Day 3 - Bahía Concepcion — Doug & Travis Are Going Places!

Last night, Captain Doug had told us that we’d be heading pretty far north overnight to a bay called Bahía Concepcion. Apparently they’ve never gone to this bay before, but one of the captain’s buddies has assured him that it’s fantastic and we’ll really love it. It’s about 90 or so miles from where we were on day 2 so we cruise for most of the night, through apparently roughish seas.

The weather is pretty overcast and it’s turned slightly colder than we had expected (it’s still about 70F but fairly windy and cloudy most of the day). Regardless, after breakfast, we fight our way into our wetsuits (that’s a workout in itself!) and board a skiff with our guide Jenny to do some snorkeling. It’s clear the guides are enjoying a new location to discover. We head towards a pair of nearby islands and based on bird poop, select a place to snorkel just off one of the islands (birds apparently hang out where there are a lot of fish in the water, and where there are birds, there is bird poop). We drop into the water one by one accompanied by gasps as each of us enter the water. Let’s just say it’s quite brisk! Luckily the wetsuits do their job and we warm up pretty quickly (it also helps that we both have some body insulation).

Doug had purchased a mask off of Amazon before the trip as he’s quite farsighted and can’t really see anything without glasses. While not a true prescription mask, it gets close to his prescription and he’s able to see really well. The water is a bit cloudy, presumably because of the wind and lack of sunlight. Despite that, there is quite a bit to see and Jenny does a good job of providing running commentary of things she’s spotting. This is both good and bad as it’s nice to hear what things are, but it forces you to lift your head out of the water frequently to listen to what she’s saying. We see huge numbers of Cortez Angelfish and Sergeant Majors and before too long Jenny goes completely crazy over the size of a Sea Hare, claiming it’s the biggest one she’s seen. She brings it to the surface so we can all get a good look at it, although in truth, it’s a bit of a blog and it’s hard to tell exactly what we’re looking at.

Jenny decides that the wind is really stirring things up so we get back in the skiff and move to the other nearby island on the sheltered side. Once back in the water, things are definitely more clear. We spend a good amount of time snorkeling around and looking at all the sites below us. Ultimately, the cold water takes its toll on a few of the skinny folks and we get back in the skiff and head back to the ship. Once on board, most of the snorkelers end up in one of the hot tubs to warm up a bit.

After lunch, almost everyone on board heads to a nearby beach for an afternoon beach party. They’ve basically taken over kayaks, paddle-boards, chairs, blankets for use and set up a bar. They’re also doing a kayak 101 class from he beach for anyone who’s not kayaked before and wants some hands on training. We skip the class and grab a kayak and head out. We end up traversing the bay and spend a good hour paddling around. After a drink at the bar, Doug decides to give the paddle board a try. We have paddle boards at the lake, but haven’t used them a ton (and only on a lake). Doug’s not too exciting about falling into the water. He manages to get up and paddle around for 15 minutes or so without falling and is feeling pretty good about that (or maybe it’s just the alcohol).

Back on the ship, we head to happy hour and make our activity selections for tomorrow (a morning skiff tour and an afternoon burro ride). Then it’s on to dinner and then back in the lounge for a talk on the gastropods (like the sea hare we saw earlier in the day). She does the presentation in the form of a advice column with all the questions come from various gastropods (for example, one of the question is from a one gastropod who’s penis has fallen off and we learn that this is normal and he’ll grow another one shortly).

A sea hare swimming (sinking?)

Video of Doug paddle boarding