The Saga of the Vessel Circadian: Santa Rosalia

Once again I opted to skip a planned stop. This time I sailed right on by Punta Chivato (which is supposed to have a good shelling beach), and pressed on to Santa Rosalia in order to have a more secure anchorage as well as save a little time to allow for some rest before making the big crossing to San Carlos. Santa Rosalia turned out to be quite an interesting spot because of its unusual history and the extensive remains of the Boleo Company's large copper mining and smelting operation here. I spent a couple days here exploring, resting, and getting ready to cross the Gulf of California again. I also took a lot of photos, so I'll let them tell the story.

Santa Rosalia's small harbor was originally completed in

1922 by the Compagnie du Boleo to support its copper
mining and smelting operations. The original Boleo
Company was formed from the consolidation of several

smaller claims in the late 1860's by Guillermo

Eisenmann and Eustaquio Valle. With a sweetheart

deal from the Mexican government, the French

company purchased the claim, built a major

operation and prospered through the first third of the

20th century until the ore supply dwindled.

I anchored in the northwest corner of the harbor.

Although there is a Port Captain and Customs office

here, no one seemed interested in processing

paperwork, including the marina where I paid

$2.50/day to tie up my dinghy when I wanted

to spend time ashore.

In an old industrial harbor like this, there is

no telling what kind of junk lies on the

bottom waiting to snag and retain an anchor.

So, I secured a heavy retrieval line to the back

of the anchor and the other end to an orange

float in case I needed to pull it out backwards

to free it. I hope it's a needless precaution!

This is a view of the old copper smelter from Circadian.

A closer look at the northwest corner of the harbor

showing the ruins of an old tower.

I think this is the same corner back in the day.

Looking toward the Boleo mine, smelter and office from

the harbor entrance.

Santa Rosalia remains an active commercial port.

This is the ferry from Guaymas arriving.

The ferry terminal is a large modern facility.

This is a supply vessel that seems to arrive every morning

at the commercial dock behind me. It is off-loading

a flatbed truck that's a little too big for the boat's crane

to handle. No problem: just lift the back first and

set it down on a forklift. Then lift the front while

the forklift backs up. A little dicey and definitely

not OSHA approved, but they did it.

This is all that's left of what used to be the panga dock.

Now the fishermen just tie their boats to the jetty and

let them rest on the bottom at low tide.

Remains of the panga pier, a sunken vessel, and the

old marine railway.

It was a BIG marine railway!

Circadian visible in the background.

To go ashore, I rowed the dinghy to the

little Fonatur Marina. All of them are

built with the same modern plan. But

there were a couple of little surprises here.

There was a yellow-crowned heron roosting

on the corner of the second floor patio,

and a large nest on top of the tower.

When I got a close look, I could tell it was an osprey nest.

This is a fledgling.

One of the adults was keeping an eye on things

from on top of a nearby pole.

He/she eventually decided it was safe to go back to the nest.

The original part of town flows back up the valley from

the harbor. ("New Santa Rosalia" is growing north of

town along the coast.)

On my walk into town I encountered these two tunnels

dug into the hillside.

They looked like a mine, but appeared new. Later, I

encountered a workman in the tunnel who told me

they were building a new museum!

Like most Mexican towns, Santa Rosalia has a main park

and a small plaza. However, most don't have a

steam locomotive! This is one of several that remain from

the Boleo Company's operations. The display

was sponsored by the local Rotary Club, which seems

quite active.

The gazebo in the plaza is in the French style because

the Boleo Company was French, and essentially

built the town.

Santa Rosalia is also known for its unique church.

It is built of steel and Gustav Eiffel is credited

with the design. Carlos La Frogue, then manager

of the Boleo Company, bought it in Belgium,

had it disassembled and shipped to Santa Rosalia

at the end of the 19th century. It is now under

the protection of Santa Barbara, the patron saint

of miners.

The church soon after the resurrection.

The church remains in good shape and in active use.

The original offices of the Boleo Company were housed

in this building. It is now a museum.

The building remains much the same as it was when used

by the Boleo Company.

The Boleo Company operated out of this office from about

1889 until the early 1950's. Desks and office machines

of the era remain in place.

Account ledgers from an earlier day remain in the office safe.

This is one of the first copper ingots smelted in Santa Rosalia.

An ore car from the mine

A steam shovel

Steam locamotive

Old mine equipment and rail cars are displayed, or

just sitting around, in various locations around town.

Note the artistry in the weld on this big smelting

bucket. The dark patch in the background

is a slag pile.

The mine

Looking down on the old smelter building

The building on the right housed the electric plant and

the water plant.

Looking toward the electrical plant from the base of the

remaining giant brick chimney.

Tall chimney!

A huge storage tank. Don't know if it was for water or fuel.

Back along the waterfront there is a small malecon that

provides closer access to the smelter. The building

on the left might be the old customs house.

Interesting exchange windows. Payroll?

Steamer tickets?

It's difficult to grasp the scale of these things from a
photo. The pipes are about 8 feet in diameter.
Note the panga in the lower left corner.

Small rail car machinery

You can walk right into the decaying old smelter.

It's equally fascinating and dangerous. You can

look around or walk around, just don't do both at

the same time! Never happen in the U.S.

Furnaces

It's all MUCH bigger than it looks here.

The electric and water plant building was in better shape.

Looking down from the second floor. Sadly, with an open

building and no security, thieves have continually
vandalized the motors and generators to steal the
copper wire. It's ironic that copper is now valuable
enough to steal, but not enough to mine when
the vein thins out.