Magdelena bay

We pass The entrance to Bahia Santa Maria and debate stopping there. It's supposed to be beautiful and we are the tempted enough that we alter course and poke around the outside for awhile but in the end we opt to continue as Kai's b-day is in two days and we want to rest and settle in, rather than weigh anchor again tomorrow. We shape our course for Mag bay, with conflicted hearts, knowing that we may never again have the opportunity to explore what lies behind the headlands of that vast bay.
We soon forget our quandary as we are suddenly surrounded by hundreds of dolphins and frigate birds and sea lions. Clearly we are amidst a feeding frenzy and we scramble to throw our hooks in the water. As usual, we are ignored and though we imagine all the wonderful fish that must be lurking below us, we remain catch-less.
Two hours later the entrance to Mag bay looms before us. The bay is so wide behind the headlands you can't see a thing. Imagine Santa Monica bay, from Palos Verdes to Point Dume. With NOTHING in it. No buildings, no people- there is the town of San Carlos up the estuary but you can't see it. We are lookng at endless wilderness as wild and lonely a place as you can imagine. We enter the bay and the swell disappears. Always exciting when you are tired and have been rolling around, moving from one hand hold to another for days. We make our way six miles up to the anchorage off the tiny village of man-o-war cove. Population 100 adults and 20 ninos.
Several small buildings,one palapa on the beach and piles of massive whale bones. So amazingly cool.

We drop our hook in the sand and it bites immediately. We back down hard on the throttle but she's set. We shut off the engine and sit in the silence looking at this little town and this huge and wonderful bay that we have sailed 700 miles to see on Kai's birthday.
"I don't see any whales" observes Kai.
We can't even answer we are so bagged and amazed we got here. I go below and make up a snack(lobster dip and crackers) and pull a bottle of pink champagne-given to us by a friend before we left-from the fridge. " go pour yourselves a coke" I say to the kids. "really?" they are amazed. Soda is like crack around here and i am not usually down with it but this is a celebration.
We all sit on deck and have a toast and munch on the snacks and are pretty much speechless. As we polish off the bottle, exhaustion weighs on us like a heavy blanket. Jon and I crawl below and fall into our bunk together for the first time in days.
" You did it." I whisper...but he is already asleep.

a day to celebrate

happy kids

happy us

whale bones and Pura Vida in the bg.