Southward Ho, Eventually

The crew of Anduril become sometimes easily bored of an anchorage and seek nearby alternatives.  Strongish north winds had for 3 days prevented any talk of relocation from Santispac to nearby El Burro Cove, but windy days then turned to mild ones and for a change of scenery off we went on a 3 mile neighborhood cruise. 

El Burro Cove is home to a beach lined with thatched cottages, built cozily right up tight to the shore - at high tide there being barely enough room to walk past their beach decks.  Occupants are mostly gringos of retirement age, nice middle class, alternative-lifestyle sorts of people who have discovered that they can live the winter good life here, without spending a fortune on the glitzy living found in fancier Mexican locales.  El Burro is home to Bertha’s restaurant. On Saturday nights all the tourist denizens from the nearby beaches of Bahia Concepcion and also the town of Mulege jump in their cars and arrive to party at Bertha’s with the gringo blues band.  Never ones to turn our noses up at a party, we joined in the dancing with all the others:  grey hair, no hair, paunchy guts and loosely swinging arm flesh, all whooping it up wild. Our kids would be proud of us, even if they might feel a little sick seeing what the future of partying beholds when their own cohort ages out.

One change of scenery soon caused us to wish for another and we decided it would be a shame not to see more of the Baja coast, heading north, not south.  The problem with this plan being that winter is coming here and the wind are now consistently blowing from the north, so that meant more uphill track and lumpy seas to crash into.  We have gotten lazy and soft about sailing, so naturally we complained to each other as we spent 9 or 10 hours of sailing spread over 2 days to get to what proved to be a great decision to travel to the coastal mining town of Santa Rosalia, a town of mining, not tourism. It is a welcome change for once in Mexico not to be the personal font of local wealth development! 

The copper/poly-metals mine here was first established in 1885 by a French concern. Like most mining towns it has seen its historical fortunes rise and fall with the fits-and-starts-economics of mining.   But today the mine is operational and this is a relatively prosperous community with newish cars and trucks driving the streets.  The old and the new stand in sharp contrast though, as the waterfront is littered with the wreckage of abandoned mill works and still standing in the harbour are the rotting timbers of the concentrate load-out plant that formerly loaded German sailing ships with ore. 

Building architecture is “French influenced wild west”, with turn of the 20^th century western USA timber framing and traditional wood siding that was shipped from BC and Oregon to build the mine.  The local church was quite interesting to Greg, as it is an early example of pre-fabricated steel construction, designed by no less an engineering alumnus than Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). It was first exhibited in France in 1890 and won a design award before being disassembled and shipped to Santa Rosalia in 1897. 

The configuration of town commerce is very different from a tourist stop, and we could find only one good restaurant within walking distance of the harbour district.  Coffee shops servicing workers needing caffeine to start their day were far more numerous, as were hardware stores and auto parts supply shops.  The role played by the Mining Company over the years as economic patriarch is plainly evident all over the town.  Children’s playgrounds, old locomotives and mining hardware restored for display on the streets, community parks and handicap access improvements are all initiatives of the sort of good works that mining companies like to show off as stewards of the community. 

To a mining history buff this place is no doubt some sort of Mecca. Historical artifacts are everywhere. After visiting the old mine administration office turned Mining Museum we strolled over to the Hotel Francis, which is still operational.  The furnishings of the lobby and dining room of this quiet and unassuming historical gem made us think that a night’s lodging here would be an epic experience in “boutique hotel” adventure.  Drivers making their annual trek south to Cabo San Lucas and wanting to make an interesting road detour, take note.

Dwellings for wintering gringos at Playa El Burro.

Petroglyphs or Not?

Kayaking at Playa El Burro.

 

Collared Forest Falcon

Snowy Egret

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

No icy cold margaritas at the abandoned Hotel Posada de las Flores, Punta Chivato.

The 9/11 house never completed.

The best shell beach at Punta Chivato.

Punta Chivato.

 

Three lovely days at the Fonatur Marina at Santa Rosalia.

Hotel Frances built in 1886 is still operating.

The mining museum was the original admin building for Compagnie du Boleo.

Remains of the old copper processing buildings.

 

Ore Loadout Building at the harbour.

Santa Rosalia main plaza.    All our meals and drinks were consumed on this corner at El Muelle Restaurant.

Pre-fabricated steel church, Iglesia Santa Barbara, designed by Gustave Eiffel and shipped from Belgium.

French architecture and buildings built from wood imported from Oregon and Canada.