~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Santa Rosalia 2
Oops, no silver, but lots of other minerals in the local mine. Here's a link to Wikipedia which gives a synopsis of the history of the town and the many attempts at mining.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Santa Rosalia
Even more vibrant than when we were here last year! The re-opening of the copper and silver mines has enabled this small Baja town to prosper. Stores everywhere -- clothing, gifts, shoes, stationery, pharmacies, two banks, and, of course, the old French (in name only) bakery is still going strong. The grocery is well stocked, except for much of the type of produce that we prefer, but nonetheless, it has all the items found in a Mexican kitchen.
We had lunch out at one of our favorite restaurants with John and Sharon from Warren Peace and Bill and Vickie from Matowi. Walking back to the boat in the marina we encountered a group of 3 fishermen, all of whom caught the day's limit of yellowtail. They were huge. One of the guys, from San Diego, said, go get a bag and I'll give you some fish -- up to the boat to get a ziploc and when I got back he filleted and portioned out a full half of one of those fish. The six of us will have a great fish BBQ tomorrow night. Would have done so tonight except that Sharon had already prepared chicken kabobs for everyone tonight.
The plan is to stay here until Monday, maybe Tuesday and then head down into Bahia Conception for a few weeks.
~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Hola, Adios Caleta San Juanico
We indeed journeyed up to Caleta San Juanico and spent several days and nights there. We took a few walks, visited with several cruisers, all in all a good visit -- we look forward to our return when we head back south.
We are just approaching the tip of Punta Conception where we'll spend the afternoon and evening with friends from Warren Peace and Matowi. We'll then head north to Santa Rosalia -- our refrigerator is not very happy -- lost too much weight and needs provisions!
More later -- we've taken a few photos that will have to wait until we have lots of bandwidth.
~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Another week at Isla Coronados
Repairs, weather, shopping, and then a wind storm of significant proportion delayed our departure to continue our trek north. The best part about being here is that we sail or motor over to Loreto, shop, get to walk quite a bit, which is good for all four of our legs! Yesterday we clocked 3.68 miles on our shopping trip. We also discovered a fabulous coffee shop that serves the BEST espresso with chocolate! And they make wonderful dark chocolate muffins, etc. Yum! When we're in Loreto we like visiting with John and Patricia (Trick) and often go out to lunch with them.
The plan is to head north this morning, aiming for Caleta San Juanico. We've anchored there several times before and look forward to our return.
~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Carmen, etc.
After we left Bahia Salinas on the east side of Isla Carmen, we rounded the northern tip of the island, stopped at Vee cove for lunch and then ducked into Isla Coronados for the night. Next day we returned to Loreto for more provisions, then sailed to Puerto Ballandra, also on Isla Carmen for a few nights. From there we sailed to Puerto Escondido, completing our circumnavigation of Isla Carmen. At Puerto Escondido we filled up with diesel before heading a few miles south to Bahia Candeleros to spend a quiet night at anchor in front of a beautiful resort. We were waiting for a part to arrive that was being trucked down from San Diego. It arrived this morning in Puerto Escondido so we motor sailed back to PE to pick it up -- and returned once again to Isla Coronados. Our plan is to stay here for a few days, installing the new part (a repair for a broken one), finishing up our taxes, taking a hike, and then on Saturday heading back to Loreto for fresh produce before heading north.
We're very excited that our granddaughter, Amber, will fly down after her finals in May to join us for the last leg of our journey this season. She'll also drive home with us and see the beautiful sites on Baja California.
~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Thursday, March 6, 2014
One Day Wind Event -- and then some
As last reported, we headed over to the Southeast side of Isla Carmen in anticipation of what was reputed to be a one day wind event, winds in excess of 20 kts. As it turned out, while traveling south to get to a sheltered anchorage, we sailed in 20-22 kt winds (a day earlier than the predicted event). However the winds still haven't completely subsided. What is typical, we have either no winds or light winds in the mornings and then afternoon winds 12-15 kts, gusting 10-15. All is well -- they keep us cool in the heat of the afternoon when temps get into the high 80s.
Our first "refuge" was Punta Colorada on Isla Carmen, a very quiet anchorage with a small but rocky beach. The hillside cliffs are red and remarkable in the early morning light. After a few days we traveled further north on the east side of the island and came to Bahia Salinas, a wide bay open to the south. Even though south winds were predicted, they were expected to be less than 10 kts, so no worries. Turns out that the afternoon winds are the typical north-northwest variety, 10-15 kts.
This morning we dinghied to shore to walk the long expanse of sandy beach to the remains of a town. In years past, this area was a significant salt mine. Sometime recently a company built what seems to be a lodge (reputedly for hunters). The few rooms and the main room are vacant. There are a few people living here with trucks and well equipped pangas. Very trim cactus gardens are planted in what look like carts used to haul salt. The surroundings are gorgeous the colors in the mountains plus the cacti in the culverts coupled with the sandy beach and clear blue sky -- can't even begin to capture it all in a photograph.
Marlene and Roy
sent from the boat email
Our first "refuge" was Punta Colorada on Isla Carmen, a very quiet anchorage with a small but rocky beach. The hillside cliffs are red and remarkable in the early morning light. After a few days we traveled further north on the east side of the island and came to Bahia Salinas, a wide bay open to the south. Even though south winds were predicted, they were expected to be less than 10 kts, so no worries. Turns out that the afternoon winds are the typical north-northwest variety, 10-15 kts.
This morning we dinghied to shore to walk the long expanse of sandy beach to the remains of a town. In years past, this area was a significant salt mine. Sometime recently a company built what seems to be a lodge (reputedly for hunters). The few rooms and the main room are vacant. There are a few people living here with trucks and well equipped pangas. Very trim cactus gardens are planted in what look like carts used to haul salt. The surroundings are gorgeous the colors in the mountains plus the cacti in the culverts coupled with the sandy beach and clear blue sky -- can't even begin to capture it all in a photograph.
Marlene and Roy
sent from the boat email
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Islas Coronados, Islas Coronados, Islas Coronados
Wow, it's been quite a while since your last post. From Timbabiche we motor sailed up to Agua Verde, one of our favorites. We met up with Janice and Jay (Ceilidh -- pronounced Kay Lee), who we haven't seen in several years -- back in our Jellybean days. We walked around town with them, picked up a few things at a small tienda, and also bought a yellowtail fish that a panguero held up to show off his catch upon returning to Agua Verde. The next day I made bagels and Jay and Janice came over for lunch -- quite a hit out here in the middle of nowhere! We bought some of the goat cheese produced by the locals, and after a few days, continued north. We came to Islas Coronados and since our arrival, we've been in and out of the anchorage several times. First to have a day provisioning. Our friends, John and Patricia, who now own a home in Loreto (one hour away from Islas Coronados) brought their car down so we could pick up lots of groceries and not have to carry them. We went out to lunch that day as well, and then returned to Islas Coronados. A few days later we picked them up at the dinghy dock (after taking a nice walk in town) and brought them out to Damiana for a fish dinner and an overnight. This morning Roy made banana pancakes, we returned to Loreto, went to a bakery new to us but highly recommended by Patricia, went out to lunch with John and Patricia at a restaurant new to all four of us (a winner!), then said hasta luego (see you later), and before heading to the dinghy went to the supermarket for fresh broccoli -- and once again brought Damiana back to Islas Coronados!
Winds are building, so we'll head for a protected anchorage tomorrow.
~~~ Marlene and Roy ~~_/) ~~
track our route:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)