Calenta San Juanico to Loreto, Dec. 14
It was time to say good-bye to beautiful Calenta San Juanico, Inklin, Second Safari and Kiora as well as the folks we had met on the beaches. We had a short, 1-day window to make it south to Loreto and decided we should take advantage of it. We needed ice and water and it was a good time to replenish our fresh food supplies.
Loreto is a medium size town on the coast of Baja that used to be the state capitol. It is a huge sports fishing center and lots of Americans and Canadians have second homes to spend the winter here. They don’t really have a port or protected anchorage, but they do have a breakwater enclosure for the Mexican fishing boats, Pangas, and one or two small pleasure boats. We were counting on being one of those for the day, and then sail over to Puerto Ballandra for the night.
Chris woke at 4:00 am and went out to check on the anchors. Venus was high and brilliant and beautiful in the sky, it’s reflection bright in the water. And it wasn't a mas head light this time. Gazing at the stars for a little while, he saw some shooting stars…the last of the Geminids shower.
We left early, waving good-bye to friends. Inklin and Kiora would be leaving as well, shortly after us, but they were going further south to Puerto Escondido where there were several marinas. The winds and waves were minor to begin with, they rose through the morning and we quickly had quartering seas off the port stern making for a rolling trip. We were delighted to see a seal as we made our way south; our first on the Baja side of the sea. We stayed close to shore and watched as Inklin and Kiora sailed south farther out to sea. We made it into port just as the winds and seas were whipping up higher than predicted. Luckily there was a slip available. It is fairly expensive, round $24 for the night.
Chris woke at 4:00 am and went out to check on the anchors. Venus was high and brilliant and beautiful in the sky, it’s reflection bright in the water. And it wasn't a mas head light this time. Gazing at the stars for a little while, he saw some shooting stars…the last of the Geminids shower.
We left early, waving good-bye to friends. Inklin and Kiora would be leaving as well, shortly after us, but they were going further south to Puerto Escondido where there were several marinas. The winds and waves were minor to begin with, they rose through the morning and we quickly had quartering seas off the port stern making for a rolling trip. We were delighted to see a seal as we made our way south; our first on the Baja side of the sea. We stayed close to shore and watched as Inklin and Kiora sailed south farther out to sea. We made it into port just as the winds and seas were whipping up higher than predicted. Luckily there was a slip available. It is fairly expensive, round $24 for the night.
Where is a camera when you need it? Entering the port there is a statue of a seal with its head in the air. Perched on its nose was a seagull. I took a picture with the cell phone, but it didn’t show up well.
Chris went and paid for the slip and got some ice to start cooling off the ice box. When he asked how long we were staying, the Port Captain pointed out the small craft advisory flag and Chris decided to be cautious and stay the night. We went ashore for a meal and grocery shopping…all on foot. Loreto is a beautiful town for walking. They have an entire street in the middle of town limited to walkers and much of this street is covered by Fichus tree arches. Trees planted on each side have been trained to meet in the middle as an arch. It’s lovely. However pretty, it’s been a long time since we’ve had to lug groceries a couple of miles to “home.”
One of the disadvantages of being tied up in such a public place is that when we wanted to go ashore, we were sidetracked and watched a group of fisherman trying to untangle their nets on our narrow dock to get them ready for loading in the panga. When we were just about ready to leave, a young high school student came up and started asking Chris questions. Chris talked with him, answering his questions. Chris thought he just wanted to practice his English. Oddly enough we ran into him again at a store a week or so later.
One of the disadvantages of being tied up in such a public place is that when we wanted to go ashore, we were sidetracked and watched a group of fisherman trying to untangle their nets on our narrow dock to get them ready for loading in the panga. When we were just about ready to leave, a young high school student came up and started asking Chris questions. Chris talked with him, answering his questions. Chris thought he just wanted to practice his English. Oddly enough we ran into him again at a store a week or so later.
The evening meal was a total embarrassment. We took a walk along the Malecón, and not paying attention, went farther than we needed to go. We had read that La Palapa had the best margaritas in town, so we planned to have a drink and some guacamole for dinner. Retracing our steps we found the restaurant and it was just as it sounded. A big circular palapa with tables and chairs. The kitchen was open to the space so you could watch and enjoy the smell the food being prepared. Reading the menu, I saw a small note saying that credit cards weren’t accepted and confirmed it with the waiter. Now we had plenty of pesos stashed on the boat, but not enough with us to pay for drinks, and oh by the way, guacamole was not on the menu. Chris found out that there was an ATM machine close by, so he went to get cash, while I sat there feeling a little self-conscience. Needless to say, he couldn’t get any cash from the machine, so we were forced to eat the cheapest thing on the menu. I’d love to return and try out that margarita sometime. It was a lovely restaurant and the food looked good.