Bahia Asuncion

October 28, 2022  

Bahia Asuncion was a beautiful anchorage, relatively calm with only small rollers, and we anchored out from the small town. 

As we were entering the anchorage we were radioed by one of the locals, and later he launched his little tender and came out to welcome us.  He was the owner of the only local sailboat in town, and he was a very nice guy.  He had been to Vancouver, Canada before and spoke fairly good English.  He told us about the town, where to get groceries, where to land our tender, where to get fuel, etc.  If we had needed water or lots of fuel, he would have been happy to bring such out to us in his panga.   

He told us a little about his work, which was as a lobster fisherman during the lobster season, and a diver for conch at other times.  We asked him if we could buy a lobster or two, but he explained to us that all of their lobster were shipped over to Asia.  The lobster get packed in ice, and then trucked to Ensenada where they have a water bath and wake up again, and then they board an airplane and fly to Asia where they sell for between 45 and 78 US dollars per kilogram.  He told us that all of the lobster fishermen on the Baja coast cooperate together to keep the price up, and how if the price is low it is up to the fishermen if they want to sell, or wait and hope for a better price, but that if they wait they then take the chance that the lobsters die and they lose the sale completely, so usually they decide to sell for the lower price.  It was quite interesting talking with him. 

The next day we headed in to shore in Kiki and when we landed on the beach where we had been told was the best area to land, we were greeted by three panga fishermen.  As we walked through town almost everyone waved, and five people stopped to talk to us with varying degrees of English.  It was the most friendly-feeling little town I have ever been to.  It was fun to wander around, some of the roads were paved, but many were simply sand.  We walked up onto the hill and got a view looking out over the town and the bay, with our sailboat anchored in the distance. 

Before heading home we stopped at what seemed to be one of three little grocery stores and we were able to purchase some groceries that included avocados, limes, and tomatoes, so that we could make another batch of fresh ceviche.  Yummy!!  

Back on the beach there was a panga that had just pulled in with three fishermen and a following flock of pelicans and gulls.  One of the fishermen came over to talk to us, although he spoke no English.  We learned that they had been out fishing for mackerel, which they sell to the lobster fishermen for bait.   

After putting our groceries away at home we headed out in Kiki to check out the shoreline of the island nearby.  On our way out, as we were planing along, we passed four panga with fishermen all casting out their lines.  Then, about 15 feet from Kiki, a beautiful flying fish leapt from the water and flew, gliding effortlessly along, on a parallel course to us.  It was amazing to see it at eye level as it matched our course and speed before entering the water once again.  They are such neat fish, and their blue bodies and wings sparkle in the sunlight as they fly.  Later we saw a couple more.  Ah, the land of flying fish!   

As we explored the shoreline of the island we found a group of sea lions hauled out on the beach barking away.  Some of them came out to check us out, popping their heads up and looking at us.  In the very clear, shallow water we watched schools of bright orange fish swimming below us.   

While we did not want to move on from this anchorage, we had made plans to leave in the morning so as to catch the winds down to our next anchorage area before the three days of forecasted calm.  So, we headed back home, put Kiki up on deck securely and securely tied her down, and got the boat ship shape for sea once again.