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| Hauling the dingy up the beach |
Once again I am struck by how much Baja resembles the American west.
In this case, we have come across a ghost town rusting equipment and old mines. This ghost town is on the edge of a bighorn sheep breeding preserve. Sounds like a bunch of places in the US, right?
The difference here derives from the location: a beautiful sand beach on a large, largely deserted, desert island.
Bahia Salinas is so named because it was once a salt company town. The large flat area of the island behind the old town was used as a salt pond, and the salt was mined and shipped all over.
Today remain only a few buildings, a collapsed pier, and much rusty equipment. When we first started walking through the area it seemed abandoned.
But small snippets of habitation and visitation soon emerge. A sparse but cleanly maintained chapel. A recently built wooden doghouse. Some modern plastic water tanks. As we walk down a back street and see an occupied house it is clear that caretakers still live here.
Then we return towards our dinghy, strolling along the beachfront homes. These have been refurbished into a swanky hunting lodge. People boat or fly in to the private airport to hunt bighorn sheep.
Although the island is used as a breeding ground for the sheep to repopulate the Baja Peninsula, hunting is apparently permitted. So luxury tourism is born, evident even in the artistic flair with which nearby abandoned equipment is decorated.
As if to emphasize the point, a National Geographic cruise ship arrives and drops anchor, enabling its guest explorers to head ashore and observe the facilities. A week aboard one of these ships for four people can cost more than blue eyes did, it's now quite a genteel crowd in the anchorage…
Well, that won't stop Patrick from taking the dinghy to the wrecked Tuna boat in the bay, and catching more triggerfish than he can count (and releasing almost all).
Although we've been stuck here for a couple of days, we should have ok conditions tomorrow, and we hope to arrive at San Juanico in time for Patrick's birthday evening. Brizo's been here with us, and it sounds like they may head to San Juanico as well. What fun that could be!
In this case, we have come across a ghost town rusting equipment and old mines. This ghost town is on the edge of a bighorn sheep breeding preserve. Sounds like a bunch of places in the US, right?
The difference here derives from the location: a beautiful sand beach on a large, largely deserted, desert island.
Bahia Salinas is so named because it was once a salt company town. The large flat area of the island behind the old town was used as a salt pond, and the salt was mined and shipped all over.
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| Abanoned waterfront of Bahia Salinas |
Today remain only a few buildings, a collapsed pier, and much rusty equipment. When we first started walking through the area it seemed abandoned.
But small snippets of habitation and visitation soon emerge. A sparse but cleanly maintained chapel. A recently built wooden doghouse. Some modern plastic water tanks. As we walk down a back street and see an occupied house it is clear that caretakers still live here.
Then we return towards our dinghy, strolling along the beachfront homes. These have been refurbished into a swanky hunting lodge. People boat or fly in to the private airport to hunt bighorn sheep.
 |
| The small chapel at Bahia Salinas |
Although the island is used as a breeding ground for the sheep to repopulate the Baja Peninsula, hunting is apparently permitted. So luxury tourism is born, evident even in the artistic flair with which nearby abandoned equipment is decorated.
As if to emphasize the point, a National Geographic cruise ship arrives and drops anchor, enabling its guest explorers to head ashore and observe the facilities. A week aboard one of these ships for four people can cost more than blue eyes did, it's now quite a genteel crowd in the anchorage…
 |
| Artistic re-use of the abandoned machinery (note the drivers) |
Well, that won't stop Patrick from taking the dinghy to the wrecked Tuna boat in the bay, and catching more triggerfish than he can count (and releasing almost all).
Although we've been stuck here for a couple of days, we should have ok conditions tomorrow, and we hope to arrive at San Juanico in time for Patrick's birthday evening. Brizo's been here with us, and it sounds like they may head to San Juanico as well. What fun that could be!
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