First of all, don’t get the idea that Cathryn and I are sailors or had any intention of sailing any type of boat anywhere. What we chose to do, instead, was spend two nights at an Airbnb, so to speak, on a tethered 28′ sailboat in Bahia Concepcion in the Sea of Cortez, off the peninsula’s east coast.

Having watched a travel video of another couple who spent time on the floating Airbnb, we thought it sounded like a cool idea that we had to try. As in past winters, we’d spent time in Melaque, Mexico. But on this trip we decided to cross the Sea of Cortez and see Baja California on the drive home.

After spending time on land in La Paz and Loreto, we headed towards Mulege and our host’s beachfront shack on Playa El Burro in the Bay of Conception. It’s the home of ‘Delirio’, our Waterbnb. Silvia, our host, was standing out front and waved us into our personal parking spot beside her beach house, not 30′ from the sea. 

Our floating hotel could be seen about 500 yards offshore but we were first introduced to our ‘Uber’, the small rubber dingy that would be our transportation to and from the boat. Our host detailed the whole nautical experience to us and made quick work of explaining how I would be driving our own Uber.

Thinking ahead how to pack for this unique experience, Cathryn and I loaded our one bag of clothes and our cooler into our water shuttle. With my vast experience in operating a small vessel and outboard motor, I fired up Uber with only three yanks on the pull cord. Delirio beckoned to us but wind and choppy water made the half kilometer trek seem like five miles.

I failed my first attempt at docking portside along our bouncing hotel and had to loop around for a second attempt. Having probably done so a hundred times before with other land-lover guests, Silvia casually laughed and told me to have at it again. With my limited lower body flexibility, climbing aboard a moving target from a moving dingy proved to be another challenge.

My nimble and flexible wife hopped on like Gilligan boarding the S.S. Minnow. Once on board, Silvia gave us the grand tour of our accommodations. We nodded along, pretending to understand but knowing we’d forget half of what was said right after she left. I laughed out loud when our host pointed out the head and showed us how to use it. I knew my next challenge would be figuring out how to fit into the tiny room.

Getting off the boat proved easier than boarding. We had to take Silvia back to shore and then return on our own. Experiencing the rough sea once again, we decided to stay on land wait for smoother sailing, giving us a chance to explore our beach and El Burro bay. It’s about a one kilometer stretch of sand and pebbles, lined with a variety of beach shacks.

Calmer water and my excellent seamanship made it a piece of cake returning to the Delirio. She was still weaving and bobbing a bit so we decided some Gravol was in order, just to be safe. My first trip to the head was a life-changing experience. Just pee overboard, you might say. Have you ever tried that with your manhood in one hand and holding a rail with the other to avoid falling overboard?

It was a good thing Cathryn didn’t have to go, she nearly pissed herself laughing at me trying to wedge my 6′-1″, 240 pound body into a bathroom about the size of a microwave oven. I managed to get in but couldn’t stand up straight. Then I remembered the hatch above – Silvia said she could tell when men were peeing because she could see their heads sticking above deck. Whatever works. Nice view.

Having had such a rough day so far we decided to lay back and relax on deck, gently bobbing up and down with the waves, admiring the difference in shades of blue between the sky and sea, and laughing at the pelicans crashing into the water for their next meal. Truly enjoying the serenity surrounding us, along with the gentle breeze and warmth of the Baja sun, we both dozed off.

Waking up hungry, Cathryn and I weighed our options. Looking at the still rough water and our bouncing uber, the decision was easy. We dug into our food supply and made fried egg sandwiches. Watching the sun set and day become night was surreal. There was a slight chill in the air but we stayed on deck and wrapped ourselves in Silvia’s wool blankets.

A Stingray cruised by portside, nearly sideswiping Uber. Stars appeared one by one, like kernels of popcorn in a hot pan. Cathryn broke the silence asking, “What the hell is that?” I laughed. An orange beacon appeared over the mountains across the bay. It was the moon and I told her so. “No”, she said, “It doesn’t look like that at home – it should be way up there…and white.”

I laughed again. The moon was full, fully recovered from the previous night’s lunar eclipse. It continued it’s journey into the night sky, stealing the show from the constellations above by lighting a path across the water, pointing directly at the Delirio. I yawned from the lack of excitement. Enough nature for one day. We retired below deck .

Shortly thereafter, Cathryn returned to the deck and gasped. “We have a visitor.” I didn’t hear Sylvia announce her arrival so I poked my head out to see who was there. I think it was a Great Blue Heron. He just sat there on Uber, perhaps weary of flying in search of food all day and hoping for a lift home. Our eyes met but he didn’t budge, we were on his turf and he seemed okay with it.

Cathryn got up to see the morning sunrise but I heard her cursing at the toilet because it was keeping her occupied. It was filling with water and not flushing. I should have figured something was wrong when I last used it and the lower part of my equipment got wet when I sat – yes, it was easier to sit and pee. I offered to help but Cathryn was determined to do it on her own. She failed and called Sylvia on the radio.

Her instructions didn’t help so I got out of bed to see if I could save Sylvia a trip out. It seems we were pumping wrong and once I set the levers right, all was well. “That’s a boy’s job.” Cathryn said.

Outside, the water was like a giant glass mirror, reflecting the morning sky, mountains surrounding us, and even the birds that flew by. The silence was deafening. Cathryn whipped us up a gourmet breakfast and we took in the nature channel on deck. I eyed the plastic bucket nearby. Yep, that is where I’d be peeing from now on.

Following Sylvia’s earlier advice, we climbed into Uber and took it for a spin around the bay, hoping to see the dolphins who pass by daily. We had no luck with Flipper and friends but saw plenty of Cormorants, Seagulls, Pelicans, and some other birds whose squawking sounded like they were laughing at the humans in the silly little rubber boat.

Later, back on land, we had lunch at one of those roadside taco huts that should never be judged by its appearance. The chicken quesadilla was amazing. We drove around and visited the area beaches, marvelling at the white sand, blue water, and tranquility each bay offered. None were crowded with people but most provided cool seashells for Cathryn’s private collection.

Arriving back at El Burro, Sylvia’s neighbour, Bruce, presented us with a bag of fresh bay scallops that we pre-ordered from a local fisherman. On the way back to our boat Uber ran out of gas. She should have bought electric. We had to paddle back in, where Bruce came to our rescue and topped up our tank with gas.

The sea had gotten rough again. A wave pushed Uber into me and I went for a spill – fully clothed with my camera equipment securely tucked into my non-waterproof fanny pack. Yes, I had a waterproof one available but my newfound Uber driver expertise made me think it wasn’t necessary. Idiot.

Some things dried out and others didn’t. Such is life. My personal chef whipped us up those sweet little bay scallops in pasta with a red pesto sauce for dinner. I’m still not sure if either camera will ever work again but both cards were salvaged and I hope you enjoy the images of our adventure as much as we did experiencing it.

We cannot say enough about Sylvia – the most gracious hotel or airbnb host we’ve ever met. She’s a firecracker. Her beach house is also available to rent if you contact her directly through instagram.

Sylvia’s Beach House: delirio_the_sailboat

Sailboat Airbnb: https://www.instagram.com/delirio_the_sailboat/