April 25, 2020
How sweet it is-to get our hands on some nice, fresh produce, including 30 eggs (gold!!!) and a huge bag of coffee, ground fresh. We enjoyed Puerto Escondido for a couple of days. Though we walked around with our uncomfortable N95 masks while we shopped at the well-stocked market (that even had Rolf’s favorite Magnum ice cream bars!), and vied with a handful of other cruisers, all trying to get their laundry done with only two machines, it was great to see people again! We all did our best to maintain proper distance, but there was plenty of room, including the upstairs, which featured a deserted pool and lounge chairs with a jacuzzi and an outdoor restaurant, offering clay oven pizza. If we stood right outside the marina office, we could grab some LTE cell reception and make a phone call. It was all very efficient, save for the casual way of obtaining a mooring. You basically grab one you want, check to be sure there is not some oddball floating device attached meaning some one else had “claimed” it, and then go pay your $1 per foot per day in the office. A neighbor on one of the moorings pointed us to the one next to him, but after being so kind as to get in his dinghy to help us with it, discovered it had a small clear plastic bottle attached! Darn…claimed! We kept it for the night, since it was getting late, and the next day were informed in some sort of Spanglish that it was available for us for now (we think!) by an official looking guy in a panga. Later, we run into cruisers that just go ahead and pay for a month on these limited moorings…then visit the nearby islands. So I suppose it’s just plain good business for the marina to “double book” them and collect! None of them have numbers or marks for someone to actually keep track of what is going on. Typical!
Puerto Escondido is really relaxing…surrounded by the magnificent Sierra de La Giganta range of rugged, craggy peaks. I indulged in some paddle boarding around the whole bay, and truly appreciated our take out pizza and salad picnic on the foredeck, as well as the serene star-filled nights.
True to our restless nature, we are ready to move on after two days. Since it once more got late after the good people at the market did our shopping for us in Loreto (only residents allowed) and delivered it back to the store for us to pick up the next day, we decided to head the six miles or so south back to Candoleros. The prospect of that 4G LTE cell service more than outweighs the vivid memory of the massive ball of sea grass we had to maneuver off our anchor last time we were there at Easter. More friends have crammed into Honeymoon Bay right across the way, where we tried to anchor the other day, but it’s far too crowded there now, much as we’d love to join them! We proudly hoist our new Mexico courtesy flag, obtained in PE, to replace our faded, shredded and disrespectful existing flag, which we vow to frame when we get home!

As it turns out, one rather bumpy night is enough in Candeleros. We’ve taken full advantage of the cell service to update the blog, order birthday presents, check banking records, send necessary email correspondence, have a few laughs at the memes on Facebook, and make ourselves nauseous with the news of our favorite President’s latest blunders amid the Corona Virus.
The next day, we wait impatiently for the wind to come up, which it doesn’t, so we motor the twenty or so miles around Isla Danzante and the hidden reef, and back up the east coast of Isla Carmen for round two! Meanwhile, our cruiser friends inform us that they were approached by officials in a boat the other day, who took pictures of their vessel and required them to sign a document confirming that they agreed to abide by new restrictions for no aquatic activities whatsoever. This includes swimming, snorkeling, paddling of any craft and even riding in dinghies! Are you kidding me? Perfect, since the thermometer is now climbing into the upper 80’s/low 90’s with still winds! Very depressing. If it was an issue or concern due to the spread of the virus, I would understand this. But, if we are maintaining distance as we cruisers are, this just doesn’t make sense except as a measure of fairness. If they are telling the local people they cannot go to the beach or engage in these activities, it is seen as highly unfair that cruisers are out doing these things. So I understand that, until we get to the next bay, Bahia Salinas. There is a 108 foot pleasure boat there with all manner of water toys hanging off the back, and people are zooming around the bay on jet skis! Different cruiser friends there do mention also being visited and signing. However, they asked to be allowed to at least walk along the beach as we cruisers do need to get off the boat for exercise and sanity maintenance. It seemed they were granted “permission” with a nod and a shrug of sorts to that, so we’ll take it. This beach is the best we’ve encountered yet...nice soft white sand and lengthy!