s/v Hotel California: Playa Coyote – May 22

Sunday morning we moved down to Playa Coyote. We pulled in very close to shore and the south mountain to block the wind. What a great beach for camping, in fact there are a lot of campers here.

It seems a little crazy here with all the swimmers and boaters.

One guy told us he has had too much Vodka and almost ran into Brenda and I on the kayak, and Firefly while he was trying to get too close to one of the whale sharks.

Pam and Brenda

Over a whale shark

There are 3 that live in this cove and we see them every day. Gizmo watches them as they have breakfast right beside the boat.

Gizmo watching a whale shark

It was our anniversary and we planned to go to dinner at the restaurant on the highway, but with all the crazy’s we didn’t want to leave the boats. The next afternoon we went up to the restaurant, Estrella del Mar. We played darts, pool and even tried out the stripper pole, after a few too many margaritas.

Ted and Brenda playing pool and darts

Rick playing pool

Pam in the BMW sidecar

On the way back to the beach, we met a guy with a BMW motorcycle with a side car. Somehow I ended up getting a ride. He had to show me how it came off the ground when he turned corners. What a blast.

Tuesday morning we heard voices outside the boat and saw 2 young guys swimming off the stern with a whale shark. They had driven dirt bikes down from the border and were making their way to Loreto. They wanted to know if it was safe to touch the sharks, we told them to stay away from the tail. They hung around for about a ½ hour then swam back to shore.

Swimming with the whale shark

Rick's Haircut

Later I gave Rick a haircut, he has to look good for his birthday tomorrow.

Wednesday morning Brenda and Ted invited a couple we met on the beach to breakfast on Firefly and we joined them. Anita and Tap arrived in their little sailboat. He is one of the founders of the NOLS schools. One of the schools is located on this beach.

Anita and Tap

That afternoon Ted and Brenda surprised Rick with a birthday present. They rowed over and climbed onto the boat with the present and a bunch of balloons. He got a fish guide, a laminated map of the Mulege area and some special tea. He was very surprised!

We planned to go back to Estrella del Mar for Rick’s birthday dinner but it was closed, so we went to another place named Bertha’s which wasn't on the beach for Clams. We had a great meal and ended up dancing all night. The next day we stayed on the boats all day and recovered.