Two days in Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen was just not enough time to fully enjoy this former salt mine. At one time I’d call it a town but its current state of decay moves it down to simply a hunting lodge – however the small church is still immaculate.
We had heard that it was best to ask permission before looking around so after coming to shore we walked over to the hunting lodge. There was a couple enjoying happy hour who invited us to sit down. Turns out they were here on a hunting vacation and after five long hard days of hiking and stalking, today was a successful big horn sheep hunt. No specific costs offered but evidently a one week hunt is well into the five figures (USD) with a trophy sized sheep fetching closer to six figures. I guess that would explain the ten or so staff working here and the gorgeous lodge. We ended up talking until dark so the exploring would need to be saved for another day, but we had success in getting permission from the manager to look around.
Seemed strange to see a beach chair and umbrella, but after meeting the couple visiting it made more sense
Small, but well kept church
Loading bin for the salt
Workbench and dilapidated building
Salt mining was very equipment demanding
Forklift turned cactus planter
Teller Mecanico – Mechanical Workshop
This poor guy was unable to change with the times
Former pier
I was unable to figure out how a trommel fit into salt production, maybe to break up the large blocks
In its day, it was fully electrified
Not sure where I was supposed to follow (siga), so I ignored this sign
A bacteria causes the water to turn red
It looked just like frozen ice around a lake
This baby tree was still growing
I doubt we will see this guy restored
Amazing what the power of time, salt, and weather can do
The glow of the sunset on the hills was breathtaking
In the bay there is a 65 foot shrimp boat that sunk many years ago. We took the dinghy out to the buoy marking its location and jumped in the water. The reward was lots of fish and some cool swimming through sections of the hull. Definitely the right way to spend some time exploring the underwater world.
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