Isla Coronados 2013

5/21/2013

The next morning it was still just as bumpy and we decided to pull anchor and head to Isla Coronados.  Not only is it a beautiful deserted island, but we can get internet there from the cell tower in Loreto!  The water was glassy calm and crystal clear.  As we rounded Punta Lobos at the north end of Isla Carmen, the local fishing fleet had found a school of yellow tail, and the dolphin were out in force.  Despite all the fish everywhere, all we caught was a big needlefish!

Punta Lobos

The panga fishing fleet

Some dolphin friends

They love our bowsprit

The water was very clear

Soon we were anchored in Isla Coronados with Puffin next to us.  This time only 5 other boats in the anchorage.  We had another music night on Puffin this time.  The band was in much better form this time (cocktails not as strong?) and we all had a lot of fun.  The next morning, we went fishing and Cathy caught a keeper for dinner.  This time it was a grunt, which is a tasty white fish sort of like a small bass.  We also caught a lot of trigger fish or turbot, but we have been throwing them back because they are so hard to kill and even harder to clean.  They are very tasty, but have skin as thick as leather.  We will have to keep a couple in the future and figure out a good way to skin them.

Throw another fish on the barbie

The other night we were treated to a great sky show.  The planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury were all very bright and in a small triangle just after sunset.  Right after that, a giant orange full moon rose up in the east.  The nightly sky shows around here are always amazing.

The three planets in a triangle.  Next time is 2026.

The one problem with this anchorage is that the boat is covered in bees every morning.  The bees are after the dew on the deck and we have had anywhere from 200 to 500 honey bees covering the deck each day.  They pretty much leave you alone when they are swarming around, but it is a little unnerving.  As soon as the boat dries off about 9 am, they are gone for the day.  They do return at sunset in smaller numbers, but they leave right away if you have no fresh water laying around outside.  Before we could go kayaking today we had to chase dozens of bees out of the kayaks.  They got inside and could not find a way out!

Cathy trying out her new pool toy

Tomorrow 5/29/2013 we plan to head to Puerto Escondido to get some more food.  Tonight, a 235 foot mega yacht, Kogo, #58 largest in the world, anchored in our little bay here.  It was accompanied by a space age looking prototype 100'  powerboat that looked like a military stealth boat.  The owner of Kogo owns a formula one racing franchise, and apparently has some extra time for boats.

Cruise ship or private yacht?  Both.

We see the same sunsets for less than the price of their dinghy!

Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen

5/19/2013

We arrived at Bahia Salinas in the afternoon.  We were the only two boats there until a little while later another boat arrived.  We soon found out why.  It was a bit bumpy and rolly all night long with a small south swell coming right into the anchorage.  In the morning, things were a little calmer and we decided to take a shore trip to explore the old salt operation that has been abandon for years.  There is currently a bighorn sheep hunting operation using the island that reportedly charges close to $100,000 for a trophy hunt.  They do not like visitors, but today the operation was vacant so we had a look around.  There are the remains of the old company town as well as the vast salt flats behind the town.

The old salt ponds in the distance

Bella Brisa at anchor

The old church is still used by fishermen

Alice, Cathy, and Jack

The sheep hunting operation and remains of the town

 We decided to stay another night here before moving to someplace with more south wind protection.  We would probably head for Isla Coronados in the morning.  Jack and Alice came over to our boat for a music session.  We were not the best sounding group that night, but we did have a lot of fun.  Puffin later pulled their anchor and went around the corner of the island looking for calmer water for the night.  We were tired and stayed put.

Loreto

5/18/2013

Yesterday, Rich went to the marina office and asked them to call a rental car company and make a reservation for today at 10 am.  Surprisingly, the car showed up exactly on time.  We were even charged fairly close to what she told me on the phone.  Often in Mexico you are quoted a very low price, but when it comes time to pay, the price is somehow higher.  Anyway, since we were splitting the cost with Jack and Alice, it was not enough to make a stink about.  After a warning about the local police, we were on our way to Loreto.  Our mission was to hit four grocery stores, one liquor store, two banks, the Telcel office, the fishing tackle store, a hardware store, a gift shop or two, the Old Mission, and have lunch in there somewhere.  We had to do all this and get back before the 4 pm potluck at the yacht club.

The first mission in California. 

Loreto has the first mission built in the California mission chain from Loreto to Sonoma.  The mission was built in 1697.  We have been here before, but it's always nice to see it again.

Lunch at Cafe Ole.  Jack has a drinking problem...

Cafe Ole is a great place for lunch.  You order at a counter with a large sign board above it with all the choices.  The large plates of food on the table were only about 60 pesos each.  The food was really good, and we know why this has been a popular restaurant for many years.

The next day we still had the car until noon.  Since the fuel dock at the marina was still out of fuel, we took the car back to town at 7:30 in the morning loaded with 8 empty fuel jugs.  They actually all fit in the trunk of this little car, amazing.  After waiting for the marina office to open so we could drop off the keys, we were on our way to Isla Carmen and Bahia Salinas with Puffin sailing nearby.

Puffin with Isla Carmen in the background

San Juanico to Puerto Escondido

5/13/2013 to 5/16/2013

We left San Juanico and headed south to Isla Coronados where we stopped for a couple of nights on our way back to Puerto Escondido to get some more supplies.  This time however, there were 22 boats in the anchorage!  Usually there are anywhere from 3 to 10 boats here.   We squeezed into a nice anchoring spot.  Shortly after we arrived, our friends on Vamanos anchored nearby.  Well at least one of them was on board.

Much closer than we like

That evening there was a beach potluck for cocktails and snacks on the island.  So we caught a ride to the beach with our friend Hans on Vamanos.  We spent some fun times with Hans and Denise in La Cruz this past winter, so it was nice to see him again.  Denise had to fly home to take care of business and Hans was on his own for a couple of months.

On 5/16/2013 we made the nice calm trip to Puerto Escondido.  Along the way we saw a whale and a giant herd of dolphin, probably 200 or so, that were feeding on a school of fish.  A couple came by to say hi, but they had business to attend to.

Zoom in to see hundreds of dolphin!

This guy took time out from lunch to come say hi.

We had made plans to meet up with Jack and Alice on Puffin to share a rental car into Loreto for a massive shopping spree.  We had a nice day of doing laundry when we first arrived.

Anchored back in Puerto Escondido

Bahia San Juanico 2013

5/9/2013

Last night was a little bit bumpy in Isla Coronados, so we were happy to be underway to San Juanico.  The wind was perfect for sailing, and we actually sailed the entire three hour trip, something that is rare for us.  There were quite a few boats in the anchorage when we arrived, but no one was in our favorite spot.  We dropped the anchor and had a beer with lunch.  

There  are several islands within the bay.

We were immediately invited to a beach party that night.  The party was a lot of fun and was complete with bonfire for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. 

We spent a little time at the cruiser’s shrine, trying to find our offering from last year.  It was not to be found.  Just in case, we brought along the Sharpie so we could make a new on if we had to.

Our latest contribution to the shrine

Our last night here, there was another beach party, but we had already invited our friends on Rebecca and Kanga over for cocktails.  It’s always a lot of fun trading stories with friends over a few drinks.  In fact, it’s one of the best things about cruising.  You meet people from all different backgrounds and former lines of work, from all over the country, and the world, and you get to sit and actually have wonderful conversations.  Better still, we get to do it every day!

There are osprey nests on top of each spire.

Dinner is served

End to another great day

Isla Coronados 2013

5/6/2013

We were happy to finally get out of Puerto Escondido and get out to the islands.  Our first stop was one of our favorite spots at Isla Coronados.  We met up with our friends on Seychelles who were heading up north to cross the Sea of Cortez and put their boat on the hard for the season.  They are headed back to Alaska for the summer.  We had a nice beach potluck with Seychelles, Kanga, and Endeavor. 

After a couple of days of kayaking and fishing, we decided to make the 3 hour trip to Bahia San Juanico.  This is a very pretty bay just to the north of us.

Hey look, we are actually sailing!

San Javier Mission

5/3/2013

During our stay in Puerto Escondido for Loreto Fest, we decided to take a side trip up to the mountains and visit the San Javier Mission.  We went with a guide named Judy that was very knowledgeable about the mission and the area.  She is from England, but has lived in Mexico for many years.  We went in a taxi van that was a friend of hers.  In one stop on the way to the mission, Judy wanted to show us a very old fig tree in this river gorge. 

The driver decided that he could make it in the van and we took off down into the gravel river bed.  Note that the van was NOT four wheel drive.  After getting stuck on the way in, we all had to get out of the van to get it off the ledge it was stuck on.  Once we saw the tree, we also had to get out of the van so he could get back out of the riverbed.  He barely made it! The road up there was also a bit exciting because in many places it had fallen off the hillside due to the hurricane last summer.  We did make it up and back, but we would not recommend this trip in the rainy season.

This was the second mission built in the chain of missions that runs from Loreto in Mexico up to the Sonoma Mission in northern California.  The mission was founded in 1699 and completed in about  1750, and has remained unchanged.  In fact, it is the only mission that has been completely untouched since construction.  It was built by Miguel del Barco, a boat builder.

All the artwork was either brought from Spain or commissioned in Mexico City.  Due to the climate, the buildings have remained in very good condition.  The crop fields that surround the mission are still farmed by the local people.  There was an olive grove that had a tree that was originally planted by the original padres in 1697.

The trunk of the tree is about 12 feet wide, and it still bears olives!  We had a nice lunch at the restaurant across from the mission.  The lunch was machaca burritos, and cheese quesadillas made with local cheese.  Machaca is a kind of dried shredded beef, like beef jerky, that is soaked in broth or sauce to reconstitute it.  The lunch was great, and of course, cheap.

The cobblestone street leading up to the mission.

Loreto Fest 2013

5/5/2013

Well, we survived Loreto Fest.  We not only helped with the spaghetti feed, but Rich signed up to be the chairman of the bocce tournament.  Our first task was to build our little bocce stadium on the small beach next to the yacht club.

 It turned out pretty well and it seemed everyone liked the relaxed format and rules that Rich created.  There were 16 teams of two that competed over the three day event, and it was nice to be down by the water where the sea breeze kept everything cooler. 

Intense bocce action

Rich giving out the bocce awards

One evening we were treated to a performance by the local dance school

Loreto Fest was a lot of fun this year.  We ate a lot of hot dogs, drank a lot of beer, and connected with friends that we hadn’t seen for almost a year.  We continued to get together for music night with Tortuga and Puffin, where we learned a lot of new songs from Rich and Marilyn on Tortuga.

Marilyn on the washboard wondering why these guys can't keep a beat

Rick giving us all music lessons on Tortuga

Marilyn was in the orchestra pit playing fiddle.  There were three guitars, a mandolin, and a ukulele in the cockpit

One of four dinghy docks during the fest