We woke up early excited with anticipation of our next stop - Loreto and staying at the marina at Puerto Escondido. It would be our first marina in over three weeks and in a couple days Sami would be joining us. At 0715 we said goodbye to Agua Verde and made the 27 mile run north to Puerto Escondido where Jeff had secured us a slip via email. The main marina was full so instead we were given a dock in a side area of the marina called the Wikuri. It's in a canal with individual docks attached to land that looks like one day will include houses. After securing the boat the took the dink around to the main marina to check in and explore. The office staff was so kind and welcoming and because Jeff had sent everything via email there was no check in to be done other then to pick up our gate keys. We made a b-line for the restaurant to have a welcome beer and some lunch. Situated on the second level the view of the marina was stunning and we felt good about being secure on land again for a week. Back on the boat we saw a dingy cruising by and recognized the boat from Agua Verde, fellow San Diegans who charted a boat for vacation here. After chatting for awhile we invited them on board for a drink and more conversation. The day faded into night and we enjoyed our mountain views and dock security.
Cruising to Puerto Escondido
Entering Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido Marina
Charts are Terrible Here
Docks at the Wikuri
Our Dock
Main Marina
Lunch at Marina Restaurant
The Restaurant
Sunset
With only a couple days before Sam's arrival we had many things to get done. This morning Jeff lined up boat washers to come and scrub three weeks of salty cruising off the girl. While they were at work we took a taxi into Loreto which is about 30 miles aways. We got the lay of the land, walked around a small farmers market, saw the town square and the melicon and finally ended up at Mi Loreto for lunch. Back at the boat we took the dink around to the marina to pick up oil for the engines Jeff had ordered prior to our arrival. The boxes filled the entire dink and there was barely any room for me.
Downtown Loreto
Cathedral in Loreto
Town Square
The Melicon
Panga Basin
View From Taxi
Cruising Around on the Dink
Lots of Engine Oil
The next day was our final day to get things done before Sam arrived. Jeff changed the oil in the mains which took several hours while I did projects around the boat. In the afternoon we took the dink with all the used oil to the fuel dock for them to dispose of and got more gas for the dink. Finally we took a dip in jacuzzi which wasn't very hot and had skin bits floating in the water. It was pretty gross. The night ended with showers, dinner and shows.
The next day a mechanic arrived to work on the generator which was having problems getting started. It took several times for it to fire up. After Jeff ran several tests it was determined that we had some corrosion in the wiring which could be causing the problem. While the mechanic and his crew worked on the generator around 2pm Sam arrived from the airport. We were both so excited to see her and glad she arrived safely. After she got settled in a bit we all took a dingy ride to the marina to show her around. After, I made dinner and we enjoyed a quiet night together on the boat.
Port Side View
Sam Arrived
Jeff & Sam
Sunset
The next morning the mechanics were back with parts and finished up working on the dingy. After they finished we took the dink back to the marina and had lunch with Sam. We played corn hole and took a long walk around the streets of the marina. After I made dinner on board and we had another quiet night all together.
Walking Around the Marina
Walking the Empty Streets
Sunset
The next day with the boat all put back together and after several days on the dock we were more then ready for a boat ride. So around 10a.m. we made the short 3 mile hop out to Honeymoon Cove to anchor for the day. We really wanted to give Sam a sense of what we really do here. Sitting around a marina definitely isn't it so it felt good to take her on a little cruise and anchor. It was sunny and light winds and we were the only boat in our basin. Before lunch we dropped the SUP in the water and Sam and I made our way around the anchorage. It was quiet and peaceful and it felt great getting away from the dock. We enjoyed the anchorage and read and relaxed and by late afternoon made our way back to the marina to listen to live music and the restaurant for happy hour. It felt like an ideal day.
Honeymoon Cove
SUPing in Honeymoon Cove
Sam SUPing
Happy Hour
In our guidebook it mentions a pretty canon hike that's accessible from the marina. It talks about walking down to the highway then through the cannon into the mountains. It sounded good. Little did we know. The walk down the road to the highway took us almost an hour before even getting to the hike of which didn't exist. Jeff had the directions in his phone and it kept saying we had arrived at the trail which was not there. We continued walking along this dirt road until we got to a power plant where other cars were parked. Jeff spotted something resembling a trail that we walked up which was full of loose gravel and dirt and very slippery all of us losing our footing at one point. At the top of this so called trail we spotted people walking on rocks along this dried up river bed which Jeff said had to be the "real" hike. We made our way down to where the people were and proceeded to walk along the rocks which eventually turned into boulders we had to climb over as we made our way into this cannon. Hot, tired and not really enjoying any of it I was glad when Jeff finally proclaimed he had enough and didn't want to go any further. Thank god! So we made our way back to the road and started our hour trek back to the marina. After having walked for I don't know how long I spotted a resort looking place that had a sign advertising lodging and restaurant. Desperately needing a break and to sit down I suggested we check out the restaurant to see if they were serving lunch. Everyone agreed and thankfully the restaurant was open and had lunch. As soon as we sat down I was relieved. We were surrounded by trees and a hummingbird drinking nectar from flowers and a pool where a family of four swam. This was perfect. After lunch we felt like we could carry on and made our way back to the marina. 15,000 steps later we were all pooped.
Walking to the Hike
Still Walking
Building on Side of Road
Dirt Road to Hike
Trail?
Top of the Found Trail
Marina From Top
Walking & Sliding Down
River Bed Hike
Boulder Climbing
Walking Back to Marina
Friday March 31st would our last day in Puerto Escondido. Jeff started the day with one of his famous scrambles and then we picked up our rental car from the marina office and headed into Loreto. This time we went into the cathedral and toured the old mission. We again had lunch at Mi Loreto knowing they had vegan options for Sam & I. We walked around the town square and the melicon. It was super windy so our time along the melicon was short. The downtown is small so our time there wasn't that long but we all felt like we saw it and would be ready to move on. That night Jeff booked us dinner reservations at El Aqua in Nopolo a town between Loreto and Puerto Escondido where we celebrated my birthday from a few weeks earlier and toasted to a successful visit and great time together.
Jeff's Breakfast Scramble
Cathedral
Inside Cathederal
Lunch
The Mission
Exhibits in the Mission
The Mission
Downtown
Old Building Downtown
Sunset
Dinner at El Aqua
The next morning before returning the rental car we dropped Sam off at the airport then made our way back into Loreto to provision. After two markets and the tortillaria we returned the rental car to the marina, unpacked our provisions and set out to explore Isla Carman.
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