Swimming with the Dolphins

As much as I wanted to swim with the whale sharks, Linda wanted to swim with the dolphins. We took a 20 minute shuttle from the resort to San Jose del Cabo for the adventure.  It seems like the time with the dolphins was about 1.5 hours which was surprisingly long.  There were 7 or 8 of us in the group and we all did tricks with the dolphins.  After the dolphin adventure we were taken to another enclosure for a sea lion show.  Great tour.

Unfortunately the time has come to depart Cabo and start the 1000 mile trip back to the states. It has been fun and now time to start thinking about the drive North with all the semi’s coming at me.  We understand the Federal Police are tougher on the North bound trip.  Next stop is at a town we jumped over on the way down and another Gem of Baja. Loreto.

The town was very special, with a calm quiet presentation everywhere we went. Nobody was in a hurry, and we did not run into a crowd anywhere we went.  Very peaceful to stroll the town in the late afternoon and shop or site see. This town has one of the oldest missions in Mexico.  I thought I took a pic of the plaque, but can’t find it.  So, I have referred to Wikipedia for the following info. The pictures are some of Linda’s work at black and white editing. Iphones are amazing!

The mission was founded on October 25, 1697 at the Monqui Native American (Indian) settlement of Conchó in the present city of Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Established by the Catholic Church‘s Jesuit missionary Juan María de Salvatierra, Loreto was the first successful mission and Spanish town in Baja California. The mission is located at 26°00′37″N 111°20′36″W.

The mission closed in 1829. The Mission Church survives and is located in downtown Loreto.

On October 19, 1697, Salvatierra, with nine armed men, disembarked from the galley Santa Elvira at the place the Indians called Conchó (probably meaning waterhole). The site was distinguished by “a small patch of stunted shrubbery and a spring of fresh water, both rare luxuries in that inhospitable country.” In the first days after their arrival, the missionary erected a modest structure that served as a chapel, to the front of which they affixed a wooden cross. On October 25 they carried the image of the Virgin of Our Lady of Loreto in a solemn procession, a ritual of faith that claimed the area as Spanish territory. Thus began the Mission Loreto.[2]

By the end of 1698, one year after its founding, the Loreto mission had a population of about 100 Monqui families who had been converted to Christianity, nearly all of the Monqui who had lived along a 65 kilometers (40 mi) stretch of coast. This population of around 400 steadily decreased thereafter because of the toll from imported European diseases. By 1733, the Monqui population of Loreto was only 134 and it was maintained thereafter at about that level only by importing Christian Indians from other parts of Baja California. In 1762, a Jesuit report recorded only 38 baptisms in the previous 18 years — but 309 deaths.

At the same time as the Monqui population declined, the imported Spanish, mestizo, and Indian population of Loreto increased. In 1730, the Jesuits recorded the non-Monqui population of Loreto at 175, which included 99 men and their wives and children. The men were employed as soldiers, sailors, artisans, teamsters, and cowboys. By 1770 the total population of Loreto was more than 400 of whom only about 120 were Indians indigenous to Baja California. The Monqui as a people and distinct culture were virtually extinct

So, on the second day, Edgar and I chartered a Panga to try some more fishing.  The girls went with us and we dropped them off on the Coronado Island a couple of miles off the marina.  They had a great time exploring while we chased fish.  (Yes, they were perfectly safe.  “No Bad Days” in Baja.) 

The fishing was better, but because of a little late start, it was slow. In fact so slow I caught none and Edgar caught 1.  A nice yellow tail tuna. Yes, thats me holding his tuna, I wanted to see what it was like to touch a fish on this trip. The Panga driver, “Blackie” was a great and you can tell he really takes care of his boat.

Another of the very cool place on the list of never ending cool places in Baja. Here is a link to an article that has a good description of the town and it’s history. 

Now back to the story the guy in the Southwind at Loreto Shores RV Park told me.  When we told him we were stopping at Santa Rosalia, he said there were two things we had to do in this town.. One was the Eiffel Church and the other was visit the Copper Mine Museum.  The Eiffel Church was presented along with the Eiffel Tower at the 1897 Worlds Fair in Paris.

Alexander Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) had designed a pre-fabricated metal church in 1884 as a prototype for missionary churches in France’s tropical colonies. Built in 1887 to be strong enough to withstand severe tropical weather, the church is made from galvanized iron. In 1889 the church and the Eiffel Tower were put on display at the Paris World’s Exposition. Gustave won first prize for the church’s design.

Years later, an official for the mine learned of the church being stored in a Brussels warehouse. He purchased it and had the church shipped to Santa Rosalía, on a sailing ship, where it was reassembled in 1897. It was given the name ‘Iglesia de Santa Bárbara’.

The copper deposits thinned in the 1920’s, but failing to sell their operation El Boleo continued mining until 1953. A Mexican company continued to work the mine and new activity from a Canadian company has promised a re-birth to the copper and also manganese mining. The Eiffel church, and many of Santa Rosalia’s buildings and original hotels remain today along with some of the mine’s hardware and a railroad engine.

One last stop in San Quintin. We were not a lucky running the beach as we did the first time. Both of us were stuck deep. Great bunch of locals helped dig us out and get us back on the road. No Damage.

End of the trip finally came with a terrible traffic drive thru Ensenada and then back thru the border uneventfully. The trip was a little over three Weeks.

It was a trip of a lifetime!