We were pleased to see that the wind had calmed down significantly. However, it still at about 16-knots sustained, so it was still windy.
The four boats had all agreed to go to Punta Salinas (also called San Ysidro) on the southwest side of Isla San Jose this morning. According to the cruising guide, there were ruins of an old salt mining operation that sounded interesting. We’d wanted to go there before, but we’d heard that bitey bugs were a big problem there. Now that bitey bug season was over, it was the ideal time to go.
Since it was only a 45-minute ride, in the morning, we took our time getting ready to go. We were last ones to leave. The ride over was uneventful. It was 56-degrees Fahrenheit (13-degrees Celsius), the sun was totally blocked by dark clouds, and the wind was bitter cold. Christi was freezing as we anchored, even in a heavy jacket. The first shot is looking northwest, at the tip of the point that protects this anchorage. In the distance is Baja. San Evaristo is just north of what you can see of Baja in the photo.
Here is the nearly-full moon during the sunrise on Monday, January 9.
We arrived at the Museum of Whales and Sciences of the Sea at 10:15. Our friends on Sirena met us there. The entry fee was $2.00 USD per person, with an extra $1.00 USD per person for the guided tour. We opted for the guided tour. The museum was small, but the tour was detailed and informative, lasting about an hour and a half. In addition to whales, the museum also had displays on dolphins, sea lions, manatees, turtles and more.
We started in the evolution room, where the guide explained that ocean mammals, such as whales and dolphins, were originally land mammals that went into the sea for food and eventually evolved to live in the sea. He talked about how the different sea animals have evolved. For example, whales nostrils evolved from the front of their face to the top of their heads, and whales have a tiny foot that is currently evolving away. He talked a lot about how similar the bone structures of sea mammals were to various land mammals, especially humans.
It was a mellow day. As usual, we spent the morning doing chores. While Christi and Keith were washing Kosmos, a marina employee came by in a small boat and asked if that was our dinghy. When they looked over, they saw our dinghy was floating away! Eric hopped into his boat and they retrieved the dinghy. We are so grateful to him. Had he not seen it and alerted us, the dinghy would have likely smashed up on the rocks.
The malecon stretches on for miles. When we felt like we’d walked far enough, we turned inland and headed towards the historic church. Just a block in from the malecon, there was a pedestrian walkway that was packed with vendors selling assorted goods.
Here is the other end of the walkway. You can see that the vendor stalls end just before the entrance to Sears.