Mulegé

From Punto Pulpito, we got an early start on our 45-mile trip to Santispac, in Bahia Concepción. We did get to sail for a couple of hours along the way, but mostly it was a motorboat ride. Santispac was kind of a letdown after the last few anchorages which were so isolated and beautiful. There is a road running along the bay, and while traffic is not heavy, the semi trucks use their "jake brakes" coming around the sharp curves, serving as a periodic reminder of the road's presence.

We (the crew of Windward and ourselves) decided to take advantage of the road by hitchhiking into Mulegé, about 15 miles north. I can see the raised eyebrows, as hitchhiking has fallen so far out of favor back in the US. We haven't done it often down here, but in certain areas it has been the only option. Mexicans are very hospitable, and we never wait long for a ride.

Mulegé is a true desert oasis, with a spring-fed river and thick groves of date palms. The downtown looked much as I remembered it from my last time here nearly 30 years ago.

We walked upriver to the 300-year-old mission, which had a nice view of the river valley, and some of the first cardon cactus (similar to saguaro) we had seen in bloom.



We also saw occasional reminders of last year's hurricane, which destroyed a number of homes here.

We wanted to tour the old penitentiary, now a museum, but it was closed for repairs. We contented ourselves with a nice lunch, and hitched our way back to Santispac, this time with a retired American couple who live here (and lost their previous home in the hurricane).