We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to share our adventure with my sister Janet and her husband Rich, who joined us for a week. We spent our time in Puerto Escondido and Isla Carmen, which is part of the National Park that is the marine sanctuary around Loreto.

At the head Bahia (Bay) Salinas is the ghost town of a salt mining community that was active for the 200 years before it closed in the 1980s. Although the bay is part of the marine sanctuary, Salinas is privately held and the caretaker watches over the town and the new hunting lodge. Isla Carmen has a population of longhorn sheep that is the base of an effort to reestablish native populations on other islands. The hunting lodge is used a couple times a year by hunters granted permission to cull the older longhorn male sheep. Fortunately, the public is still invited to tour the town, salt pond, and the accompanying church.

Since we were in San Diego, pelicans have been a daily part of our lives. The birds are remarkable in their grace in flight and diving, and their awkward landings. I finally caught a video of them diving, which also shows the Bahia Salinas in the background. Once again, we are so grateful to be on this adventure.

From Puerto Ballandra on the Isla Carmen, the twinkling lights of Loreto are visible in the distance. Ballandro’s mangroves are next to the beach and a wash runs up the valley, eventually connecting to the salt pond in Salinas. Amazingly, seashells are found well into the wash and appear to have been there for decades, or perhaps centuries. Most of the land adjacent to the bay is part of the marine sanctuary, so we were able to walk around. Visitors are encouraged to leave everything and pets aren’t allowed.

Our visit ended with a boat ride to anchor outside Loreto and a dinghy ride to the panga port in Loreto. This time, we put baggage in large garbage bags, which kept it dry! We checked Janet and Rich out through the port (I’m getting good at this!), which cost all of $15. Herman and I had a lively sail back to Puerto Ballandra and enjoyed hiking around the bay.

We’re returning to Puerto Escondido to have the boat bottom cleaned and visit Loreto before we meander back towards LaPaz via Espiritu Santo.