On our way south we rounded Punta San Jose which was spectacular. It had offshore rocks that we could paddle behind to do a little rock gardening. The swell did seem to be calming down but the landing and camping options continued to elude us.
Late in the day we had to keep going to the next fish camp, which might (or might not) have a south facing beach. We rounded lots of points with rough jagged volcanic rock and despaired of finding anything to land on. But then we suddenly rounded the last ragged corner and there was a curve of sandy beach and the words “La Calavera” spelled out in white rocks on the hill. It didn’t look like there was much room above the high tide line but we landed for a break anyway. Then we discovered that the sand actually extended very far from the shore and definitely had lots of space to camp! We settled in for the night.
Two kids came down from the village to pester us as we unpacked. Charles Harris talked to their parents and learned that only one family lived here. They made a living collecting starfish off the rocks at low tide, drying them in the sun and selling them to the tourist market. They gave us a handful of free samples. Charles had found room in his boat to pack a bag of candy and dispensed some to the kids.
So far on this trip I had been happy because we had camped on rocky beaches every night. This was the first time I had to set my tent up on sand. Not only did it follow me into my tent, like rocks do not, but the air was damp and sand stuck to my tent fly and remained there for days.