I mentioned that Puerto Don Juan is a natural Hurricane hole. Luckily as of yet we have not had a hurricane yet this season. We only have 2 mths to go, September being the heaviest hurricane month. (There is now a Hurricane watch for next week) The next blog could be about Hurricane preparedness.
There is a shoal area in the southeast corner that is popular with the locals for clamming. It is also used by boats to careen their boats to bottom paint. There are currently 2 abandoned fish boats that are left high and dry. I think I’ll stick with paying to have ours hauled out.
This beach also has many thriving sting rays. I did not want to clam and worry about a sting. Just last week a cruiser headed back to the States when a sting turned into a poisoned bone. He has had to have it operated on and it was quite infected.
Just when I thought it safe to go into the water! A new species of fish lives where we have decided to habituate. Whale Sharks. I have not seen one yet but one of the cruisers anchored in Don Juan went snorkeling with the large, large fish. They can grow up to 15 tons and a length of nearly 46 feet. They have thousands of tiny little teeth, a 5 foot wide mouth, and are reported as being nothing to fear. The name Shark however conjures up a different reaction for me. They eat plankton, krill and macro algae. They have very distinctive yellow spots and stripes over their large grey bodies. They habituate this area during the summer and head South to the La Paz area during the winter months. Like I said I haven’t seen one yet, I would like to but from a far and while I am in my boat. Jumping in the water is getting harder for me to do when I hear about all these things! Heat helps me forget quickly, thankfully.
Bahia de Los Angeles was our home anchorage for a few days so we could get fresh fruit and vegetables. This was not an easy task. There is no real schedule for the delivery trucks arrival. We had been told later this afternoon to next week. We finally went from store to store getting the best at each one. Interesting way to shop, but when you have all day who really cares. Time and patience there is plenty of these days.
LA Bay as Gringos call it, is an outdoor paradise. The fishing is unbelievable. In fact Ken has been banned from bringing anymore fish home until we can get through some of what we have. So his answer to this problem…….. Go fishing for other boats. After all not everyone has a freezer full. He has been so successful that we now have the food gatherers on the other boats coming to our boat to find out how he is getting the fish. Lucky “Canadian Salmon Lures.” Not the ones that they sell for down here. Maybe the ones for down here would catch Salmon up there better than the ones we used. Go figure. He has given away a few to fellow friends so that they to can start bringing home the bacon or fish. As one of the wives today said on the net, “I wish they would catch an Angus Beef”. I know the feeling with 2 meals a day of fish.
Another big fish story…… Last blog the fin whale was just in front of the bow. This week at 0300hr in the morning it was rubbing our boat. Actually moved the boat a bit after horking on it first. It spent the whole night between all the boats. Now that is a close encounter.
LA Bay is nothing pretty; in fact I wonder why so many Americans make this their cottage area. The population is a mere 600, they are 40 miles off the main highway, no ATM or banks. They just got a paved road and electricity last year. The place has decaying cars, boats, bed frames and other junk scattered everywhere. But something is very different. I finally figured it out. No ninos around. They are back in school now, but there are very few children. There are no roosters crowing, no chickens running around, in fact we have seen no livestock. This is very unusual for a Mexican town. All this being said it has its own charm. It is the only place in the area to reprovision. Costs are double. I can’t imagine how the people here handle the costs. The people however are like elsewhere, helpful and friendly.
Our plans were to continue on to the next island but with the Hurricane watch we will stay close by to get into Don Juan should need be. We are actually in Hurricane 101, getting ready. You can track the Hurricane Jiama at http://www.eebmike.com/. We are making water for other boats beside ourselves. It has been reported that you cannot make water after a hurricane. Just so everyone knows we are in the Northern portion of the Sea at Bahia Los Angeles. It is not expected this far north but ...................... The next blog will be all about our hurricane drill.