We wandered up a dry riverbed in ankle deep scree, surrounded by lush greenery, hummingbirds, cacti, flowers, insects and colored rock walls that were ever changing in the different light shades of the day. We expected a 2 mile hike, but in the end round trip it was closer to 10 km, and the last part was aggressively steep up a winding road that had been cross hatched to protect it from erosion. As we crested the hill, we were rewarded with a stunning view of the salt flats that remain at Puerto Salinas where the remnants of a small village lay, that had previously survived by mining salt. We were still miles from the salt flats in the valley so we didn’t continue any further; just enjoyed the view and a hiker’s lunch. Hopefully, we can return to Puerto Salinas by boat another time and visit the flats and mining operation close up.
When we returned to the beach, I noticed smoke coming from the fishing village and on closer inspection we realized that the fish camp had completely burned to the ground in our absence. The sailboat “Patience” from California, with Lee aboard hailed us on the VHF and told us that the fishermen’s cooking fire had blown out of control in the wind, sending sparks and ashes dangerously close to the anchored Aleydabeth. He had gone ashore and tried to fight the fire as best he could with pails of sea water. We considered ourselves very lucky that we received no damage.
Lyle, Lee and Steve from “Lilly” made their way to shore when the fishermen returned home devastated at the loss of their camp and belongings. The men tried to salvage as much of the fish catch as they could. It had been stored in two refrigerators, that had been incinerated by the flames. We offered them some pesos, some food for dinner, and collected some sundries from our boats that we thought they might be able to use. The fishermen left the bay desolated by their loss and made their way to Loreto to spend the night. Their families were in Agua Verde. We inquired later if there was any way we could help out, or if the marina officials knew if they were able to rebuild their camp and how- but information was sketchy. The area is “marine park”, and from what we can gather, fishermen who had always fished the area were allowed to continue….(a sort of “look the other way” policy) but it seemed unlikely they would be allowed to rebuild a structure on the beach. Whale watching pangas and other tour entrepreneurs, were just as happy to have the fishing operation gone.
Our return to Puerto Escondido on Wednesday morning took us through the same bay where we had seen the whales, and again they were there. We spotted at least three whales in the bay and saw more blowing off of Coronados island and further up the channel. We drifted and watched mesmerized, as the gentle giants circled the bay and gracefully broke the still water.
We took a mooring ball, at Puerto Escondido in anticipation of a farewell restaurant dinner with our friends. But alas the Tripui restaurant was closed on Wednesday, so we cracked a beer on the roadside in front of the mini-mart as we waited for the cab to take Ron and Monica to the late bus for Cabo. It is Mexico after all. As it turned out the bus from Tijuana never made it in to Loreto, so Ron and Monica spent the night at a hotel near the bus depot and left on Thursday morning. We haven’t been very lucky with dependable services in this little spot, but we are learning patience.