses also discovered that one of the Spearos had left a single pack of fish in an unplugged freezer…pew!!)

At night we have been enjoying the vast sky filled with stars, waiting for the satellites and space station to cross the sky, and enjoying the occasional satellite flare. Early Tuesday morning I rose at 4:00 a.m., looked outside, and was treated to a meteor shower. Stars were shooting in the sky, and the bio-luminescence was sparkling in the sea from the numerous fish swimming under our boat. Both sky and water were equally brilliant, a magic moment indeed!

What’s next? I guess we wait for a suitable weather window and then start our journey back south, final destination La Paz where Cinnabar will live for the summer.  At the moment we are “recovering” from our non-stop excitement visit with Los McGuire, marveling at the million dollar view from their VRBO Casa de los Suenos, and counting ourselves extremely fortunate indeed to be blessed with such wonderful friends who generously share their home in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

More pictures of weeks #4 and #5 can be found HERE.

Bahia Concepcion Update weeks #2 and #3 - Sister visit, Horses, Clams, Eclipse, Bonfires, and More!

Bahia Concepcion, BCS 4 May, 2014

Whew! It has been a crazy five weeks here in Bahia Concepcion.  Anchored under Casa de los Suenos we have enjoyed whale watching, whale sharks, surfin’ safaris, friends arriving then leaving, then more friends and family arriving, then meeting up with old cruising friends, all while being hosted and entertained by the McGuires at a breakneck speed.

Today, however, Cinnabar sits alone in the bay... 

Cinnabar at anchor in front of Casa de los Suenos

...all the boats having left the anchorage to head to their next destinations after being holed up here by heavy winds for the past few days. Early this morning the McGuires also left for their long drive back to the states. Tom is reading and relaxing, and I am going through my photos of all the activities we have enjoyed here during the past few weeks.

In our last update Tom talked about the terrific surfing trip some of them took to Scorpion Bay on the Baja’s Pacific side. On their way home the surfers picked up our friend Mati at the airport, and the next day my sister and Erik joined the group so Casa de los Suenos felt like a full house once again.

Our host Mike, ever on the lookout for new activities, arranged for a local caballero to stop by to see if we might be interested in a horseback ride. Sure…why not? We even convinced Erik to go, perhaps against his better judgement. 

Caballero Marcelo (left) and his assistants (far right) lead the group on a ride.

We mostly had a fun afternoon, but as luck would have it Erik got thrown, his fall broken by a, you guessed it, CACTUS. Thank goodness he wasn't seriously hurt, and kudos to Erik for his great attitude and for never once complaining. He claims the healing waters of the hot springs on the beach helped soothe and heal his scratches and bruises.

One day mike arranged for Juan Carlos, a local restaurant owner, to take us out on his pontoon boat for a day of snorkeling, clamming and spearfishing. Juan Carlos's restaurant is just across the highway from El Burro Cove.

We leave Playa el Burro for a day on the water.

JC was an impressive clammer, diving down, spotting the tell-tale clam siphon holes, then digging like a mad man to uncover the prized Arenas clams. They are like the famous Chocolate Clams but bigger. After diving we headed over to a pleasant island beach where we ate Arenas Clams on the half shell...

Erik claimed he "didn't like" raw clams. Hmmm...

Mati prepares his clams with lime and hot sauce.

...while Juan Carlos cooked up a big pan of Trigger Fish Rancheros over an open fire which we scooped up using the clam shells as bowls.

Savanah watches JC cook over an open fire.

Sonja enjoys her shell full of Pescado Rancheros

In addition to all these outdoor activities we have also enjoyed bonfires... 

Savanah and Kelston roast marshmallows on the beach

lunar eclipses...

I stayed up all night to watch this full moon get eclipsed.

...traveling musicians, more whale sharks and exploring the bay for the best snorkeling and fishing spots. 

Sylvia and Sonja search for Mulege's best Margaritas. These at El Equipage were pretty darn good!!

As for the spearfishing, well a picture speaks a thousand words...

14 yr old Kelston shoots an 80 lb Grouper! (outside the bay)

Tom shoots a 50+ lb Yellowtail (outside the bay)

Mati shows off the huge Yellow Jack that Mike shot inside Bahia Concepcion.

More pictures of weeks #2 and #3 can be found HERE.

Weeks #4 and #5 coming soon...

Our friends Kitty and Joe aboard sv Telitha make it to Bahia Concepcion!

People jump off big rocks!

Fish heads on the BBQ!

And more!!!

McGuire's Midnight Moonlight Malacostracan Madness - Bahia Concepcion Week #2

Week #2 in Bahia Concepcion - Thank you Mike and Stephanie!!
NOTE: I think we've run out of internet time here, so this post doesn't have quite as many pictures as I would like. Every time I get greedy and try to upload another picture my internet crashes. I don't even think I can link to my google album.

UPDATE: Thanks to an internet café in Mulege I can now post a link to my google album of Bahia Concepcion Week #2 (well, week #2.5 really) right HERE.

Santa Rosalia - The day after we said goodbye to Clint and Mackenzie, and hello to Bryce, the newest addition to Casa de Los Sueños, some of us decided to take a day trip up to the historic copper mining town of Santa Rosalia. Mike and Stephanie had some business in town, and Tom, Jake and I insisted on tagging along. The French Company El Boleo founded the town in 1884 and actively mined there until they closed down in 1954. I found a very thorough history of the Santa Rosalia mining operations HERE. Allegedly, the S. Koreans have now obtained a 30 year lease to resume mining operations. 

There is a terrific museum perched on a hilltop that looks out over the town and harbor.

The building once housed the offices of the Boleo company, and many of treasury, payroll and accounting artifacts can be found there along with the actual mining artifacts.

Entry level miners (local peasants of course), started out barefoot and with a loincloth.

Promotions, for those who lived long enough, included an upgrade in uniform, namely a miner's hat, shorts instead of a loincloth, and boots instead of barefoot.

An unusual church built of steel plates is located in the center of town. I was surprised when I read the church plaque, the church was designed by Gustave Eiffel.

We heard there was an authentic French bakery, there since the mining days, that made real baguettes! Instead we found regular Mexican sandwich rolls, a meager selection of uninspired pan dulce, and an exceedingly cranky patroness.

Whale Sharks!! - The next morning Mike, Jake and Bryce dinghied over to Coyote Cove for a bit of spearfishing. They did get some fish but, more importantly, they spotted Whale Sharks! That night, as we enjoyed their freshly grilled catch, the guys made plans to go fishing while I made plans to dinghy over to Coyote Cove at the first opportunity.

Mike kept us busy with sightseeing and activities for the next couple of days but all the while I was itching to get over to those Whale Sharks. I finally got my chance when the guys went on another fishing trip. At last!! After my morning cup of tea I jumped into the dinghy and zoomed over to Coyote Cove. Mike said to look for the telltale fins but all I could see was flat, mirror-like water. I waited while one or two pangas zoomed in, also looking for the elusive Whale Shark, and zoomed out to continue their search around the point. I continued waiting. Finally, about 15 minutes later, a black fin broke the smooth water and slowly moved toward me. Then I saw another fin closer to shore. And then another! I watched three Whale Sharks that morning, one big, one medium and one small. I watched them for a good 45 minutes, keeping my distance so as not to disturb them.



You always see the fin first.

Then the shark!



The murky water is a sign of zooplankton-rich food for the whaleshark

However there was one shark that kept trying to swim close to me. In fact once, when I had turned my outboard off, it turned toward me and totally freaked me out as it swam underneath me, bumping under the dinghy as it passed underneath. Not surprisingly, this shark had a mangled fin. Soon, other boats and kayaks realized I was getting the show all to myself, the cove became a bit crowded, and I left.

Later that morning Stephanie and the kids kayaked over to Cinnabar so we took another spin out to Coyote Cove so the kids could swim with the sharks. We saw the whale sharks several times over the next week. Once one of the sharks even came into our anchorage and swam around Cinnabar! A few of us jumped into kayaks and spent time following this magnificent creature out to an island.

More Fishing - As I mentioned before, Mike took the guys out on another fishing trip. This time with a local guide named Chuy. Apparently this Chuy really knows his stuff and so they had another successful day. The guys caught 5 (one each) Yellowtail using rods and reels...

Pole fishing (live mackerel bait)  in the calm morning fog, pod of fin whales exhaling in the distance - Isla San Idelfonso

Fish On!! Yellowtail (TY) are powerful fighters. A week earlier, our guide said, an 11 yr old boy was pulled off the boat while fighting his YT.

Tom's first catch of the day! Bryce is fighting YT #2.

...then jumped into the flat calm water and Mike and Tom shot another two each using spearguns.

Tom lands another beauty - It is a special thrill to hunt and an honor to be nourished by these sleek, noble, bluewater fish of the sea.

That night we had our favorite sashimi platter of sliced yellowtail served with nori, avocados and rice. That, served with Stephanie's famous blended smoothies, made for a perfect meal on this hot evening.

Kayaking Mulege River - One day Mike wanted to explore the Mulege River to see if there was a place we could put in on kayaks and paddle either up or down river. We went to the Mulege Mission, high on a hill that overlooks the river, and we saw that there was a dam right underneath the mission, then we discovered the river went underground a short way up from the mission, so going inland was out of the question. We were able put in about 2.5 km from the river mouth, and we rowed against the wind all the way to where the river meets the sea. It wasn't very far, but it was a good workout since we were paddling upwind. Not to mention we paddled very fast at first, since we seemed to be in some questionably brown, kind of smelly water.

One of the seemingly few year-round rivers in the whole Baja landscape.

If you read this we'll have to kill you -
1) Stealth Reef Project: The moon was their only witness...

...It was a success, and that's all I can say about the subject.

2) McGuire's Midnight Moonlight Malacostracan Madness at Punta Chivato: Local dive shop owner Robert and his lovely wife Laura guided us to Punta Chivato for a beach party, bonfire, and some nighttime free-diving...

The guys gear up to dive at sunset. Turned out to be a bit of a washing machine out there on this windswept point.

Mike prepares the night's catch. Small but tasty! Sorry, can't tell you what it is, you'll have to surmise it.

We Say Goodbye: The moonlight beach party and bonfire would be our last hurrah as a group. Bryce and Jake would be leaving the next afternoon so the morning of their departure would be Mike's last chance to use their muscle power. They moved the kayaks and outboard into storage, flipped the skiff upside down and stored it high up on the beach, cleaned up the beach, and did all manner of heavy-lifting. Then Mike loaded up a cooler for each of them filled to the brim with frozen fish. Stephanie and I took them to the airport in Loreto, then consoled ourselves with a lunch of ice cream from La Michoacana ice cream store in Loreto.

It was a slightly glum afternoon, knowing that the McGuires would be heading back to Colorado the next day, so Mike and Tom gave Stephanie and me the night off from cooking. The McGuire's treated us to a pleasant dinner at JC's Restaurant, across the highway from Burro Cove.  

As we were driving home the huge, perfectly full moon rose from behind the mountains to our East. It was so startlingly bright that we had to pull over to get out of the car and enjoy the moment. It took at least 15 minutes for Mike and Tom to get the perfect "Moon over the Cactus" photograph. In fact they got many perfect photos!

Mike's got the whole moon in his hands.

The next morning, Friday April 26, was full of a flurry of chores, cleaning and packing. The McGuires loaded up their car with all their goods and coolers bursting with frozen fish, and drove away from Casa de Los Sueños, leaving Tom and me alone. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, reading and moping, boo hoo!

Yesterday, still exhausted from the McGuires' breakneck pace of 24/7 activities, we hung out at the boat, exercised some of the systems that hadn't been used in a week (genset, watermaker), and talked about our plans. But then we got the happy news that our friends Joe and Lisa are flying down next Saturday to visit us for a week! We enjoyed happy hour in the cockpit with some cold beers, a couple of turtles that kept popping their heads up next to the boat, and plans for what to do when our friends arrive.

As I mentioned above, we visited El Candil internet café in Mulege yesterday and I was able to link to my google album of Bahia Concepcion Week #2 (well, week #2.5 really) right HERE.