We had arranged to have the boat bottom cleaned at Puerto Escondido and the divers followed us to our mooring buoy. Four divers were in the water immediately and within 15 minutes they were done. A couple days later, we got a report that our bottom paint and zincs are holding up well. The zincs on the bottom are sacrificial in that they absorb ions that would otherwise deteriorate steel.

The following day we headed to Tabor Canyon, where John Steinbeck wrote of seeing bighorn sheep. Although we didn’t see any sheep, we did enjoy bouldering through the box canyon.

On our hike, we encountered Paul Heady, a bat researcher from Santa Cruz. Paul’s wife, Winifred Frick, is chief scientist for Bat Conservation International. They’ve established a site in the Loreto area where a bats are tracked using RFID readers. Amazingly enough, earlier in our travels, Herman had noticed and remarked on the cave that they’re using. Through their research, they’ve discovered the bats travel hundreds of miles to different islands and the mainland, sometimes returning the same night. The bats pollinate fruit, and return later to eat it. At Paul’s suggestion I’ve downloaded the Merlin app and will be purchasing packages about birds in the areas we visit.

We continued on to visit the mission in Loreto, which was constructed in 1697, as part of the Catholic church’s overall mission infrastructures throughout Mexico and California.

Our next stop was Agua Verde, which is also a 25 mile inland drive from Highway 1. Thus the anchorage shares the beach with four wheelers in their camper-vans, plus the anchorage is large enough for small cruise ships. We stayed an extra day so that Herman could catch up on some consulting work and that I could recover from food poisoning from our last dinner out.

Parts of our travels along the gorgeous Sierra de la Gigantica mountain range have seemed like sailing through the Grand Canyon. Bahía Los Gatos provided a stunning closeup. The smooth red rocks have been worn down over the centuries and the beauty is indescribable. We also finally got out our snorkeling equipment, swam to the reef, and saw a nice assortment of fish, coral, invertebrates, and other plants. We were happy that our wetsuits kept us warm enough. Next time I’ll try the GoPro.

Our last stop along the San Jose canal was Isla San Francisco, a small island with a hooked bay at the foot of the canal. At the anchorage I had a nice chat with Laura Miller from Orcas Island, who is traveling with her husband, nine and seven year old twins and her parents. And we think that Tieton gets crowded sometimes 🙂

Next we’ll spend some time on Espiritu Santos and the LaPaz area, plus we get a visit from our friend Al!

I have many more photos of the rocks a Sierra de la Gigantica range. Here are just a few.