Isla Carmen – Bahia Salinas
April 15th 2024
We leave the marina of Puerto Escondido around noon towards Isla Carmen. Strong northerly winds are forecast for the next two days, we decide to head towards Bahia Salinas which will offer us good protection. The bay is located at point 25°59.121N 111°6.570W approximately 20 NM from the marina.
To reach our destination we go around Isla Danzante from the North. The current and waves are unfavorable for us but decrease between the two islands. It is around 4:00 p.m. that we reach Bahia Salinas.
The bay is very wide and offers a relatively flat bottom between 15 and 20 feet over several hundred meters which leaves you spoiled for choice for anchoring, especially since there is only one only other boat present. Note the presence of an underwater wreck in the bay which is an attraction for divers but which represents a danger for anchoring.
The bay is magnificent, in fact one of the most beautiful we have seen in Mexico. The mountainous terrain typical of Baja California and the turquoise water are separated by an immense strip of white sand.
The sunset behind the mountains is sublime, and even if every evening brings us a new one, it is impossible to get tired of it.
The night will indeed be very windy, with gusts between 20 and 25 knots but the sea is very calm.
April 16th 2024
The next day, the winds persisted for a good part of the day, we took the opportunity to stay on board and bring school forward with the children. Chihiro, seeing the beach so close to her, wails towards the dinghy at the back of the boat. The scene is heartbreaking and would have made more than one person give in! Alas no beach today for Chihiro but tomorrow will be her lucky day.
April 17th 2024
the wind has completely died down, Victor, Chihiro and I board the dinghy around 1:00 p.m. and we head towards the beach to join Marjolaine and Paul who have gone swimming. After a short swim and aerial exploration of the island with the drone, we walk towards the village located in the northern part of the bay where the old salt marsh is located.
The exploitation of salt on Isla Carmen was started in 1698 by the Jesuits, the factory is today closed and the ruined buildings bear witness to the history of the place. In the middle of this ghost village, some houses have been restored and house a lodge for hunters. Another perfectly maintained building, the Nuestra Señora del Carmen chapel, illuminates the center of the village with its immaculate white.
We continue along the path leading to the salt marsh located about 500 meters behind the village. Here again the view is breathtaking, the color of the marsh is an electric blue bordered by pure white salt banks, as if an arctic landscape had been transposed into the middle of the desert.
We put on swimsuits and test our flotation by placing ourselves in a star pattern on the salt lake, the experience is unique, we weigh almost nothing! Barely out of the water we are literally covered in a film of salt. Back at the beach we take advantage of a good swim to rinse off before returning to the boat.
The next day we will leave Bahia Salinas to go to Bahia Balandra on the other side of Isla Carmen.
