By late March, it was time for our guest, the kids’ Grandpa Scott, to head back home to the Pacific Northwest. He’d been cruising with us since mid-February and had come all the way south with us from Puerto Penasco. Before flying out from Loreto though, we first had to check out Honeymoon Cove at Isla Danzante, Puerto Escondido in the mooring field, and the San Javier Mission in the mountains above Loreto by rental car.

Honeymoon Cove, Isla Danzante – March 2023

Isla Danzante 2023

On Evan’s 13th birthday, we sailed from Isla Coronado down to Isla Danzante to anchor in Honeymoon Cove for a few days. We knew that this anchorage is small and you can typically only fit a couple of cruising boats in there, unless you’re willing to anchor pretty deep (~70+ feet).

Thankfully, when we arrived, there were no other boats, so we were able to pick a spot based solely on its merits as an anchorage.

Honeymoon Cove, Isla Danzante 2023

We stayed here for a few nights, exploring the rocky shore and enjoying the resident dolphins that visited on the reg.

San Javier Mission – March 2023

We went in to Puerto Escondido a couple of nights before Scott had to leave. We showed him around the fancy marina and set up a rental car for the following day so that we could take a drive up into the mountains west of Loreto to see the San Javier Mission.

San Javier Mission

The drive up into the mountains alone was worth the cost of the rental car. It was SO gorgeous. And, at the end, there was this amazing building which dated back to 1699!

I found a great article that you can read if you’re interested in the history of this place: CLICK HERE.

Down the hill from the mission itself, we paid a small fee to see a 350 or 400 year old olive tree.

old olive tree at the san javier mission
farms at the San Javier Mission
San Javier mission
San Javier Mission

After spending several hours on both the drive to and from the mission, and exploring the mission and grounds itself, we headed back to the town of Loreto to show Scott around the cute little Baja town.

And, before we knew it, the time had come for all of us to say goodbye to Scott. He packed his things and Brenden took him to the airport in Loreto the next day.

The goodbyes in this lifestyle are pretty hard.

Thanks for reading! ~Rachel