On our way to Bahia Conception, a huge bay with many interesting anchorages, I decided to stop at Punta Pulpito since it would shave 10 miles off the 50 miles passage to the entrance of the bay.
I didn't expect much of the area, but as often in the region, every stop and every anchorage brings its own rewards and beauty.
Punta Pulpito is a large tall cliff faced rock (475 feet high) towering over transparent waters. A black obsidian vein on the South side is visible for miles.
We decided to do the short passage early in the morning to avoid the forecast afternoon breeze, and arrive mid morning. We launched the kayak immediately after arrival, anchoring in 20 feet of transparent water, with our engine still running.
The guides tell of a shore where it is impossible to step down by tender, due to rocks, but Di and I having walked Princess all over Alaskan anchorages had no problems stepping foot ashore. I must say our tandem kayak is the ideal tool for such adventures, and if we had a small inflatable tender we'd likely not risk it on the rocks. Barbed wire fences prevent hikers from exploring any further.
After a good walk ashore, where we let Princess take in all the new smells, we decided to paddle to the outside of the point, closely following the shore. The cliffs towered over us, and whilst we kept our distances, we kept hoping that no skyscraper sized boulder would suddenly come crashing down.
Rounding the point revealed a magnificent stone arch, somewhat reminiscent of Etretat in France, just a little smaller and much less touristy.
We spotted a number of very dangerous rocks even a good distance away from the cliff face, and I made a mental note of where they were to compare with my charts. The charts proved decent enough with notes of "reported rocks", and I made sure our route leaving would stay very well clear of any potential danger.
In the meantime a sailing boat from Quebec had joined us in the anchorage. A nice couple we'd met before, so we decided to paddle by and warn them to stay well clear too.
Next morning we woke up just before sunrise, foregoing Princess' morning walk and setting off for Bahia Santo Domingo.
We rounded Punta Pulpito from a safe distance as the sun was coming up, and were welcomed by a very calm sea with not a hint of wind. The great weather held for the whole day, making our 40 mile leg an easy one.
The calmness and routine of the day was interrupted by fishing sea lions, who came within close range of Enfin, and were generally unconcerned by our presence.
We arrived at Santo Domingo, the first bay at the entrance of Bahia Conception, early afternoon and marveled that we still had plenty of time to enjoy an afternoon there.
I anchored in 15 feet depth, with barely any protection from any northerly winds that are common in winter, but the forecast was for continued overnight calm, so I felt safe until we'd continue next morning.
As in Punta Pulpito we launched the kayak as soon as the anchor had set: Princess being well familiar with this routine was excitedly reminding us that it was long time to go ashore for her walk.
The sandy beach stretched for a good mile from black rocks on one side to beautiful red rocks on the other, and we gave Princess all the time she wanted to explore it. We all enjoyed our long walk on "our' beach with no one else in sight.
At sunset we sat on Enfin's bow, with a sudden chill in the air as soon as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Dolphins swam by. A few turtles were busy around the boat doing their thing.
As cruising days go by, we're starting to synchronize our own rhythms with the sun, and are finding it easier to go to bed and wake up early to make the best of the calm hours of the day.
Tomorrow we'll do the same, pushing down into Bahia Conception before forecast winds come up in the afternoon.
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