November 10, 2009
....it's getting cold here
with 11,000 people. It was built to ward off attacks by native American Indians who the Spanish constantly harassed. Later it was a trading post for silver and gold seekers. 
El Fuerte (The Fort) - We had a lesson in politics from this entrepreneurial woman who gave us a tour of her house. 
The revolution of 1910 saw re-appropriation of lands and property. As a result, this used to be one house which is now divided into three houses. This woman bought this section of the original house but had no money to repair the decaying roof and upper floors. She has a tourist shop in the front, lives behind that and raises pigs behind the house.
est stop north. Here we learned more about the local
Tarahumara Indians, rode bikes and enjoyed the local scenery.
Notice the typical Tarahum
cave home and and adobe home in the same photo below. 
spectacular.
enjamina ..Button.
What year is this?
(Note: Day 3 on the h
ard in Guaymas. The hull is halfway done. Biagio is busy with the drummel working away at the ‘spots’, and I'm...well here at the pool. Most of the partners have left for home while the guys do some work on the boat before leaving. I'm still here supplying encouragement, water and food.)
ly from corn flour. We also throw in the occasional hamburger because the Sonora beef is so tasty.
Photos: One block away from the marina, temptation and tasty calories.
The crazy potatoes came in a large foil packet that stood up. Inside was small pieces of chopped up beef, potatoes, corn and lots of cheese, butter and cream. Uh oh, we shouldn’t have ordered this. It’s probably very tasty. It was. Cheese, cream and butter. Lots of it. We tried to let it drip through our forks but it was hopeless. So we resigned ourselves to enjoying all those fattening calories and leaving as much cream in the bottom as possible. I can see why it’s so popular. Very tasty. But oh, all those calories!
No……not me…...the boat! The days are counting down now. Our jello plans now indicate that we will leave the boat in 3 weeks. Or 4 weeks. A decision can not be made before its time. Even if it seems like it’s getting down to the wire.
If we work the plan backwards, this is what it looks like: It takes one week to physically ‘stuff the turkey’ (that would be the boat). And then there is a Copper River train trip for one week and a visit to nearby Guaymas. San Diego is only 13 hrs. away by bus for a 5 day visit to Jess and Tracy. And then there’s enjoying the wonderful swimming here in the Bay. Lovely… So put that all in the mix and what do you have? We’re not sure. We’ll just go with the jello plans and decide where we’re going to anchor tonight.
Photo: You have to watch that first step when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Biagio is working on the blisters in Guaymas 'marina seca' or dry marina. Interestingly enough, even though this is a city of 130,000 people, this marina is only one block from the start of downtown. Notice the San Fernando Church towers in the main square.
So what is ‘stuffing the turkey’ or ‘buttoning up the boat’? I’m not sure. I’ve never been through one. This is what I’m told is the routine for the boat to be ‘put on the hard’ and blocked up on stands. It needs to dry out because of blisters on the bottom. Then in October it will be prepped and bottom painted. So here's the ‘fun list’:
Photo: As you enter the Bay of Guaymas, you are greeted with perhaps 1,000 old fishing boats like these tucked into every conceivable nook. Some never go out and others are still working.
Sails have to be taken down into the boat, tarps purchased to cover the boat, pop the blisters, take the dodger off, take all the lines in, cover all the furling gear, plug all the through-hole cocks, drain the salt water on the engine and generator, pickle the water maker, make sure all the stored food is wrapped well and there is nothing that could explode, made sure the solar panels are operating to keep the batteries charged, and finally, flush out the water tanks with chlorine. Sounds like fun, huh? In the desert heat!!! I’m not looking forward to that week. Maybe Biagio won’t notice if I hang out in the hopefully cool marine office. He’ll probably notice.
So my job up until that time is to go through the boat and see what I can bring home that I don’t use very much. After sailing for almost a year, there are things that are used and some things not so much. The list leaving the boat includes our golf clubs, extra bathing suits, cold weather gear, some books, etc. Already I can see more free space on the boat. That’s nice.
Photo upper left: One fishing boat arrested for drugs. On the right: Our view from the fuel dock before going on the hard. Photo above: Guaymas Marina. The fishing boats and fuel dock are on the right side which is where we were docked before hauling out.
I was captivated by Santa Rosalia. It wasn’t like any other town we visited in our entire time in Mexico. The town was made by a French mining company called El Boleo. Bolitos are little balls here being composed of copper ore that were mined and smelted. Much of it was taken all the way to Tacoma, Washington to be processed. From there, timber would be loaded back into the boats and brought back to Santa Rosalia. In exchange for tax exemption, the French promised to build a town and port.
The result was a town of French Provincial architecture meticulously outlined and adapted to the landscape which is very unlike any other town in Mexico. To me, it feels like living in a ghost town in another place and time. The mine closed in 1954 due to depletion of the mine and the federal government took over supplying employment for the town. It operated for a total of 53 years.
After spending a week here, we have more we wanted to say about Santa Rosalia...
Sleuthing Around in Santa Rosalia
The first thing that was odd on our entrance to Santa Rosalia was the enormous grave yard. When you enter the little harbor, greeting you from up on top of the mountain, is a very large white cross. Miles and Miles behind that are burial head stones in a cemetery that goes way back into the valley. Now mind you, this is a small town. So how could you explain a huge cemetery for such a small town?
The second odd thing was that if the French built and occupied this city for 53 years, why is there no trace of them anywhere except for the buildings they left behind? Oh yes, there is one white bust of a French man in one of the small main plazas. But it hasn’t a name or a reference or any explanation of who the man was or what he did. There’s even a small museum with no reference of any French people or those in charge of the mining operation, how they lived, what they did, nothing.
The third odd thing was that the outsides of all these houses are made of beautiful wood from the Northwest of the United States. Why go all the way there to process the minerals and come back with wood? Why didn’t they just process the ore right here in Mexico? Why would they take it to the far ends of a neighboring country?
Photo: The old San Francisco hotel on the left, the ore processing mill in the foreground, on the right a tunnel leading to miles and miles of underground mining tunnels, and cut off on the far right is a large pile of tailings. Not nearly enough for 53 years of work. Most of the tailings are in Tacoma, WA.
You won’t find the answers here in Mexico. But searching on the internet, taking the little bits of history available here, and looking around at what was left behind, Biagio pieced the puzzle together. This is what we believe really happened.
The French had an agreement with the Mexican government for a tax free status of 50 years to extract minerals out of the area. In exchange, the French were to build a town complete with a harbor and houses. This benefited the French because they needed the harbor for their ships and the houses for their business and employees. They built a valley of small inexpensive houses close together for the workers that are no longer standing.
As a result, the French extracted everything they wanted in the way of minerals. Especially the unspoken gold that was never mentioned anywhere. They processed some of the copper here locally but took the bulk of it all the way to Tacoma where they extracted the copper and gold and other minerals from it then shipping the precious minerals to France without the Mexican government knowing exactly what was being extracted, i.e. gold. (Here in Mexico they talk only about the copper ore.) This is the reason they shipped the minerals so far away for processing.
The French grossly ignored safety laws for the workers which ultimately filled the cemetery with bodies; 1,400 workers alone in just a 2 year period. Which is why there is no notation of any specific French person anywhere or the French management or workers in general. Only one bust with no name. That could be putting blame on someone.
So there is beauty and sadness here at the same time. The quaint houses that the French left behind and the large cemetery that tells a different story.
UPDATE: After talking with geologists who know this area very well, we found out that shipping ore to Tacoma is very common and not at all unusual. So we stand correct on that point.
Photo: Near Sanispac, Bahia Concepción. The leeward (less wind) side of a very small island is perfect nesting for pelicans and seagulls. Upper left inset is a newborn pelican and the two birds on the right photo are baby pelicans. Notice how they blend into the rocks.
Maps: Maps of the Central and Northern Sea of Cortez are so far off that it shows that we are in the middle of Isla San Marcos on top of a mountain. This also means we need to be extra careful of rocks and unknowns when we go to anchor because if they are marked, which they might not be, they will not be where it shows them to be.
A Dry Boat: It doesn’t refer to water coming into the boat or staying out of the boat. It refers to alcohol that may be on the boat. Therefore a dry boat doesn’t do much drinking.
Wine: Here in many towns we visited in Mexico, they put the red wind in the cooler and the white wine on the shelves to be kept warm.
The Birds: If you’ve ever wondered what is would be like to have birds attack you like in the movie ‘The Birds’, all you have to do is walk along a high road up from the water. Seagulls like to make their nests there. As you walk by, they will attack you swooping down on you just like in the movie missing you by millimeters. It will make all your hair stand up.
So here’s how you do it:
You need a Halloween mask.
And a trick or treat bag.
You look for this special sandy bottom that contains this special treat. It must be a deserted beach and only certain beaches have them. You take the dinghy to shore and jump in about 10 feet of water. Then you dive down with your mask, snorkel and bag to the sandy bottom. When you see a special configuration of two small holes next to each other, you go after them. Don’t go after three holes or one big hole, only 2 small holes. (You never know what’s behind those other unknown holes). Then when those two holes see you overhead, they close up shop and head deeper into the soft sand. You scoop them up with your hand as the sand parts easily and put the little jewel into your trick or treat bag.
There it is, you have chocolates (pronounced: Chock o la tay). Chocolate clams that is. Yummm!
Photo: Snorkeling for chocolate clams. See the brown one in my hand? Interesting shape of the clam inside!
Biagio’s monster sierra fish, Jill’s birthday, and shells that are so beautiful you just have to do something with them so I take photographs.
From Biagio…Puerto Escondido is one of the few hurricane holes in the Sea of Cortez which will protect boats when hurricanes or tropical storms come along. Boats return here year after ye
ar to this sheltered anchorage.Majestic mountains surprisingly tower over us in a desert! While sitting in the cockpit, we can watch the beautiful mountains reflected in the water. This place has drawn me back for it’s great beauty and great memories.
There is another reason boaters come here. The end of the Sea of Cortez boating season will have a big party here for all the cruisers making their way back up the coast returning to the US. It’s called Loreto Fest at the beginning of May. So we’ll be off for a few weeks exploring up north and then return back here for the party.
Honeymoon Cove is j
ust across the way. Only a 15 minute crossing with a beautiful bay that can hold only about 4 boats at a time each one nesting in one of its fingers. It’s not surprising th
at my crusing friends Terry and Lynn on Starform had talked about this anchorage many times. I missed this on my last trip here. On a typical sunny morning I climbed to the top of one of the hills to take in the beauty of the area.
Look at the photos below to get an idea of the surrounding views.
Well, Biagio wanted to go here. That’s the main reason. He was here about 10 years ago and it was one of his favorite places that he had cruised in. ‘Why?’, I asked? All he could tell me was there was good diving there. Fine, I like to dive. But the diving has actually been disappointing. The whale sharks were very, very cool. That’s true. But as far as the beautiful reefs and fishes that I have seen in Belize and Cancun, well that just doesn’t exist here. The fish population has severely decreased in the last ten years in larg
e part due to over fishing. And reefs all over the world are decreasing because of the warmer climate. So now that I’ve been here for about five months, would I come back? Absolutely!
d Canyon, filled it up with water and left the mountain ranges visible. Some seem to be painted orange, some red, some the color of gray rocks, and others have bold white 
bands of striations in them. Each one seems unique. How beautiful they are!!! Every day the beautiful surroundings amazes us. It is awesome!!!
