Saturday afternoon at the beach, at Bahia Tortugas, Baja California Sur...

If you envision a beach with pearly white sands, bikini-clad bathing beauties, warm water, beach vendors, and a malecón, you may be a bit disappointed, as you won't find any of the above at Bahia Tortugas. You will find a beach that features a municipal pier, a shuttered cannery, a few pangas for rent, and some visiting yachts in the harbor. You won't see any tourists, as the vast majority of tourists shun Bahia Tortugas, but you'll see locals frolicking on the beach, enjoying the scenery, fishing, and in some cases, pitching woo.

Photo: Looking down Calle Indenpendencia, which is the direct route to the beach, and the municipal pier.

Few tourists visit Bahia Tortugas, as its over a hundred miles off the beaten track, and for most tourists, especially the gringo variety, they would find little to do in the town, as there is no tourist infrastructure, such as found in San Felipe or Cabo San Lucas. Bahia Tortugas is a popular stop with the yacht set, as it offers a sheltered harbor about halfway between San Diego and Cabo San Lucas, and it offers fuel, food, showers, and a place to stretch your legs after being confined to a yacht for several days.

Photo: This is Bahia Tortugas, looking to the east, with the municipal pier in the background of the photo.

Photo: Pangas and a couple of commercial fishing boats at anchor in the bay. Bahia Tortugas has surprisingly few commercial fishermen.

If you're a "yachtie," don't expect many services, as Bahia Tortugas doesn't have a port captain, nor does it have an official fuel station. Most folks anchor their yachts out in the harbor, and arrange a fuel boat to come to them. It also appears that fuel can be purchased from the end of the pier, but I didn't get the chance to see these facilities in action. If the "yachties" want to go ashore, they can get a ride to the municipal pier in one of the many pangas who act as water taxis. The reported fee is $1.00, which is a bargain by any standard... But that requires a climb up a rickety wood ladder, or a poorly-maintained steel ladder to the municipal pier, which to me seems a bit challenging. Although I'm not a member of the yacht set, I struck up a conversation with Carlos, the co owner of La Playa, a fine beach side restaurant, and he answered my many questions about what happens on the beach.

Photo: It's ok to drive and picnic on the beach at Bahia Tortugas. These SUVs are at the municipal pier. Note the houses in the background of the photo and the boats that have been dragged on the beach, but SUVs.

Photo: Four young ladies and their puppy take a stroll on the beach at high tide.

There are several restaurants located on the beach, but during the three days I spent on and off at the beach, only one restaurant, La Playa, was open. A particularly interesting restaurant, Restaurante Enrique's Jr, which featured outdoor dining overlooking the bay, and advertised cold beer and mariscos, wasn't open during my visit, as I checked back several times each day. The restaurant appeared to have operated recently, but I never did catch them open during my September 2008 visit.

Photo: Lovers walk along the beach, near surf fishermen. Fishing from the edge of the bay seems to be a very popular activity, but during the four days of my visit, I didn't see anybody catch anything.

Photo: The closed cannery and the municipal pier, at the foot of Calle Independencia. Note the rusted boiler in the middle foreground of the photo, no doubt from some long-ago wrecked fishing boat. Restaurant La Palapa, where I enjoyed wonderful company and delicious fish tacos appears in the extreme right of the photo.

The beach is a popular destination with locals, and was quite active on the Saturday afternoon that I spent on the beach. From the restaurant, I had a great vantage point of watching the things that locals do, which is one of my favorite things to do, while sipping an icy-cold Pacifico beer. In Mexico, its ok to drive on the beach, and at Bahia Tortugas, there an impromptu four wheel drive road that runs along the sandy beach, just above the high tide line that leads west to Punta Sargazo. From my vantage point, I was able to observe locals fishing, children swimming in the water, fishermen fishing from the shore, beautiful girls walking along the beach, and even a couple who seemed to be very much in love.

Photo: It takes a team effort to launch grandpa's boat, but the boat is finally launched.

Photo: Sport fishermen head out into the bay. The municipal pier is in the background of the photo. Note the folks perched on the rickety ladder, which is a popular place to jump into the water. Personally, the water of Bahia Tortugas doesn't look to inviting...

The municipal pier seems to be a favorite attraction for the locals, as many children and teenagers, plus a few adults, would jump off the pier into the water, and then climb up one of the rickety ladders and take another plunge. Bahia Tortugas is on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja California Peninsula, and the water isn't particularly warm, nor is the water in the bay particularly inviting, as there seems to be pollution from boats, and I noticed junk floating in the water. But that doesn't seem to deter the locals from having a good time. On this late Saturday afternoon, September 27, 2008, the temperature was a balmy 92 degrees.

Photo: These guys have been jumping off the pier, into the deep water, to cool themselves on the 95 degree September afternoon.

Photo: One guy is climbing up the ladder, after taking the plunge, and another guy is about ready to dive.

Another entertaining moment was provided for me by a family, who came together to launch a boat for grandpa. I didn't get to see them drive up and wrestle the boat from their truck to the sand, but they managed to complete that task before I arrived on the scene. The family members were grandpa, two sons, and three boys, and all of them struggled to launch grandpas boat, Acuicola III, into the water, while I sat on the beach and snapped photos. After much effort, they finally managed to get the boat into the water, and grandpa jumped in, and piloted the boat into the bay by himself. Despite the fact that I quizzed one of the sons where grandpa was headed, he seemed reluctant to engage in conversation, so I dropped the matter.

Photo: Swimming in the waters of Bahia Tortugas, off the end of the municipal pier.

The beach at Bahia Tortugas is a popular spot with locals, and a great place to relax, and just watch the people of small-town Mexico enjoy their leisure time.

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