Bahia Concepcion



Approaching Punta Pulpito

With thoughts of the Cruisers Shrine left behind, we departed Caleta de San Juanico at noon and headed for Bahia Concepcion.  As we rounded Punta Pulpito, we found ourselves bucking into 30 knot winds.  We estimated our arrival at Bahia Concepcion would occur in the dark around 6:30pm.  That didn’t sound like a good idea; Bahia Concepcion is challenging enough to enter during the day, let alone trying to navigate the entrance at night and locate suitable anchorage. 


Punta Pulpito

The voice on the shoulder said to “do an about-face and anchor behind Punta Pulpito for the night; you can take your time tomorrow.”  We set the anchor and enjoyed the impressive headland of Pulpito with its distinctive vein of obsidian hinting at the area’s volcanic history. 



Vein of Obsidian

The vertical vein clearly showed that this was a lava flow which had cooled rapidly, resulting in the glass-like rock material called obsidian.  As anticipated, the seas were much better the following morning and we continued our six-hour journey to Bahia Concepcion, encountering a variety of wind and wave conditions.  After rounding Point Concepcion, our attention was focused on avoiding the shoals and rocks that line the entrance to the Bay.  Aptly named, Bahia Concepcion is a 24-mile long bay with a shallow, narrow choke-point inside the entrance, like a birth canal.  Once through the canal and into deeper water, we had several protected anchorages from which to choose.  

Punta Concepcion

The main anchorage areas in Bahia Concepcion include Bahia Coyote about mid-way, and Isla Requeson located further south.  We chose Bahia Coyote which includes several smaller coves and anchored off Playa Santispac.  We used this anchorage as our home base to explore the other coves called Posada Concepcion, Playa El Coco, and Playa El Burro which are all within Bahia Coyote.  The scenery is quite picturesque with vacation homes and fishing cabins nestled in the coves, backed by impressive high mountains.  Hwy 1 runs along this portion of Bahia Concepcion so there is easy access for motor-homes and campers; we saw several motor-homes parked at Playa Santispac.


Vacation Homes at Posada Concepcion

Vacation Homes at Playa El Coco

Fishing Cabins at Playa El Burro