February 16, 2014  Santa Rosalia

Note: Although this blog is "ours", and we have both contributed ideas and photos, until now Trish has been the author.  This entry is by Jim.

After we left Bahia Conception, we had 50 miles to go to get to our destination of the town of Santa Rosalia.  We left early in the morning, or what has become early for us these days, at 10:00 a.m.  The weather forecast was for no wind in the morning, with a light north-easterly developing in the afternoon.   As is often the case, there was more wind than predicted, and by noon we found ourselves motoring into short, steep 3 or 4 foot waves being driven by a 15 knot northerly.  We regretted not leaving at dawn, but it was still a comfortable ride and we passed the time reading, as the autopilot took us north.  We ran outside Isla San Marcos until we were able to bear away to the west, put up some sail and shut the engine off.  We got to the marina around 5:30, just as the wind died down, and tied up for the night.  We were the only boat in the marina, which has slips for about 30 boats.  We had spoken with the marina office staff by phone on the way in, and they waited at the office for us so we could complete our "check-in" with the marina and the Capitania de Puerto.

View from our boat at the dock

 

Fishing Pangas at the marina

The next morning, we noticed another boat tied up a couple of slips away and it turned out to be a Bluewater Cruising Association boat; the same club we belong to.  We had met the owners of "Good as Gold", Malcolm and Dina, at a club rendezvous about a year ago.

"Good as Gold" - Malcolm and Dina's boat

As Malcolm and Dina were catching up on some well-deserved rest after crossing the Sea of Cortez from Guaymas, we headed out on our own to explore town.

Santa Rosalia is a town of about three thousand people and was a copper mining town from the 1860's to 1986.  With the building of the Transpenninsula Highway, the Guaymas to Santa Rosalia ferry and canning and fish processing plants, the town remains active and vibrant.  There is virtually no tourism industry in town and at this time of year, almost no gringos.  Just the way we like it.  The architecture is quite different from any other place we've been to in Mexico so far.  Because of the French ownership of the mining company, there was a lot of European influence during the towns development.  Up until now, all buildings we had seen in Mexico had been some variation of adobe/brick/concrete/stucco construction.  In the deserts of the Baja Penninsula, trees are pretty rare so wood construction has never become part of the areas heritage.  Santa Rosalia is the exception, since the French mine owners, used to shipping copper ingots back to Europe by sailing ship, thought nothing of shipping materials from other parts of the world back to Mexico to build the town.  Almost all of the houses and commercial buildings are made of first growth Douglas Fir from British Columbia and Washington State.  There is even a pre-fabricated church, the Iglesia Santa Barbara, made of riveted cast iron panels, which was shipped from Belgium in 1897 and designed by Gustave Eiffel who designed Paris's Eiffel Tower. 

As well as the iron church, there were a few old riveted iron power poles here and there which pre-date the modern concrete ones, there being no wood power poles in this part of Mexico.

We also were surprised, well not really, to see a "drive through" bar.  After all, if you're only going to stop for one or two cervezas (beers), why bother getting out of the car!

After walking around town for 2 or 3 hours, we felt we had gained some sense of the lay of the land and headed back towards the marina.  On the way back we stopped for a late lunch at a pizza restaurant.  We had only eaten "gringo food" once before since arriving in Mexico and we were reminded of why by the lousy quality of our lunch.  Sorry Mexico, but while your local food is fantastic in our opinion (nothing finer than a couple of grilled fish tacos with all the toppings and an ice cold cerveza for a hearty 4 dollar lunch) your attempts at foreign cuisine, well..........We got back to the boat and spent the rest of the day reading, lounging and generally being sloths till bed time.

The next day, Sunday, we joined Malcolm and Dina for a long hike up into the mountains overlooking town.  We followed an old mining road and the remains of an old railroad track, which had been used to bring ore down to the smelter, until we found ourselves at the top of a peak, looking down on the town and out across the Sea of Cortez.

On the way up, we stopped by the Hotel Francis, a restored 1886 European style wood hotel.  It is beautifully situated on the Mesa Francia (a plateau) looking out across the sea and down on the old smelter plant.  As we were peeking in the windows, a very gracious older woman came out and asked us if we wanted to see inside.  Dina speaks fluent Spanish, so with her help we were able to learn about the beautiful hotels history and construction.

Hotel Francis

Interior of the hotel

Old mining train near the hotel

After our hike, we rested for a while then hosted Malcolm and Dina on our boat for happy hour before going out for dinner with them.  I'm happy to report that the "pollo asado" (Mexican style roast chicken) was excellent.  We were all stuffed and waddled down the street together towards the marina, still managing to find a bit of room for ice cream treats on the way, then back to our boats and off to bed.

Old mine entrances, now closed off.  Tiles inlaid
into the sidewalk to show where the train tracks were.

Monday around here means it's back to work time, since the weekend is over (not really), so we decided to catch up on some boat maintenance.  Keeping the salt off the boat, and consequently, the rust away from the stainless steel hardware is a constant challenge down here.  Because of the higher salinity of the sea water and the fact that we haven't seen more than twenty minutes of rain (read light drizzle) in the last 3 months, there is a tendency for the salt to eat away parts of the boat we would rather keep.  Being at a marina is the only time we can afford large quantities of fresh water to give Falcon VII a really thorough cleaning, so that is what we set out to do.  The two of us closed up all the port lights and hatches, got out our hoses, buckets, scrub brushes, rags and soap and went at it for a couple of hours until she sparkled as good as new.  The last time the boat had looked so good was when Jim and Carol had so generously offered to clean her as a " thank-you" at the end of their stay with us at the end of January.  After the cleaning, we went inside to complete a couple of smaller chores, then had a little siesta in the middle of the day which we followed up with fish tacos in town.  We left the taco stand and decided to walk to the northern edge of town to see how far it went.  Of course, town stretched farther than we had anticipated, and we were tired and dusty by the time we got back to the boat, had a quick supper and crashed for the night.  Along the way though, we met two young men from Idaho who were cycling an average of 180 kilometers a day, were almost broke, living on peanut butter and sleeping under bridges, and trying to make it back to the U.S. and jobs before they ran out of money all together.  We didn't feel quite so bad about our sore feet after listening to their story.

The following morning we got up really really early, I'm pretty sure it was before 9. We had decided the day before that during the light of the early morning would be a good time to photograph the old smelter plant.

 

The smelter had been shut down in 1986 and pretty much abandoned until 2008 when the B.C.S. (Provincial) government issued a grant to clean it up somewhat and make it into a sort of quasi heritage site.  It's nowhere near environmentally "clean" in the North American sense of the word, and certainly not anywhere close to being "safe" for visitors, but hey, this is Mexico right.  The buildings are a good example of mid Industrial Revolution architecture, cast iron columns and stairways and riveted iron framing.  We felt drawn to the buildings, somewhat due to both of our appreciation for unusual architecture and also just because the site, in it's state of semi-decay has a really sculptural feel to it.  You can judge for yourselves from the photos.

Restored exterior of the old power plant for the smelter

Wood "silo" for storing slag pellets and loading onto ships.

As we were walking around the site, deciding if we should risk climbing up onto some catwalks for different camera angles, and wondering if we would get caught, we noticed a car pull up and one of the occupants get out and unlock a door.  We hesitantly walked up to him and haltingly asked if it was "permissible par entrar". Surprisingly, he said "si" and led us inside where he proceeded to give us an impromptu tour.  It turned out that he and his friend were volunteers who checked on the security of the buildings from time to time.  We found the interior of the building interesting and had fun mangling our "Spanglish" as we tried to communicate with him.

After our photo session, we headed back into town for a tasty inexpensive breakfast and to visit the mining museum, located in the former mining company headquarters. It was small and quaint, but quite limited in what was on display.

Photo of one of the convict labourers in the mine, circa 1880's.

A happy, contented Trish

Next, we went to pick up some groceries where we spent a whopping 25 bucks on what would last us for 4 or 5 days if we were anchoring out and not in town eating in restaurants a lot like we are now.  One of the things we love about being in areas where there is no tourism, is that we get to shop where the locals shop and pay the same prices as they do.  We got back to the boat and spent much of the afternoon catching up on blog entries, organizing photographs and doing on-line research for our up-coming trip to Copper Canyon.  Malcolm and Dina came over for supper and the four of us sat around the table telling stories until almost 11 p.m. which is a late night by cruisers standards.

This is what $11 Canadian will buy you here.

The next couple of days were spent lazing around the boat, checking the weather on-line and making more trips into town.  On Friday morning, after waiting for the northerly wind to fill in, we followed Good as Gold out of the harbour, put up the spinnaker and started our journey southward, retracing our steps of a couple of weeks ago.  We stopped at Bahia Santa Ines for the night and spent Saturday morning walking the mile long white sand beach and collecting a few shells from the millions that were washed up above the high tide line of the beach.

We dinghied over to the point at the east end of the beach where we wandered around a large deserted hotel.  It was kind of erie; it looked as though the receivers had just made everyone who worked there get up and walk away about a year or two ago.  All of the equipment in the bar and restaurant was still there and there were computers and phones piled up on the floor of one of the offices.  Most of the curtains were closed on the rooms, but the outside artwork, all of the planters and tables and benches were still set set up for outside living.

Sad to see such a great building deserted

The building was just starting to show signs of decay with a bit of crumbling masonry and a couple or roof tiles which had slipped off.  Not a single window was broken and there were no signs of vandalism.  It was like it was frozen in time.  There are many half finished big houses scattered around Mexico and resorts and developments like this one which are no longer in business due to the lack of American and other tourists since the economic downturn.  We felt really sad for all the employees who now no longer had a job.  Despite the faltering tourism economy, we have not met a single Mexican who complained about it or about the lack of jobs.  They are such a happy, resilient people.

The next day we had another beautiful sail almost all the way to the beach off of the town of Mulege, which we had visited on the way north and wanted to show to Malcolm and Dina.  It's Sunday morning as I finish up this installment of our blog before we head into town to post it and check on our emails.

Later today we will head into Bahia Conception for a couple of days before we cross over to the mainland to continue our adventure.

Hasta Luego, amigos,
Jim and Trish

February 10, 2014  Bahia Concepcion, Sea of Cortez

Over the last few days our cruising has been a bit different.  We are finally slowing down considerably and can allow a few days here and there, picking our weather windows to proceed north.  Unfortunately the wind usually blows from the north, meaning we are going into the waves and getting salt spray all over the boat.  Though it is way more comfortable going down wind instead of up into the wind that will have to wait until we turn south in a few days.  On calm days we motor north to put the miles on.

About ten days ago we headed north from Loreto to Bahia Concepcion with a couple of overnight anchorages en route.  Bahia Concepcion is a huge 25 mile long gouge a third of the way up the inside of the Baja Peninsula.  About an hour inside the huge inlet is a wonderful area with five viable anchorages big enough to hold a handful of boats in each one. 

Looking southwest towards a couple more
anchorages in Bahia Concepcion

We chose Bahia Santispac for our first few nights, arriving just after Jim caught that wonderful tuna I wrote about.  There were seven other boats anchored – very usual - but Bahia Santispac is destination not only for cruisers but for RV’ers as well.  The beach was lined with about 40 RV’s ranging from the small 20’ trailers and vans to the huge diesel pushers in the 35’ to 40’ range.  Many of the larger ones towed a ‘toad’, which is a small car or four wheel drive for ‘town’.  Others towed a utility trailer behind them where their ATV’s were stowed and brought out for beach runs.   Sprinkled along the beach were a few open palapas with thatched roofs, which were used for either storage or as part of their outdoor living space.

Bahia Santispac was home to many Rv's.  Many of the owners
knew each other and spent hours socializing daily.

Some had set up camp from October to March to avoid the frozen north while others were part of a caravan just stopping over for a few days before heading to another destination.   We met RV’ers from as far away as New York, Florida and Alaska.  And loads of Canadians as well.  We spoke with one lady who even went to the same elementary school as me and a part-time Santa, complete with white hair and a beard, who lived near Sooke, BC on the outskirts of Victoria and knew the old store in Metchosin that my aunt and uncle ran in the early 60’s.  Small world!!!

Sharon and Ted's set up complete with dune buggy,
small sailboat, bikes, outdoor kitchen space, wind screens, etc.

On Tuesday morning we took the dinghy to shore to hike up a close by ridge overlooking the bay.  En route we got to talking with two ladies having their morning coffees in their lounge chairs.  Sue and Suzanne are best friends from Mulage, a small community 10 miles to the north.  Each Monday and Tuesday they head to Sue’s little 1969 trailer for a couple of days of quiet away from their busy lives.  Both widows, they would put the energizer bunny to shame!  After a few minutes of chatting Sue offered us a ride into Mulage on Wednesday, which we quickly accepted so we didn’t have to hitchhike. 

The 'hill' we were to hike near Bahia Santispac

After visiting we took off on a three hour hike to the top of the hill where we had a great view of the anchorage and coastline to the north.  There was no distinctive trail from the gravel roadway so we carefully clambered up until we found some rock cairns showing us the way windy to the summit. 

Looking at glorious Bahia Santispac from the top

Looking southwest at Bahia Concepcion from the summit

 

This cairn was considerably larger than the small piles
of stones we used to find our way up the rocky hillside

A gentle breeze kept us cool as we hiked along the entire length of the ridge hoping for an alternative way down.  When we were faced with a steep cliff leading to the highway at the end we turned around and made our way back along the uneven ridge, marvelling at the various cacti as we went.  Unfortunately we don't know the names for them but we can appreciate them none-the-less.

Getting down the last part was very challenging and we were both relieved to reach solid ground again without any major scrapes or bruises.  We rewarded ourselves with lunch out at one of the two beach restaurants that the locals frequented.

On Wednesday morning we met Sue around 10:00 and headed into Mulage 10 miles away where she dropped us off but not before agreeing to meet in Mazatlan at the end of the month where Jim and I are heading for Carnival.  Sue and Suzanne are flying over to take in Carnival as well so we’ll spend time together then.  They are also heading for Atlin, BC then back to Vancouver Island next summer in Sue’s truck and truck trailer so we will be able to show them around a bit in our home town.

Mulege was a pretty little village of about 2,000 people. The narrow streets, designed for donkeys and carts, were hardly big enough to handle larger vehicles and parking was at a premium.  There was a pretty tree-lined town square and brightly painted buildings.  It's past goes back to the 1500's where it was discovered by Spanish explorers who had also discovered Bahia Concepcion.

One of Mulege's town squares.  Jim's hiding in the shade.
We love these 'winter' temperatures - mid 70's all day every day!

a close up of bougainvillea

Part of Mulege’s housing is built on a little river with an extensive flood plain to handle the runoff from hurricanes. The Rio Santa Rosalia was an important river providing much needed water for agriculture, which made the original settlement possible.  Sue's house was built very close to the river, which had a huge runoff constructed of concrete under the highway bridge to handle summertime torrential rains.  In fact Sue’s house was built in this area.  She knew that there was the possibility of flooding, which has happened every few years for centuries.  Her practical little 600 square foot home was finished in December and she is now building a very tall storage building, with two interior levels.  Like her house it is constructed from cinder blocks.  When she leaves for the summer she’ll store her furniture and appliances on the top level just in case of flooding. The neighbourhood she lives in is full of gringos who have accepted this possible condition and have built accordingly.

A colourful well kept hotel in Mulege
- and no pot holes in the road!

Jim and I wandered around town, which was quite clean with only a few of the usual potholes in the middle of the roads.  There was no garbage strewn around nor graffiti.  Granted some parts were unpaved and some houses were more rundown than others but that is the nature of Mexico.  Having said that, in all cases we have found the people to be welcoming, friendly and happy no matter what their economic situation.

Eventually we found a nice little internet café/restaurant with a very homey atmosphere.  There was a gringo book exchange and small couch covered with a colourful Mexican blanket next to two long tables for six.  We guessed they were pretty popular and had large groups stopping in often.  Besides serving meals and fresh squeezed orange juice they also had bakery treats (which we enjoyed the next day).   After a while Suzanne stuck her head in the restaurant door with a smile on her face. 

An angel named Suzanne took us to her home for the afternoon

Seems she had been driving all around Mulege looking for us because she wanted to invite us to her home for the afternoon – to use her free internet and free long distance phone service so we could make long distance calls if we wished.  We were blown away by her hospitable nature and, after treating her to lunch, took off with her to the north side of the river.  About a mile from Mulege, close to the open ocean, were a cluster of colourful cinder block homes on a small hillside with Suzanne’s amongst them.  From this vantage point we could see the little river as well as south towards Bahia Concepcion.

View south east from Suzanne's home with the Rio Santa Rosalia
in the foreground

It was a delightful house full of her love for local art, colourful furnishings and a great outdoor living space. 


Outdoor living is just as important as indoor in this climate

She gave me fresh oranges from one of her many orange trees and pointed out the dozens of papayas that were ripening at the top of palm tree. 

Suzanne's orange trees and papaya above.  They were great
oranges - very juicy!

From the kitchen/bedroom mezzanine overlooking the
dining and living room areas out towards the river.



A very good friend of Suzanne's was an amazing
artist and Suzanne had many of her pieces displayed.
This is a 7' tall shell collage that was unbelievable.

A close up of the shell collage



Suzanne's outdoor patio table was also a work of art

A light and airy living space dull of colour and light

The afternoon flew by while we visited, used her internet and phone.   As Suzanne had plans to attend a friends 82nd (I think) birthday party that evening she dropped us off at Sue’s where another friend offered to drive us back to Bahia Sanispac as she was staying with her family in one of the RV’s.  Though we only knew Sue and Suzanne for a few hours we felt like we had made more life-long friends through cruising and we look forward to chumming around in Mazatlan as well as in Victoria with them.

Quite a view from Suzanne's deck

On Friday morning, February 7, Jim and I celebrated our unofficial anniversary of meeting 24 years ago.  Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself spending part of my life cruising in Mexico with Jim as my husband. I feel incredibly fortunate to be living this adventure with him and look forward to more crazy adventures in our future.

Imagine the work that went into this piece of Mexican art!

Another sun filled morning awaited us. While on shore after breakfast we heard from some RVer’s that strong northerly winds were going to start blowing again on Saturday and we did not want to get stuck in Bahia Concepcion, nice though it was, as we had to make it Mazatlan by February 25th.  So we celebrated our day by quickly pulling up anchor at 10:00 a.m. and leaving Bahia Concepcion behind, heading for the town of Santa Rosalia, seven hours to the north.  Jim is writing the next blog update about Santa Rosalia so you’ll get a different take on things.