SAILING CAMELOT

Not even the beauty of Honeymoon Cove is enough to hold us: wanderlust takes over as usual. We are underway by mid-morning, en route to Isla Carmen. The islands we’re visiting are so close together, it never takes us more than just a few hours of sailing, but it feels like we’re visiting different worlds. We reach Bahia Salinas early afternoon, well in time to enjoy a gorgeous sunset.

Bahia Salinas

What's left of the mining equipment

This was a thriving salt-mining location, but operations have ceased in the early 80’s. There’s a lot of abandoned equipment left to tell the story.

There are a couple of newer buildings serving as guest homes for the rare tourist who wants to spend a weekend in total solitude, and some less luxurious accommodations for the handymen that live here and also serve as watchmen.

Guest Houses

Guest Homes from the side

The rest of the buildings are slowly crumbling away, but they still convey an aura of a once-productive community. The ever-present church, small and old as it may be, is still standing and open for business!

Four-legged Parishioner visiting the Church

It’s eerie to see the remains of the railway once used to carry the salt to the waiting ships, now good only as a perch for the birds. The railway cars have been transformed into creative garden containers.

The Railway to Heaven

In a former life, this was a railway car used to transport salt

We take a stroll in the blazing sun, our curiosity pushing us to walk a long way to the salt ponds. It’s a very stark environment, fascinating and unique in its contrast of colors.

The Salty WaySalt Pond

The salt ponds go on for miles and look like snow fields! I resist the urge to throw myself on the ground and do “salt-angels” or build a “salt-man” with a carrot for nose… Instead I shoot dozens of pictures to capture the essence of this unforgettable place.

Salt Fields

And of course, I replenished my salt supply…

The Finished Product!

We spend three days in Bahia Salinas, thanks to a pesky northerly wind that we really don’t want to fight against. Sadly, it wasn’t conducive for swimming either… We wanted to visit the sunken remains of a tuna boat in the bay, gone under in the mid 80’s, now a natural reef teeming with marine life with plenty of colorful fish enjoying the wreck. But we had to settle for just taking a tour around it on our dinghy, and it still was very interesting. Of course on the morning of our departure there was no wind, the water was crystal-clear, the white sands of the half-moon shaped beach beckoning. Story of my life…

The Beach Chapel

But we must be strong! Other slices of Paradise await.

Bahia Salinas Beach