Mangroves & Poetry Passages

Bahia Magdalena (known to yatistas as Mag Bay) is a massive, sheltered bay of mangroves, sand dunes, and fishing villages, 25 by 13 miles in size.  We anchored for four nights off the village of Puerto Magdalena and could have stayed another week to explore the mangrove systems and beaches. 

The town has about 50 buildings along the shore of Man of War Cove, including two restaurants and a tiny tienda.  We had the best fish tacos and guacamole yet at Paradiso Restuarante, overlooking the bay active with dolphins, pelicans, and frigate birds.  We ventured into the mangrove in our dinghies with the crew of SV Atargatis, pushing through salty roots to get to the bitter end. 

Of course, Calder continued to catch small mangrove fish along the way.  We collected new shells and swam in waist-deep water together, having quite the jump scare when a huge spider crawled out of a shell onto our table later that evening.  Mental note:  Soak all shells before bringing them on board! 

We found a knocked down wooden sign with an arrow and the word “Pacifico,” and set off through the canyon among colorful orb web spiders and hedgehog cactus. 

Chris found a piece of wood to create a makeshift fuel dipstick, confirming adequate diesel to motor to Cabo if need be.  Swimming off the boat in the afternoon has become a bit of a ritual, cooling and cleaning off.

The night before a longer passage, we tidy up, review the weather, get out our safety gear/PFDs, and I prep the meals and school.  This passsage’s food included oatmeal, granola, fresh-baked bread and hummus, noodles, and an assortment of fruit, veg, and snacks. 

School for this passage is focusing on poetry types and writing, samples of which I have included at the end this entry!  We are currently underway on an overnight passage to San Jose, at the tip of the Baja Peninsula; it will have taken us about 1 month to journey from San Diego, California to this point.  The seas today are ridiculously calm, as we motor along at 6 knots, crossing the Tropic of Cancer this week of Solstice. 

Sea turtles drift past in the increasingly turquoise waters and a massive pod of dolphins fling themselves into the air.  Calder has just finished cleaning our second mahi of the day, one caught by each kiddo.  Calder calls Cora by the nickname “Corado” and is stoked that “Corado finally caught a Dorado!”  

We let a fish go, later learning it was a Spanish Mackerel and would have been a delicious treat!  The night is uneventful, a bit rolly, and we take turns on watch, all of us growing in our comfort of being underway at night.

A bit later…We pass the famous rock formations off Cabo just after sunrise, the small rustic fishing villages changing to expansive and expensive resorts for miles and miles. 

We count over 50 boats of all sizes in our view from the cockpit of our boat, weaving between the bustling chaos of Cabo San Lucas.  A swordfish leeps from the water, whales slap their tails, and parasailers fly by.  It is a bit of a culture shock to go from the small villages to this, finding it interesting from a distance, we opt to pass Cabo in favor of San Jose del Cabo with three other friend boats.  We pull into our marina slip, eat mahi tacos, and toast to our 827 miles; we’ve made it to the Cape, our first passage leg behind us without any major mishaps or illness.   

MAHI: A Limerick by Calder

The mahi struck and puts up a fight,

He unspools the reel with all his might,

But the reel wins out

And the mahi splashes about,

Oh, that mahi does wish he hadn’t given it a bite.

WAKING UP TO DOLPHINS:  Couplets by Cora

I wake to dolphins and porpoise as they dance

They frolic gracefully in the sea.

We see a dolphin fly out of the water; what a chance!

They jump and jump again; they are so free!