Bahia de Tortugas (Turtle Bay) is the first all weather anchorage once past Isla Cedros. The huge bay provides good protection from the prevailing northwest winds, and it also features what is described as the most remote town in all of Baja. All goods and supplies are trucked in over many miles of dirt toads to keep the remote fishing village provisioned. Madrone needed a few provisions as well, so we dropped the dinghy into the water and headed ashore.
Among sailors in Mexico, Pedro in Turtle Bay is well-known. A one-armed resident of town, Pedro’s self-appointed job is to guard your dinghy when you come ashore. Sure enough, as we slowly motored towards town we saw a single arm waving us towards the non-rocky part of the beach. As we rolled the dinghy up the beach, Pedro tapped his eye and repeated “Vigilante, vigilante” – he would keep a close watch on our dinghy.
We asked about groceries, but our first surprise was that Pedro wouldn’t give us directions. Instead, he walked us up the four blocks to the surprisingly well-stocked store.
Our second surprise was that instead of waiting for us, Pedro followed us up and down every aisle of the store. He’d mostly just watch us shop, but periodically would point to something or other and say “Good” in English, accompanied by an enthusiastic thumbs up.
We finished our supervised shopping, and Pedro accompanied us back to the beach. We decided to head to the nearby beachside restaurant for a quick dinner, and sure enough, Pedro followed us up the beach to the restaurant. He sat behind us during dinner, quietly watching us eat.
It’s nice to have someone keep an eye on the dinghy while ashore, but…
