Puerto Escondido – April 27 – May 5, 2011

We found our way through the tiny shallow opening into the Puerto Escondido mooring field. We were assigned ball 24, in the far northwest corner. There weren’t too many boats out here yet, but all of the 110 balls were reserved for Loreto Fest (a big 3 day party in Puerto Escondido).





Whale Shark in the cove

After we were secure on the ball, we took the dinghy over into the cove next to our boat and saw a 12 to 16 foot whale shark. It stayed about a foot below the surface, but it’s tail came up every once in a while. It slowly swam around the cove and we followed in the dinghy for about 20 minutes.

Whale Shark just below the surface

Later we headed over to Firefly to get Brenda and Ted, it was Brenda’s birthday and we were going into the Porto Bella, the restaurant at the marina. When she walked in the whole restaurant starting singing happy birthday. While we were eating, the owner, Pedro, sang to her in English and Spanish. He has a great voice. I think she enjoyed her day.

Brenda's Birthday

The next day we went into the marina and hitched a ride to the store about a mile away to pick up a few supplies. That evening we went to the dinghy raft up in Cocktail Cove. A lot of boaters showed up with great food. When we were leaving we saw a manta ray swimming near Firefly, but didn’t get a picture of it.

Dinghies at the Dock

Friday was the start of Loreto Fest. We signed up for Bocce Ball and Dominos. We did better in Bocce Ball than when we played in La Paz. We won the first 4 games and made it to day 2, then lost 2 in a row, so we were out. We will keep practicing. The Dominos was not a tournament, so we didn’t play. Rick played horseshoes and I Tie Dyed a tank top. We watched the blindfolded dinghy races. They were using their engines, so this was exciting!

Bocce Ball

Saturday afternoon we rented a car and drove into Loreto. We had lunch at a street side taco stand, checked out the dive shops and stores.

Streetside Taco's

Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto

We went to the first mission built by Jesuit padre Salvatierra in 1697. This is the first of the missions in Baja and north into California.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We ended up at the Hotel Posada de las Flores for cocktails and appetizers.

That night a Northerner came in and blew up to 33 knots. Boats were breaking free from their  anchoring and mooring balls. Ours held, but we worried about coming lose and other boats running into us, so we didn’t get any sleep. The winds blew for 2 days and 2 more nights. That was the end of Loreto Fest because no one wanted to leave their boat.

Monday night, Ted and Brenda came over and we made pizza. We broke in the new pizza stone and it worked great. Perfect pizza.

Tuesday we spent the day shopping and provisioning in Loreto. We met up with Steve and Nona from Corvida for lunch at McLulu’s. More great street tacos. Our car was so full of groceries, we had cases of beer under our feet.

Wednesday, we took a trip with Wild Loreto up to the San Javier Mission. We rode in the back of this army style truck through the arroyo up into the mountains. The Mission is at the top of the Sierra de la Gigantas Range.

On the way to the mission, we stopped at a ranch and had a tour of the way families live in these mountains. We also made our own tortillas for a snack.

We finally made it to the Mission. This is the second Mission built by the Jesuits. It was established in 1699 and built in 1744 to 1758.

After returning from the Mission, we brought the boat into the dock so we could wash it before taking off for the islands. Next stop, somewhere on Isla Carmen.