Feb. 8, 2016

Up at 3:30 to do a weather check. The wind had been quite gusty from the west and without any moonlight we were not able to see what the waves were doing. The move around the next point was rather short so thought it worth an attempt. At this point it was a bit of a yellow light so we decided to pack up our gear and have breakfast.  It was a telling scene when the light appeared and we could see the waves. Safety is our first priority and when the wind was gusting in the 20's by 7, it was an easy decision to stay in camp. By noon the gusts were in the mid 30's and the swells were quite large. Plan B was to take a hike and visit the houses that we paddled by yesterday. Chaco, the dog showed up and joined us on our hike. What we found was unreal. The place was abandoned. It was like walking thru the twilight zone. A calendar in one of the buildings stopped at Oct. 2014. We tried to think what event occurred then. hurricane?  Two of the structures were close to being completed. One that looked like it might have been a restaurant had new refrigerators, ovens and wine coolers. Lots of tables and chairs were packed in the corners. A beautiful mural from mainland Mexico was painted on the walls. Some of the chairs in the buildings were still wrapped in plastic. One could just imagine all the work that went into these buildings and surroundings. A lot of  projects not completed  were scattered around the compound. The roofs were quite intricate. The doors were opened and one could see that occasionally there had been visitors in the buildings.  A huge generator in one of the buildings lay in ruins. This place was a mystery to us.(later we found out the this was a Carlos Slimm project. He is one of the richest man in Mexico and had started this development and then abandoned it.) We returned to our camp and decided to try to find a more protected area from the wind. The first sight looked good until small rocks that were being blown by the wind started falling on us. Time for another selection, but first we wanted to take Chaco back to his home. He had been doing a lot of running and was quite thirsty and we did not have water to spare. There was still no one around. The doors were all opened so we were able to find water and dog food which we gave  to both dogs. Seemed that this was well needed.  Meanwhile a cat that was in the yurt bolts for the door. Fortunately we were able to catch it and return it inside, otherwise it would have probably become coyote treats.  Now there are two places near us that have an weird feeling. Back to camp we were able to use an abandoned fish camp for our new home. Some of the items that they had left were quite useful for using for sand camping. Took the fly off of the tent last night which made for great star watching. Also got a weather report on the radio that was still calling for strong wind in CA. An update from our friend Yuri on the satellite phone was a bit lacking in formation.  All it said was a warning telling us to be safe. The actual weather forecast for whatever reason had been deleted. Looks like we will plan on doing a weather check at 4:30am and make a decision at that time.