Dawn, the start of morning twilight. Just as the sky begins it’s soft glow of light the birds begin chirping and the surroundings begin to stir we lift anchor with coffee in hand and quietly move out of Bahia Los Frailes. Destination is nearly 40 miles away named Bahia Muertos. Bay of the Dead. But when you arrive… you see why the resort tried to change the name to Bay of Dreams.
As Hiraya quietly cuts through the water we quietly motor out. We find wind off and on through out the day. We notice our buddy boats mast behind and in front of us at different times. We enjoy the quiet solitude and just being together. Some of this time is spent laying out our arguments and bickering. On a 34 foot boat there isn’t any place to run or leave unless of course you plan on swimming away from your problems. The truth is it’s just you and your partner. You must deal with what’s bothering you and find a common ground. In between the good and bad there is silence. Quiet reflection of all kinds.
As we approach Muertos we see another beautiful crescent shaped bay but the sun is beginning to set as we drop anchor. Then we sit back and watch one of the most memorable sunsets to date. The reds, pinks, yellows, oranges streak across the sky and reflect up from the sea. If it wasn’t for getting up so early we would have hardly slept that night. The next morning while sipping our coffee at the bow we realize we can see clear down to the anchor in the crystal clear water. Hundreds of black box fish swim around showing off their bright white Polk a dots. We also notice the many different kinds of jellies floating around and porcupine fish. I wonder if the jellies are of the stinging variety. This could be an interesting snorkel time.
Looking out around the bay we see our friends who anchored near us but also a few more boats that had come in after sundown. It’s still amazing that distance can be so distorted. What seems to be a small bay quickly grows in size as more boats come in. Looking over at the crescent shape beach it look as if the dark rock and mud on one end quickly turns into white sand. We can’t wait to go ashore and check it out. Secretly hoping we have soft sand to walk on.
Going ashore we head for the boat ramp avoiding the rocks and making our way to heave hoe the dingy up above the high water line we are happy to find that the sand dark or white is soft. So good! But maybe we should time the tides and get in at high tide so we don’t have to heave hoe so far! We walk up the slight hill saying Hola to the fisherman getting ready to go out as we continue on to the small restaurant nestled up against the hill.
Restaurant 1535 is quaint with old equipment placed out side and old pangas used for flower beds. Entering the restaurant we are greeted by friendly staff. We sit in the open air restaurant and look out over the bay. We feel as if we have been transported to paradise. Bright blue water, white sand, cheap drinks, and good food. Lovely music playing and our friends join us for a relaxing start to our day.
1535 sits on the North corner of the beach. Just past that is remnants of an old peer built by the El Triunfo Mining Company. Their train tracks ran from the vein of silver found on top of Sierra La Gata down to this bay. They built the wear house and loading Warf where they would manage the ore. There are reports that they buried six train – car axles the soft sandy bottom of the bay to anchor the ore barges to when they weren’t in use. Muertos refers to the dead-man anchors, which we know as moorings, that have been placed by these men, who are now dead, over 150 years ago. Today most people know this area as Bahia de los Suenos, Bay of dreams. The view we take in is really one you see in your dreams.
Heading back from the ruins past 1535 and back to the boat ramp where the dinghy is we walk farther on. We are now walking in white silky soft sand. We pass campers who are camped right on the beach. Friendly people smiling and enjoying this piece of paradise. It’s getting hot so halfway down the beach we turn around and head back to the shelter of Hiraya. There will be plenty of time to explore. We are planning on being in Muertos a week give or take a day for wind.
We spend the next couple days working on the laptops, filming out adventures, and marveling at the view. We snorkeled on the south end of the bay in semi cold water. It wasn’t too long before we ran into those variety of jellies that sting. We ended up with a few welts that quit stinging after only an hour or so and the welts disappeared pretty quickly. Need a sea life book to research what the different species are. Also wearing a wet suit works wonders on keeping them off your skin. I do not have one but a pair of leggins and long sun shirt help keep them away as well.
On one of our exploration days we walked to the opposite end of the bay where the “resort” area was said to be. Over the years the resort has changed hands and is now, if we understand correctly, has been divided and each piece is being taken over by someone else. This leaves a lot of unknowns. But for us we quietly walked around the grounds asked around and found the way up the arroyo to a building with a pool, bar, and restaurant. We were able to eat lunch and use the pool if we wanted because they didn’t have any customers staying on the property. It was like our own little resort. We visited them a couple of times during our stay.
When we had our fill of beach walks, delicious food, and snorkeling we started watching the weather to head towards La Paz. We really had been dragging our feet since we met our new friends knowing that our slip was scheduled. but we were starting to get antsy and our fresh supplies were starting to really get depleted. The weather wasn’t cooperating however and we were having strong prevailing North winds. Tucked in the bay it was flat and calm but if you attempted to go out you would get tossed around and not make any headway. We needed to go North. No way were we going to be able to go north with a head wind and the current. So waiting for the opportune time were the wind, the tides, and the time of day all coincided for a decent sail tested our patients. We ended up being in Bahia de los Muertos weeks longer than we had planned but with good reason.
This time of year the winds are changing from the prevailing North to Southerlies. But the change isn’t over night. We will just have to keep waiting and watching. Soon enough we will be able to raise sail again. Until then we will continue to enjoy the soft sand, the pretty water, and the amazing sunsets.