Friday morning (August 19), the sky was ominously gray. The weather forecast said a storm was approaching. We could see that it was raining in the distance. But it was (relatively) cool! We decided to risk to the rain and walk to the grocery store, about a mile away. We went with another cruiser named Teal, who served as a tour guide.
We walked to the store along one route and back along another. On the way to the store, we walked along the waterfront into downtown, then took a staircase up the hill to a road.
On Wednesday (August 17), all three of us were still feeling off-kilter from the night passage on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Brett from Avalon came over and the boys played games all day. Eric played with them some in between doing chores. Christi did some cooking and some chores.
In the evening, we all went to the pool for social hour. Christi and the boys didn’t stay long; instead, they went for a walk to get aqua frescas in town. Agua frescas are a broad category of light, refreshing drinks that include include diluted, lightly sweetened fruits juices and teas made of local flowers. We haven’t mentioned them before, but limonada (basically a light lemonade, but made with lime) jamaica (tea made from hibiscus flowers), and pina (diluted pineapple juice) have become staples for us when we go out to eat. This time Christi tried one called Fruita that was mixed fruit with a touch of cream. It was phenomenal.
I liked Ballandra cove. I went snorkeling and used the sea scooter. I also went tubing with some kids. I played with them for a while. We ate barbecue with Nick.
J’ai aimé Ballandra Cove. Je suis allé plonger et j’ai utilisé le scooter sous marin. Je suis aussi allé sur une bouée tirée par un bateau avec des enfants. J’ai joué avec eux pendant longtemps. Nous avons mangé un barbecue avec Nick.
One of the reasons we came to Santa Rosalia was to meet another boating family with a son close in age to Keith. On Tuesday (August 16), within minutes of being tied up in the marina at Santa Rosalia, Keith headed over to their boat, Avalon, to meet Brett. They were instant friends. Christi and Eric were tired from the overnight passage, so they rested in the afternoon while the boys played.
We went out for an early dinner with the Avalon family at a restaurant called Terco’s, a short walk from the marina.
Santa Rosalia was originally a company town for a French mining company, and on the way to the restaurant, we passed by some of the old mine tunnels, which apparently have recently been turned into a museum.
One of the big plusses of being in a marina is being able to run the air conditioning 24/7. One of the big negatives of leaving a marina after running A/C 24/7 is that it is hard to adjust back to the heat. Most days have been in the 90s and humid, with the “feels like” temperature close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat makes us all lethargic. It is hard to sleep, so we’re also tired and a little grumpy.
On Sunday (August 14), Eric broke down and ran the generator all day so we could be comfortable. Eric did go for a swim at one point, but we pretty much holed ourselves up in the boat all day. The cool air gave Christi a burst of energy, and she did chores. She tried out her solar oven again, this time with roasted broccoli, and was successful. Woo hoo!
Temptress pulled out early in the morning, but later in the day the other neighbors that we had gotten to know in the marina, on a boat named Namaste, pulled in.
Nick and Veronica made an awesome dinner for us. They brought the food to us at Kosmos to enjoy the A/C. Later in the evening, the Namaste crew also came over. The adults had a great time, but Keith was bored with the adults’ boat talk.
Here are a couple of shots of the sunrise. The second one is facing Loreto and the moon.
