ODO: 305,711
We resupplied in Cabo, on the way to Nine Palms, and picked up some tools for a house project. Turns out Nine Palms is a great little cove just outside Cabo. We were able to find a semi private spot on the water where we watched the biggest pod of Humpback whales feed, seriously, like 15 whales. We were even able to catch a baby whale on the drone! While we were sitting on the beach, KoKo got news that her Gramma had taken a bad fall, so the whales were a nice distraction as we waited for updates (spoiler, she was ok!!). It was a weird and crappy reminder of how life just goes on without us back home.
Our second day in Nine Palms, it was time to try some surfing! KoKo had some reservations because of all the visible rocks in the surf, but after watching other people get it for a day, she was ready to try. Sadly, her time in the water was short lived because she kicked a sea urchin and hit a rock (this was a fun discovery later in the day). Berne got to play nurse and dig the urchin pieces out of her foot. He did a great job.
After taking some time to soothe a bruised ego, we decided to knock out a couple house projects (is it a house if you don’t ALWAYS have a project that needs to get done?) We successfully mounted some more storage, added a thermometer, and gave the camper a good cleaning. So much action before 2pm!
Since there was no more surfing for a little while, we headed back to our third favorite beach to relax until our fishing trip. Yup, the second group of trucks we rescued is making good on their promise to take us out! While we relaxed, “we” decided to cut Berne’s hair. Our trusty Milwaukee scissors made short work of it, and now he’s not melting under his blanket of hair anymore.
Fishing day! We were up and at them at 4:54am. A quick drive into Cabo, and 10 minutes of walking in circles trying to figure out where to go, got us on to the Oso Blanco II. We were treated to a quick tour of the Cabo Arch, the Pacific Window, The Baja Rock and Land’s End (plus seals!!) on our way out to open water. Rod (our awesome captain/ tour guide/ fisherman) brought us Marlin burritos for breakfast on homemade tortillas , and “we” (super yummy, KoKo ate all of Berne’s) ate them while he got the fishing poles set up.
This was the first time sport fishing for both of us, so we didn’t know what to expect. About 45min in, we hooked our first fish! It was all the excitement, but then it came off the line. Over the next couple of hours we had two more Marlins (we saw them jumping!) come off the line, so frustrating! Turns out, fourth time’s a charm! We hooked two fish at the same time! Berne and Rod went to work trying to reel them in while KoKo tried to keep the boat balanced and driving the right direction. Berne’s reel got stuck and the line snapped, but Rod brought his fish in, a “small” Marlin. It was the biggest fish either of us had been near in real life, about 5+feet from the tip of its pointy snout to its tail (the proper way to measure these is from the tip of their bottom lip, which brings our fish down to 4+feet, which is still a lot of fish).
On our way back to the marina, Rod cleaned our fish and we ended up with a serious amount of Marlin steaks. Packed safely in ice in our new OXXO cooler, we headed back to Shaka’s to eat some of our catch. We have a new rule: No fish in the fridge, as a result of the ceviche incident, so we gave away 95% of our catch, only keeping what we were able to eat that night. Shaka’s made us blackened Marlin, fried Marlin, and Marlin sashimi. All were fantastic, and we ate until it hurt. Tired and painfully full, it was time for bed…at the ripe old hour of 6pm. We parked our house, settled into a movie and were both out before 9pm. Good day.
We spent our next morning chatting with a family who camped next to us, before heading back over to our second favourite beach for Christmas, with a quick lunch stop to watch the Packer’s win. Go Pack Go! Oh, and also making sure we have enough water to stay put for several days, and some decorations to make things festive. Gotta celebrate the holidays!
Christmas day! We woke up to very cloudy skies and lots of chilly wind, not what you expect from a beach in Baja….and why it’s important to bring layers. We got the camper decorated and decided it was time for our daily (when possible) swim. Yup, we got in the chilly water on the chilly beach. The water wasn’t too cold, and swimming was going well (minus the jellyfish stings, which were bigger at this beach than we’re used to), until KoKo looked down and saw “a giant salamander-looking thing” underneath her and went for a full panic swim back to shore. This is what we think she saw, good thing she didn’t step on it:
Narcine entemedor, the giant electric ray or Cortez electric ray, is a species of numbfish, family Narcinidae, native to the eastern Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California to Panama.[2] It is found in shallow water on sandy bottoms and sometimes adjacent to reefs.[3] This species attains a maximum length of 76 cm (30 in). Like other numbfishes, the giant electric ray can deliver a painful electric shock. This species is nocturnal and spends the day half-buried under sand.
Once the water excitement was over and we had a quick rinse, we tended to our jellyfish stings with a combination of aloe we scrapped out of an actual aloe plant, and a homeopathic salve we were gifted before we left. So far, we have found that aloe is the best at soothing jellyfish stings.
Because it was Christmas, we had to have cookies. We got the oven out, mixed up some pre-made mix from the store and started churning out cookies….two at a time….After baking for what felt like forever, we had a nice pile of warm chocolate chip cookies, just in time for a group of cyclists to wander into our camp. We invited them over, filled their waters and sent them on their way with fresh baked cookies. They were very confused and delighted. Then it was time for dinner and relaxing to end out the day.
