After crossing the Sea of Cortez for the fourth time, we were back in Baja, at the northern mouth of Bahia Concepcion. We planned to spend a week or so in the bay exploring the area since it had been way too hot for us when we were here in September. Just as we were about to raise the anchor and head farther into the bay, we got a call on the radio from our friends on SV Sauce-Sea, whom we hadn’t seen since April in Puerto Vallarta. After a summer on the hard, we knew they would be splashing their boat soon, but had no idea we would run into them again! Eitan had recently installed an automatic identification system (AIS) on Sierra Wind that allows us to see the name and location of other boats in the vicinity and vice versa. SV Sauce-Sea had anchored overnight on the opposite side of the bay, at the southern mouth, and saw us on their AIS system. We changed our plans and headed south to their anchorage, excited to see and catch up with them.
In contrast to the rough conditions during our crossing the day before, heading south to the opposite side of the bay made for a lovely 4-hour downwind sail. We dropped anchor in the afternoon and Wes and Susan came by to say hello. They invite us to the beach for drinks and a chance to meet some of the other boats they had been traveling with. We shared stories from our summer on the motor yacht and heard their first-hand experience of getting caught in the mega-chubasco off the coast of Bahia de Los Angeles, along with some of our other friends. Since they had given us a list of young cruisers to seek out, we seemed to know all the same boats at this point.
The following day we made our way farther into the bay to an area called El Coyote. During the summer, this place had been a ghost town, which was understandable with the 95-degree water and even hotter air. Now, the beaches were lined with car campers that had caravanned down from the US and the local restaurants were open and packed. As we entered the anchorage, we spotted SV Rhiannon, whose captain, Vicki, is a solo-female sailor and known to just about everyone in the Sea of Cortez. Vicki had been in the sea for a few years, and being the only boat with yellow canvas, was hard to miss. Eitan and I met her in La Paz almost a year ago when she offered to tow us to our boat when our outboard was being serviced.
We also ran into another unmistakable boat, a trimaran called SV Manta, captained by another solo-sailor, Steve. We met Steve in Bahia de Los Angeles and he had recently purchased the notorious boat from even more notorious owners. Steve was anxious to rename the boat and a few weeks later, we got to take part in the re-naming ceremony. Steve’s trimaran is now called SV Nice Tri. Steve is a delightfully upbeat person to be around, but I have a particular fondness for his cat Sweetie, who he brings to the beach or by our boat from time to time. We spent a few days in Bahia Concepcion, mingling off and on with Vicki and Steve.
One day Eitan and I decided to check out the nearby town of Mulege, which we heard from many Mexicans is the best beach in all of Baja. Being in a relatively remote area, the only real way to get there was by hitchhiking. With our thumbs out on the side of the road, we managed to flag down the first truck that passed and hopped in the bed. It was about a 15-minute drive to the entrance of the town and the driver refused to take any kind of payment that we offered.
The town was about a mile from the beach, so we decided to stay in the town and trust what we had heard about the beach and its beauty. The town itself wasn’t very remarkable other than the freshwater spring, giving the area an oasis vibe with a lot of palm trees and greenery close to the water. We walked around for some time and got lunch and beers at the local brewery, which had just reopened. After lunch, we walked across a dam and up the hill to a beautiful mission overlooking the town.
Hitchhiking back to the boat took a little longer and we waited for about 10-minutes before we were picked up by another man in a truck. This time, the bed of the truck was already filled with building supplies, so Eitan and I crammed into the front seat. With a bit of a language barrier, we made some small talk with the driver who said he makes a 4-hour commute to work once a week and returns home on Fridays. He was really interested in hearing about the boat and that we had sailed it all the way from San Diego. Once again, the driver refused any kind of payment and just hearing our stories seemed to help him pass the time on his long commute home.
We spent a week in Bahia Concepcion, mingling off and on with Vicki and Steve and enjoying the surrounding area. Despite our lifestyle, Eitan and I always seem to have places to be that drive our schedule. In a few days Eitan’s friends were due to arrive in Loreto and we needed to keep moving south.
