Spanish Missions

Plaza in Loreto

Post: We had been sailing through the islands of the Sea of Cortez for almost a month when we arrived at Puerto Escondido (“Hidden Harbor”) located fourteen miles south of Loreto, Mexico. It was time to get off our twenty-four foot sailboat “Little Lara” and do a different kind of traveling—by car. Up until now we had seen only the coastline of Baja California. Now we wanted to see what the interior of this peninsula looked like. So we rented a car and started our inland journey traveling at sixty miles per hour verses our typical 4-5 mile per hour. As we drove we noticed that every town or city we visited, like most Mexican towns, had a central plaza and a Catholic church. We were interested to learn of the historic and cultural contributions these old missions played in developing the area.

Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto

The first mission in the Californias was founded by Juan Maria Salvatierra in the city of Loreto in 1697. As the area grew in population it served as the base for California’s exploration and the expansion of the Catholic mission system throughout the Baja and western United States region. Thus, Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto is known as the “Mother and Head of the California Missions” and was the capital of all Spanish California. We were told that at one time even the early Mormon settlers had to travel here to record official government documents (i.e. marriages, births, deaths, etc.). The still functioning church sits in the center of the plaza surrounded by small shops selling souvenirs, clothes and food.

Mision San Francisco Xavier

Twenty-two miles southwest of Loreto is a small village of thatched-roofed, adobe houses named San Javier. Just getting to the village was an adventure in itself. We were told that the road was good - “all paved”. What they forgot to mention was the washed out portion up the steep winding canyon. We could tell the rushing waters from the last hurricane took out the road and was powerful enough to roll car sized boulders down the canyon. In a half dozen other places we had to ford rivers crossing over the “paved road”, and skirt goats wandering down the center of the road. But our little rental car made it to San Javier in one piece. We were entranced with the cobble stone streets and the clean orderly town. Here is located the best preserved Jesuit Mission we found: Mision San Francisco Xavier de Vigge-Biaundo. In 1701 Juan de Ugarte arrived in the area after traveling from Mexico City. The entire building, from foundation to vaulted ceiling was constructed using stone quarried from nearby Arroyo de Santio Domingo. No two side windows are identical. The two bells in the church tower are dated 1761 and 1830, respectively. The altars within were brought here from Mexico City by boat and burro in the mid 18^th century. In the center alter stands a statue of San Javier.

Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulege

In 1770 the Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulege was constructed inthe town of Mulege after the original building was destroyed in a flood. Constructed of native river stone the building stands on the bluffs over looking the town and the palm treed lined Rio Santa Rosalia. What we found striking in this church was the unusual statue of the “Resurrected Christ” ascending to heaven. The town of Mulege is bisected by a river (one of the few flowing rivers we have seen in Baja) which flooded the town in the recent hurricane and the damage is still very apparent.

Mulege's “Resurrected Christ” statue

Iglesia Santa Barbara de Santa Rosalia

A novelty in the Baja is Iglesia Santa Barbara de Santa Rosalia. Though not an old building compared to the missions noted above, it is unusual because it is a prefabricated, steel walled church designed by French architect Alexandre Gustave Effiel in 1884. Effiel is best know for designing the locks of the Panama Canal, the Statue of Liberty, and Paris' Effiel Tower. Originally the church was built in 1887 and exhibited in Paris at the 1889 World Exposition. Effiel took first place for the building's modular design. It was purchased in 1897 by Compania El Boleo, a French copper mining company and shipped to Santa Rosalia then reassembled so the mine workers living in the area would have a place to worship. While we were visiting the plaza we met a group of teenage girls practicing their drill routine for a marching competition. They were very interested in practicing their English with some willing Americans. One 12 year old spoke quite well because she visits her cousins in the San Francisco Bay area every summer. Her English was much better than our Spanish! We also made sure we visited the French Bakery that was originally established in the 1800s!

As always, every village, town or city we visited in Baja California the people were friendly and extremely helpful. It was delightful to get to know them and visit a part of the peninsula we normally would not see on a sailboat. We hope all is well with you and want you to know how much we appreciate our family and friends, whom we miss very much. Be safe and fair winds wherever your travels may take you.

Plaza in San Javier

Islands, Vistas & Sunsets (Part 2)

Peggy's Post: We left San Evaristo January 26, 2015 to explore Isla San Jose which is an hour sail back across Canal De San Jose. We had heard that there was a lot to explore on the island and we were glad that we didn't pass it by. Our first anchorage was at Punta Salinas. Years ago there was a salt mine here and it was interesting to see the abandoned buildings and equipment.

Remains of an old Bulldozer

Cab of an old Ford Truck

The salt pans are still evident where rectangular areas were flooded with sea water and then allowed to evaporate leaving the salt behind to be processed. I especially loved the three mile long white sandy beach covered with thousands and thousands of sea shells. Also we found an interesting collection of shoes in one of the abandoned buildings.  This raised all kinds of speculations on our part: were they left here by former inhabitants? Did they wash up on the beach? Or is this the resting place for all lost soles?

Lost Soles

The next day we moved the boat to the end of the island five miles further south to Bahia Amortajada to explore the mangroves and lagoon. Here we put the outboard motor on the dinghy (this involves me being on the boat leaning over the stern railing while lowering the motor down to Jay who is standing in the inflatable dinghy as it rides up and down on the waves then maneuvering it onto the transom of the dinghy without dropping it into the water. We have a line tied to the boat and the outboard motor as a safety precaution, just in case!) After carefully motoring over the shallows of the lagoon we found our way into a corridor lined on both sides by mangrove trees. Here are dozens of narrow waterways meandering through the mangroves creating a maze. I was relieved to discover we could backtrack to the main channel by following the air bubbles left in the water by the motor ... similar to leaving breadcrumbs on a trail. After exploring the many channels we hurried back to “Little Lara” because the wind was picking up and the tide was going out.

Entrance to the Mangroves

We ended up back on “Little Lara” with an uphill slog (up wind into the waves) back to a safe anchorage. We stayed at Punta Salinas for a couple of days waiting for safe conditions to cross the channel back to San Evaristo for provisions and water.

On January 30^th we sailed to our next destination, Agua Verde, which is one of our most favorite anchorages so far (even though it involved sailing in the rain to get there). It is more more tropical than the desert beaches we previously visited. There are lots of palm trees, white beaches, a quaint village, herds of goats (we tried the goat cheese they make here and found that we really like it!), pangas (local fishing boats) and very friendly people.

Agua Verde Anchorage

The only things that interrupted the solitary dreamlike quality of this very protected anchorage was the day after our arrival a mini-cruise ship and several other sailboats arrived … one sailboat anchoring a mere 30 feet in front of us. Jay had to ask them nicely to please pull up their anchor and move further away. We knew that when the wind shifted or the tides changed they would swing on their anchor rode and hit “Little Lara”. We did appreciate the “UnCruise” ship after they kindly shared some ice with us so we could continue keeping the groceries in our icebox cold.

Yiks, they are anchored close!

Though we loved Agua Verde we set sail for Puerto Escondido on February 3rd. This was a 23 mile sail, which took us five hours to complete as there was no wind. We ended up motoring the entire way. Plus, it has almost been a month since we last last communicated with friends and family, and we knew there was internet service here. Puerto Escondido is one of Baja's most protected anchorages and it is here everyone heads when hurricanes approach the region during the summer months. It is almost completely landlocked except for a 200 foot wide entrance channel. The inner bay can hold over 100 boats. Here we met many of the boats we had become friends with as we sailed down from California and up through the Sea of Cortez. We plan staying for several days so we can travel inland by car, visiting many of the larger cities like Loreto, Santa Roslia and Ciudad Constitution.  We also want to attend Church in Loreto, where there is a "Casa de Oracion" (House of Prayer, i.e. Dependent Branch.)

Loreto Dependent Branch

Below is a short video clip of the anchorage in Agua Verde:

Islands, Vistas & Sunsets (Part 1)

Fun in the sun or do we just look tired?

Jay's Post: We left La Paz, Mexico on January 8, 2015 heading north for the islands. Along the way we stopped to enjoy several of the more popular anchorages that lie just a few miles outside of La Paz. One of our favorite stops was Bahia Falsa, just five miles away. We stayed here for several days enjoying the bird and marine life. While here we saw frigates, pelicans, and blue footed boobies, plus sand bass, angelfish, yellowtail and mullet. We also spent time exploring the shoreline by dinghy. While here, Peggy caught one fish and one bird, and I caught three fish.

"I caught a fish, I caught a ..."

Mushroom Rock and "Little Lara"

We had to stop and anchor in Bahia Pichilinque even though it was just a short four miles from Bahia Falsa. This area is known for its fine white sandy beaches and beautiful clear turquoise waters. It was here that we caught a ride back into La Paz so we could attend Church on Sunday. While we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, a “Policia Federal” stopped to ask us if we needed any help. When we explained we were headed into town to attend church, he offered us a ride. Along the way we talked about Mexico, California, sailboats, families and the Church. We were able to catch a bus ride back to the anchorage after Church services were over.

We crossed the Canal de San Lorenzo on January 14^th headed for the first big island north of La Paz: Isla Espititu Santos. This island is 18 miles from La Paz and is part of the National Marine Park System. It is know for its colorful striated layers of pink, ivory, brown and black rocks.

Striated Layered Mountains

According to the Nature Conservancy this area is the breeding grounds for whales, dolphins, sea lions and turtles. It is a migratory corridor for 210 bird species, and is the home for 31 species of whales and dolphins, 500 species of fish and 4,848 species of marine invertebrates.

White Sandy Beaches of San Gabriel

We founds several beautiful anchorages amongst the possible twenty or more places we could have stopped. The three coves we stopped in all had exotic names -- Bahia San Gabriel, Puerto Ballena, and El Mezteno, as well as white sandy beaches, clear turquoise water and thick green mangroves. We found them all to be quiet secluded anchorages, often times with us being the only boat there. In these anchorages we enjoyed exploring the shoreline in the dinghy, motoring over the reefs looking at the marine life, hiking up steep arroyos over rocks and boulders, and walking through the salt flats.

Sunset at Caleta Partida

The next island we visited was Isla Partida on January 17th, 21 miles north of La Paz. Our first and most favorite anchorage on the island was Caleta Partida. This cove was originally the crater of a large extinct volcano. Over thousand s of years the crater was eroded away and the sea flowed in and filled it. We stayed here several days enjoying the beauty that surrounded us on almost all sides. There were six boats anchored here with us, a record. It was here that we traded with a local fisherman for ice and fish. Further north we stopped at Ensenada Grande to fish, snorkel, explore and hike. At low tide sea caves are exposed that dot the shore line. We were able to swim around, into and through these caves as we saw amazing marine life. We saw many unusual fish including eels, cornetfish, trumpetfish, scorpionfish, balloonfish, manterays, etc.

Sea Lions of Los Islotes

Leaving Isla Partida on January 20^th we sailed by Los Islotes, which is famous for its sea lion rookery. As we slowly motored by the island the male sea lions would bark at us while the female sea lions would dive into the water to swim around “Little Lara”.

Crossing Canal De San Jose we sailed for Isla San Francisco. This is a favorite cruising destination and we soon found ourselves anchored with eleven other boats – almost an entire community! This area is known for its large crescent shaped bay and white broken shell beach. The sunsets here are absolutely gorgeous as the sun descends behind the rugged Sierra De La Gigantas on the Baja peninsula silhouetting this jagged rocky mountain range. Then with no nearby city lights to influence the sky, the stars begin to appear to illuminate the night sky. With billions and billions of stars that appear so close you can reach up and touch them, it is possible to pick out some old familiar constellations like Ursa Major, Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Cassiopeia, as well as some new ones like the Southern Cross. While at Isla San Francisco we again went snorkeling over the reefs. This time, however, we took the Hawaiian Sling (a long spear with a 'rubber-band') with us and were able to spear a fish -- take note Jon. The rest of the fish were either too fast or we were too slow. As Peggy says, “Practice, practice, practice!”

San Evaristo Anchorage

Mexican Cell Tower ???

Because of deteriorating weather conditions we decided to leave

Isla San Francisco earlier than planned and sail over to the Baja peninsula and anchored at San Evaristo. This is a quiet little fishing village of maybe twenty families. Here we found a well protected bay and were able to go ashore to buy food, water and ice. We hiked up the hills behind the village and discovered we could get some very limited cellphone service. This afforded us the opportunity to text family to let them know we were alive and well. We spent several days at San Evaristo waiting on weather and visiting with new found friends.