The long shuttle to Bahia San Quintin and Punta Entrada, August 15th 2011

I was afraid to sleep on the bus ride north, worrying that I would miss my stop. As the turnoff to San Quintin Bay approached, I talked to the bus driver. He convinced me that I should go all the way into the bus stop in downtown San Quintin where I could get a cab to the Old Mill. This was attractive since the alternative was a 3 mile walk from the nearest point on Highway One. So I went to the bus station and asked about taxis. They laughed at me. No taxis. So I walked the two miles back to the turnoff and then walked the three miles to the Old Mill. Actually Juan, who works at the restaurant, gave me a ride the last mile or so and asked me about my trip. Back in my hotel room I took a shower. Something about the water or soap froze my hair into a consistency that felt like sheep's wool. It sticks straight out in every direction. It is around 8:00 AM in the morning.

I kicked the kayak out of the bed (where it had stayed while I was gone) and tried to take a nap, but probably only got two hours of sleep. So I got up and did some last minute organizing. I could not just launch early because the tide was racing in through the Old Mill Narrows. While I waited I had a long lingering breakfast at the Old Mill. Juan was my waiter and I tipped heavily. I took another shower, this time washing with campsuds, which did fix my strange hair! I packed up and left when the tide turned by 1:00 PM. The plan was a short afternoon paddle to get into position for a long following day.

I paddled down and across Bahia San Quintin to the end of Punta Entrada. I went around the point and back looking for the farthest south camp-able beach. I think I settled on exactly the same beach Constantin chose years ago. It has the same sand shelf, but this time the edges were rounded so even he would not be fooled into camping there. The tide at 10:30PM is higher than the daytime high, so like last time I set up in the sand dunes above the beach. As much as I hate camping in sand.

It is a beautiful beach. I had time to go for a walk to the end of Punta Entrada and take pictures. I had time to make water with my desalinator, but no place to do so. Sand in the water everywhere. I have a long day planed for tomorrow so I will not have time then either. I will have a lot of catching up do do in two days.