Deeper into Baja - Part 5

"El Capitan" on Isla Del Carmen

The week spent out on the east cape of Bahia Concepcion was good, real good, and entailed everything I seek when travelling Baja.  Not sure how it could get much better.  But, it was time to move further south and go back to an area I had been to the previous year, Aqua Verde.  We hated leaving but we were out of beer and more importantly, water!  Had we know how good it was going to be we would have hauled more of each in order to extend our stay.  There is no water source or none I'm aware of, once you get out on the point.  After backtracking over the terrain we'd covered a week earlier we popped back out on the highway and headed south towards Loreto where we planned to stay a couple of nights in an established campground....laundry, hot shower, that internet thing, electricity, restaurants, etc..  Going to live like real tourists for a couple of days. After almost two weeks of dry camping, it was nice to have some amenities.  The campground in Loreto is run by a mother/daughter team, clean, well set up and is within walking distance to the main plaza downtown. A good place to lay up for a few nights, regroup and re-supply. This stop also turned into an adventure we hadn't planned.  While walking around the plaza one evening we were approached by a local who was providing boat tours out to Isla Del Carmen.  Usually not one to sign up for the touristy type things I relented after Wayne and I decided it would be fun and price wise, seemed to be pretty reasonable. I had viewed the island from the Malecon in Loretto and looked at it on the map when down last year so figured this would be a good opportunity to check it out.  We'd have the boat to ourselves for the day, would be able to tour the old salt mine on the island, could take the dogs and could also take Wayne's kayak over.  We handed over some money and were told where to meet our El Captain the following morning.

Leaving port in Loreto headed to Isla Del Carmen.

 We had a lot of fun with this guy and addressed him as "El Capitan" for the remainder of the day. I think he liked the title as every time I'd use it a huge grin would break out across his face.  With our limited Spanish and his limited English, we were able to make it interesting. Really friendly and made the trip all that much better. El Capitan was 83 years old and crawled in and out of his boat like he was a teenager. He'd purchased the boat about 5 years ago after saving for years to do so and was quite proud of it. What he should have been proud of was what kind of shape he was in considering his age. He'd been a fisherman in the area his entire life and now was hauling "gringos" either to fish or sightsee the islands. A seasoned man of the sea and it showed.  
We circumnavigated the island which was an all day affair due to the size of the island along with some rough seas that kicked up later in the day. The island is located in the Loreto Marine Sanctuary about 10 miles off the coast, is a little over 20 miles in length and is well worth a visit. Rough, scenic shoreline on the northern portion and stunning, pristine beaches on the south end. According to El Capitan, the fishing wasn't what it use to be......but what is.  

 Marine life on the north end.

Blue Footed Bobby which migrates to the island for a couple of months each year. I had been told by a local gringo back in town that it was too early in the season to spot any but El Capitan found a small rock outcropping that had some.

 Pristine, deserted beaches.

Crystal clear water.

Towards the northern end of the island is an old salt mine known as Bahia Salina that is no longer in operation.  The area was initially discovered accidentally by the Jesuits in 1698 when establishing the mission in Loreto.  The mine area and the old community is privately owned now and a couple of caretakers reside here to monitor the sanctuary, maintain the church, and guide private hunting parties to the interior.  Permits are required to enter the interior of the island even though the bulk of the island is not privately owned. El Capitan's father had worked here many, many years ago so he went ashore to see if it would be alright to enter.  With permission granted, I took a look around and crawled in some of the older buildings which are in a really poor state.  At one time there was around 100 people that lived and worked the mine. The mining of the salt flats ceased operation in 1984. The Guerro Negro salt flats opened up at this time and it became too costly to transport the salt from the island.  All the equipment and buildings were simply abandoned.  Walking throughout the area was like stepping back in time.  El Capitan stated this his father use to haul salt deposits back to the salt processor by horse and wagon prior to tracks being laid for a locomotive.

Church at Bahia Salina

While I was checking out the old buildings, Wayne hauled his kayak out and kayaked along the island. El Capitan and I later picked him up a few miles down the coast.

After a bumpy ass ride back to the mainland we spent one more day in Loreto before moving on.

 Mission Loreto (founded 1697)

 Mission interior

While walking around Loreto came upon this guy who was locked in a compound to provide security.  Initially aggressive, after spending a few minutes talking to him he allowed me to pet him.  Although this guy was being fed he just seemed lonely and I convinced myself that he simply wanted some attention. I really have a hard time with how dogs are treated in Baja as you see starving strays or dogs chained out just about everywhere you go. Most likely, during the day, he's simply chained up somewhere before being placed here after business hours.  Really sad to me how people can mistreat or neglect a helpless animal.

Next stop.........Aqua Verde