Day four opened with the ship sailing north in the Sea of Cortez, hours away from Loreto and JoCoachella.

Heavier Seas in the Morning

As we woke up, it was fairly apparent we were in heavier seas, though nothing too distressing. After looking around (and at the map), it seemed that the Sea of Cortez had a much stronger southern wind. As the ship began to turn into Loreto, this wind was rocking the ship quite a bit.

This was most notable in the pool, so naturally, I took some pictures and videos:

Breakfast

By this point, my breakfast had settled around a typical set of foods from all over the Lido Buffet:

Crepe filled with apple compote, made fresh
Parfait or Yogurt
Hash Browns and/or Bagel with raspberry cream cheese

Super healthy? Nope! But it sure is tasty!

Exploring Loreto

After a slightly delayed disembarkation at Loreto, we started to explore the quiet and beautiful town of Loreto. As it was a tendered port, we were taken to a small harbor filled with the local fishing fleet.

After getting off, we were greeted by an excellent band and a curiously worded sign:

As we walked the path to town center, it became very clear that a ship arriving was quite the even for the town. Almost every shop had something out on the sidewalk ranging from a musical act, to a crier, to samples and more. Also featured were a number of local features, from dance groups to school mariachi bands. All in all, the tourist area around town hall was a great area to explore.

Also very noticeable was the omnipresent police/military force roaming the streets. It was clear the town was making a show of force. Over the course of the day, we probably saw 3-4 technicals packed with soldiers, as well as numerous police. While their presence faded over the course of the day (and into the next), their point was clearly made.

Don’t let this scare you away though. Our day in Loreto was easily the best day of the trip, and I eagerly look forward to returning!

Some pictures from our exploration of town:

Coastal Panorama on walkway to town center

JoCoachella

The evening entertainment while in Loreto was the inaugural JoCoachella, which featured several of the headliner artists from the ship, from 5 PM to around 1 AM.

Prior to the show, everyone was encouraged to eat locally, or buy tickets for the food festival hosted by the local restaurant organization. The food festival basically gave you a set of 5? tickets that could be redeemed at any of the booths around the square, each of which featured local food.

The artists included:

Ted Leo
Jean Grae
John Roderick
Jonathan Coulton (Full band show)
Nerf Herder
Loreto Dance Party with Riz Rollins

JoCoachella Panorama, as the show starts

JoCoachella panorama as Jonathan Coulton takes the stage

The town square (and surrounding area) was very nicely built up for visitors, but that didn’t stop a few reminders of Mexico from creeping in. Most amazing was the effective but sketchy electrical work around the square.

Electrical code in Loreto is a bit different

Quite simply, they ran loops of green wire around the whole square, then tapped into it, presumably with a knife and tape, to install plugs. And given the amount of tape on the wire, it had clearly been used for events past.

While it was clearly safe enough, this would have been quite a scandal in the US. Hopefully their luck holds out.

Wrap Up

Since we had been keeping an early schedule, and didn’t really recognize the last few artists, we headed back to the ship after Jonathan Coulton’s set wrapped. The tender ride to the ship was a nice way to wind down from the day, and we went to sleep shortly after arriving on the ship.