We were in no rush today, so the morning was spent knocking out boat projects. With a few items ticked off the list, we took the dinghy to shore to go clamming. We had success harvesting enough for a hefty dinner in a day or two.
With only a few miles to go, we motored out of the anchorage, shut down the engine, and coasted along at 2–3 knots down to La Mona. After setting the hook, I finished a bit more boat maintenance before we hopped back in the dinghy to look for whale sharks. We spotted a cluster of pangas a few miles away and headed their direction. Once we got closer, we realized they were just fishing, so we ran a grid pattern back toward the boat to search on our own. Unfortunately, we came up empty. We diverted to a marked snorkeling spot instead, which turned out to be a total bust, murky water and just a few fish.
Oh well. We motored to the beach for a walk instead. Huge granite boulders lined the edges of the cove, and on the north side, millions of tiny minnows swarmed the shallows. It was hypnotic watching larger fish slice straight through them, parting the school before the minnows snapped back together the second the threat passed.
Heading back to the boat, we literally stumbled on a whale shark. I scrambled to put on my snorkel gear while keeping my eyes on him. I lost sight of him, spotted him again, and right as I jammed my mask on my face I lost him for good. The search continued, but he had doved for the bottom in the murk. Adventure over. Blerg. Though at least we actually saw one in the wild.
There’s a nearby beach bar open Thursday through Sunday. We heard music drifting across the water in the afternoon, and Jack was keen to go check it out, still, I was completely wiped and had to play party pooper. Some TV and off to sleep.
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