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Passing by Solitary Rock on my way out
of Agua Verde
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Turned out to be a bit of a bash for a while, but I got
to sail at 5-6 knots with jib alone.
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Scenery along the way. Look carefully and you will
see a sailboat on the horizon line.
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One of the many small islands that need to be avoided
on the way to Puerto Escondido.
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An uncharted rock near shore. There are many, so I stay
at least 5 miles out unless approaching an anchorage.
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Puerto Escondido is now run by a private entity and there
is no anchoring. Moorings and slips are available.
I picked up a mooring at the "X."
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| Circadian on a mooring |
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| My view of the inner harbor |
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| Early morning |
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| Coping |
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| Looking out the "window" |
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| Sunrise |
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| I came to think of this formation as Cathedral Peak |
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| Moon setting as the sun rises |
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| Blue moon rising over the mountain. |
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| The full blue moon |
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| Saguaro cactus from directly above |
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| Whale bones at the entrance to the harbor |
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Looking toward the inner harbor through the narrow
entrance.
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| Looking toward the marina from the jetty |
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| Looking toward the marina from "The Ellipse" |
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| The marina restaurant |
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| The pool is on the second floor! |
The Mabula Ray Show
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The mabula rays put on a great show for the boats out
on the moorings.
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It's not easy to photograph them mid-air, but after
a week I got pretty good at it.
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| This is what a ray looks like swimming on the surface. |
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The males jump and land with a loud smack in
order to attract females.
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| Sometimes they do a backflip. |
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| Landing upside down at the end of the flip. |
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| Flipping for the nearby females |
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| A high flyer |
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| This is why some people refer to them at bat rays. |
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A rare site: two rays jumping together in formation!
Only time I saw it and I was lucky enough to
capture the moment.
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| Sometimes the rays jump right next to the boat. |
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I rented a car twice for two trips into Loreto: one for
pleasure, one to find a new pump.
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| Highway 1 runs along the coast to Loreto. |
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While a good road, there was detour around improvements
being done.
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| Nearer Loreto, it becomes 4-lane highway. |
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Loreto has been designated a Puebla Magica, and is
a charming town.
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| Looking toward the town government center from the plaza |
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| Mural inside the government center |
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| Another mural inside the government center |
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| Door on the plaza |
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Loreto's claim to fame is it boasts the first of
the Spanish missions.
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| Nuestra Senora de Loreto church |
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| Relatively modest, but hey, it dates from 1697! |
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| Looking toward the plaza from the church |
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I met this guy on the way back. I saw him across the
road, and when I stopped to take a picture, he came
right over and stuck his head in the open window.
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I didn't see this sign until afterward. I think he
expects to be fed and gets mad if you don't.
I'm glad I knew enough to keep control of his head!
He bumped the car several times when I rolled
up the window and slowly drove away.
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Tackling Fresh Water Problems
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Initially I thought the failure of the freshwater pump
was failure to prime due to a low water level in the
tank, which has happened before. So, I cranked up
the watermaker for the first time on the cruise.
Naturally, the battery in the salinity tester was bad.
Naturally, I didn't have a spare. I swiped the battery
out of the CD player remote, which was close
enough and same voltage. It worked.
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After filling the tank with good RO water,
I went through the process of testing
the pump and the spare over two days.
Both were bad.
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So, to Plan B: the footpump. That
turned out not to work either because
all the lines were filled with air now and
it wasn't capable of drawing water from
the tank through electric pump and through
all the plumbing. I will need to put in
a more direct intake line from the tank.
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In the meantime, Plan C! Water jug with a spout.
Even with that, I had to repair a cracked fitting,
proving once again that Paradise ain't fer sissies!
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Fortunately, the only marine supply store in Loreto
had some freshwater pumps. They even had the
right battery for my salinity meter! I left the store
relieved and in a celebratory mood
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I decided to have a beer and lunch at the only craft
brewery/restaurant in the area.
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It was in a nice spot on the plaza,
and the beer was great!
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I installed the new pump and it worked great, with
a greater capacity than the old one. A happy
ending! Now I just need to wait for the weather to
improve.
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