Charles/Mary Owen wrote:
>
> Hi Dee---
>
> We had our single, most enjoyable shelling experience in Guaymas around
> Christmas and New Year in 1975/6.  We stayed in some condos that were
> just being built on San Francisco Bay Beach, just north of the city.  We
> had rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle in Tucson to allow us to reach the
> more obscure beaches.  Our reference was "Shelling in the Sea of Cortez"
> by Paul E. Violette in 1964 by Dale Stuart King, Tucson AZ.  This book
> goes into exquisite detail about the beaches in the area, explaining
> exactly what can be found, where, with maps.  I have since seen it
> since in used book stores and at sales.  In addition, San Carlos Bay
> nearby is a U.S. retirement community (at that time, mostly mobile
> homes), which is written up in many Mexican retirement and travel books.
>
> We have hesitated to return, expecting that we would be disappointed at
> what we would find.  However, in the late 1980's and early 1990's, I read
> some articles in what I think was the Houston Shell Club newsletter about
> trips to the area that sounded pretty good.  Then, last year, Henry
> Chaney of the Santa Barbara Museum gave a presentation about dredging in
> the Pacific that included the region around Guaymas.  Since he had spent
> quite a bit of time there, we asked him about development and how he
> thought the shelling would be.  He was pretty encouraging.
>
> The restaurants were all good, especially with shrimp dishes, which were
> many and varied.  We also cooked in our condo; shopping was fun and we
> even dug clams for dinner, an activity in which we had no experience but
> lots of success.
>
> If you send me your address privately, I can send you at least one
> article on this trip that we wrote for our shell club newsletter, telling
> what we found and where.  I think we have written two articles, but I may
> not have copies of the second one.  I can also copy some of the maps from
> the book; they were all hand drawn.
>
> I am replying to the whole list instead of just you because I have become
> frustrated lately at not seeing replies to questions similar to yours.
> I'm usually interested in finding out about good places to go, and when
> no replies appear, I don't know whether there were no answers or just
> ones that I don't know about.  I'm just trying to start a trend.
>
> I know you'll have fun,
>
> Mary
>
> Charles and Mary Owen------------------------------------------
> 3021 S. Michigan, Apt. 508
> Chicago IL 60616
> (312) 225-4261
Interesting reply from you.  We also were at San Carlos Bay in a rented
cottage in 1976 and almost every Christmas/New Year for 5-6 years before
that.
We have never returned..like you we were afraid to.  We used to trade
shells with Mary Ricaud who owned a shell show in Guaymas.  We also use
to buy shrimp by the pound and corn tortillas by the pound...we really
loved it there and had some great memories.
There was an estuary we used to tramp through in mud up to your knees
and find some very interesting shells including Pink Murex, Radix Murex,
etc.
After we learned to SCUBA ... we took our 23 foot boat down there and
stayed in the harbor.
Were you living in Chicago when you went down there in '75 and '76?
 
--
Jim & Bobbi Cordy
Specializing in Self-Collected
Caribbean & Florida Shells