Jan. 25 Bahia Magdalena
Estero El Barril Picassa Pictures
Another amazing day in Bahia Magdalena. It was the iron man day – PE for the week – kayak 4 miles, walk across sand dunes 4 miles, kayak 4 miles. We had this great idea (OK, I had it and didn’t actually get full buy-in) to use today’s excursion to do both science and math – survey the variety of wading birds, and then do some ratios and comparisons upon returning. Well, first we forgot the survey instruments (pen and waterproof paper), so we split up the species between the four of us – Kennan chose to count the night heron and the yellow-crowned night heron (easy job for him…we left at 10 A.M.), I picked the green, reddish and little blue herons (not much better on the greens during the day and in today’s wider channel but I counted a respectable 5 reddish and 7 little blues). Frank was supposed to count anything white (white heron, all egrets and juvenile little blues), he can’t remember how many white birds he saw (so he was disqualified), but he did claim to see two white headed birds of the raptor variety – validated by Logan and Kennan…bald eagles in Mag Bay?? I did not witness this siting, but on the Sibley’s map under bald eagles, there is a little purple (year round) dot right at the Baja bend that is Mag Bay. If it’s true, then in less than a month the Reveil males have spotted bald eagles in latitude 59 and latitude 24. That’s 35 degrees of Bald Eagles in a month. I’d say they’re making a return. Logan ended up winning the bird count with only one species to keep track of yet a whopping total of 17 great blue herons (but I’m suspicious that a few just flew around the corner to be counted again).
Looking at the satellite images of this spot, you may be able to pick out our path up one of the longest estuaries in the bay – Esterro el Barril. Not the meandering narrow estuary of Man-o-War Cove, but a broad long sweeping stretch of magnificence. If you manage to stay in the primary branch, and not be diverted by the many secondary veins, the estuary ends in an abrupt collision of green mangroves, rich brown tidal flats, and miles of brilliant white sand dunes. Staying on the right vein is no easy task, it’s not necessarily the widest branch that takes you the furthest. Often the channel runs deeper where the mangroves grow closest. And the wider more inviting stretches, can fool you into an area of very shallow, difficult-to-paddle-in water.
We visited this exact spot 13 years ago, when Logan was a baby. That time we carried him across the dunes. If I’d carried him today, I may have made it 2 steps…ah to be young again;) Well that’s certainly what my muscles will be saying tomorrow.
Jan. 25 Did not manage to send this last night, so before I post, I’ll add a postscript: Huge thanks to Barry for pointing me to the NY Times recipe for no-kneed bread (or is it kneedless bread). We’ve managed two successful loaves, with great structure and that crust is magnificent – even in our !#$#@#$@$# excuse for an oven (Betty’s term for it:). With bread like this, we may manage to make it across the ocean with two ravenous boys. The one thing they’ve been complaining about in the food department, is not having good bread. Every other loaf I’ve tried, has had some issue (texture, crust, density, flavor you name it, they found fault). But these loaves are perfect every time and disappear without complaint. I can even sneak in some whole wheat flour and they don’t seem to notice. If anyone else is interested, just google NY Times no kneed bread. The process is easy, but messy (don’t use a cotton towel as they describe for sure!). The magic is in cooking it in a dutch oven that you place in the oven, and in a dough with low yeast and high water content. It’s truly crackling good crust.