This article was previously written by Rachel Messerschmidt for and published by Vancouver Family Magazine in January 2022.
We arrived in Ensenada, Mexico on Thursday the 4th of November. And we stayed there for nearly two weeks. We discovered just how real culture shock can be and it took us some time to get our feet back under us. We’ve been studying Spanish but quickly realized how poor our communication skills were. We had trouble with our banks and gaining access to funds. It took several days to sort out phone numbers and cell data packages so that I could continue working my remote job.
But, through all the stress and discomfort we endured in Ensenada, we kept reminding ourselves that this is what we’d signed up for. We had jumped deep out of our comfort zone and this, too, was part of the adventure. We knew there would be struggle and we gave each other grace and comfort when needed.
After a couple weeks, we were ready to move onward south in search of warm waters and beautiful beaches. We sailed out of Ensenada on a two-night passage to Bahia Tortugas. Leaving Ensenada in our wake, we also left behind the land of internet connectivity. For the following two weeks, we would be passing through remote stretches of wilderness with only the occasional touch of cell service.
On our arrival in Bahia Tortugas, we were greeted by a couple of humpback whales breaching nearby and dozens upon dozens of dolphins frolicking around our sailboat. We cruised into the anchorage, joining about a dozen other cruising sailboats, and dropped our anchor for much-needed rest.
Bahia Tortugas was another one of those spots where we were suddenly struck with the realization of a change in the landscape. From our boat, we gazed up at stark, red mountains and desolate terrain with few plants in sight and almost nothing green at all. The view was vastly different from California’s palm trees and manicured lawns, and even more so from the dense greens of the Pacific Northwest. And yet, inarguably beautiful in its own rugged way.
Still, Bahia Tortugas didn’t grab our attention for long. The water, while warmer, was a sort of muddy brown and we knew this wasn’t yet the place we’d been searching for. After a full day of rest, we set off yet again sailing on another two-night passage toward Bahia Santa Maria another 240 miles south.
We passed very few other ships or boats of any kind off the coast of Baja. The days were endless sea in all directions, as we were often too far offshore to even see land. The nights were gorgeous though with a bright nearly-full moon to light our path. And, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, we arrived right at dawn to beautiful Bahia Santa Maria.
There were six other sailboats anchored in the bay, four of which were friends of ours. Scattered on the shoreline, we spotted a small spattering of rough buildings, and nearby a gorgeous white sandy beach. And the water! The water as we anchored was a gorgeous deep turquoise and we could see schools of fish swimming in the boat’s shadow. Clearly, immediately, we knew we’d arrived in someplace special.
We spent time swimming off the boat that first morning, and in the afternoon, we joined friends at the beach for boogie boarding. Our kids played with their friends for hours, while the adults swapped stories of the adventures coming down the coast thus far. In the evening, we shared a meal of fresh-caught fish tacos and marveled up at the night sky full of bright stars. Without the populated-world’s light pollution, we pointed out the Milky Way to our kids and talked about life and our adventures of the past months.
We spent nearly a full week in Bahia Santa Maria. We hiked the hills and beaches, swam off the boat and near shore, snorkeled small reefs and rocks, and enjoyed our first Thanksgiving away from home but with friends, old and new.
This was very much what we have been searching for. What we’ve put so much effort and work- blood, sweat, and tears- into finding. It’s been magical and I’m so thankful to be sharing this with my husband and kids, and sending pictures and stories back home. And, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Rachel Messerschmidt and her family are Clark County natives living and cruising full time aboard their 40-foot sailboat, Mosaic. This past summer, they traveled down the US West Coast and into Mexico. Rachel blogs about her life and journey at www.mosaicvoyage.com. She shares her family’s adventures in a monthly column in Vancouver Family Magazine.