Gato Loco Leg 5 Blog #1-complete version
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**Just to let you know, an unfinished version of Blog #1 was sent out by accident. This is the completed version.**
Saturday morning, bright and early, we boarded our Cessna for an hour flight to Loreto from Guaymas. I set off all the buzzers going through the x-ray machine with all my jewelry, and Marilyn had to give up her knitting scissors. However, when we unpacked in Loreto, we found that the security guys had put her scissors back in her bag after we lefft. How thoughtful was that? That never would have happened in the States…
As we flew over the Sea of Cortez, you can see Marilyn’s reaction to being in a little metal tube shooting through the air…
We landed in Loreto around 9:30 AM and headed to our homebase at La Damiana Inn, owned by a wonderful woman named Debra. She let us store our bags until the Leg 4 crew came into town that afternoon. The three of us spent several hours roaming the streets of Loreto exploring (and shopping!). There is a beautiful mission that was decorated for a wedding that evening. Saturday was Mother’s Day in Mexico, which was very fitting as we toasted Marilyn’s mom at breakfast at a quaint little place on the water called Tres Mandiles (3 Aprons). They had delicious fresh smoothies. Viva la madre!
Saturday evening we had dinner at an amazing restuarant that sits in a little, hidden courtyard at the base of the mission called Fonda Canipole. We had Leg 4 and Leg 5 crew to help celebrate Kerry’s birthday which included Bill, Lowell, Frankie, Neely, Chris, Kerry, Lisa, Marilyn, and Sally. We met two new friends, Kel and Mark, that joined us for our celebration. They are from Australia and run a surfboard company. Interesting guys telling interesting tales! Kerry comes to Mexico from Australia and she meets fellow Aussies. Go figure! We were the ony people there and we felt more like family than customers. They prepared special, authentic Mexican dishes for us, and a special birthday cake for Kerry. It was truly a memorable experience, one that we won’t soon forget… After provisioning in Loreto, we set sail midday on Sunday for our first anchorage at Isla Coronado. There was very little wind, so we motored the whole way. Bill trusted me to drive, while he went front with the ladies and relaxed while I had the difficult job of manning the wheel. We went to shore to snorkel after anchoring in the bay. Marilyn and I spent our time in the rocks near the shore getting used to snorkeling, while Bill and Sally (the pros) swam to an outcropping of rocks where they saw starfish, sea anenomes, King Angelfish, Bumphead Parrotfish, and Balloonfish.
At sunset we headed ashore again to catch sunset at the top of the mountain. What a gorgeous climb! The more than 180 degree views were well worth the climb. As you can see, this was not your average sunset… Our first dinner on board…we actually got Bill to cook for us…Salud!!!
There was very little wind through the night. We heard mantas jumping in the water around us. Bill woke to the sounds of whales and dolphins frolicking in the water near the boat. We saw one whale further away, but there were at least 40 dolphins in our little cove. They swam and played (and mated) for over 4 hours. We could have sat there for hours more watching them. As we raised the anchor and headed out, they followed us, playing all around the boat. It was truly breathtaking to behold…a once in a lifetime experience…
We are now headed to our next anchorage at San Juanico. Since Lowell has left the building, so to speak, I am taking over as Technical Director for Leg 5. We haven’t had any internet reception, so most of the blogs will be sent out at one time, as soon as we get near civilization (darn it!). Hopefully our blogs will be easy to read and understand and I haven’t screwed up too much! I’m no Lowell, but I will get the hang of it…signing off for Gato Loco’s Leg 5…hasta luego, amigos…
Until the next Update… The GatoLoco Crew _____________________________________________________________ Leg 1 April 11-19, Crew: Bill, Bruce & Cynthia Tegge, Clyde Betts sail from Puerto Penasco to San Carlos |
Hola amigos! The start of Leg 5 began with Sally Dalton, Marilyn Haney and Lisa Wendt (me, AKA, Ms. Wendt) staying in this lovely little hotel, Posada del Desierto, in San Carlos on our first evening of our adventure. We had a nice dinner at The Captain’s Club, where we were eaten alive by mosquitos!
