Gringos in Mexico, Part II

This the second half of the abbreviated scoop on our cruise in the Sea of Cortez. I have much edited it down to these two posts. There was certainly a lot to talk about, and while looking over several hundred photos it was hard to pick and choose. I keep reminding myself that this blog is supposed to be about life in the TCI. Not about our travels 'off-island'. I can kinda justify Mexico, since that seems to be one of those places that dreamers such as ourselves tend to dream about. Heck I been wanting to run away to Mexico since I was old enough read about it. This trip didn't qualify as running away of course, but it did give me a real clear picture of what living in that part of Mexico would be like.

Here is yet another Baja California Sur sunrise:



We seemed to have pretty good sunsets almost every day in Mexico, with the sunrises a little less colorful . That's the opposite of what we see here, with attention grabbing sunrises outnumbering the sunsets. Here we get the sun coming up over thousands of miles of open ocean. And in Baja the sun sets over thousands of miles of open ocean. Must be a factor, you reckon?

I also noticed how long the sun took to set in the Sea of Cortez. So long that one actually has time to notice the nice sunset, order another drink and think about it, and then still have time to go hunt down the camera. Here, if I notice it's a good sunset I have maybe fifteen minutes max to grab a camera before it's down and dark. The sunsets in Baja linger like that first serious kiss. La Gringa's theory is that since there is rugged terrain between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific that the sun is essentially setting twice and one blends into the other. It sets once when it is touching the rim of the mountains, and then puts you into an early twilight between the time when it drops behind the mountains and when it finally disappears into the ocean. That makes sense. She's pretty smart that way.

Anyhow, back to the week in the Sea of Cortez. About mid-week we anchored off this little bitty island which the charts call Isla Coyote. The locals call it El Pardito, too. It's really not much more than a big rock, but something like 20 or so descendents of a guy named Juan Cuevas live there. They have a small village and make a living out of fishing, and catering to interested tourists who come ashore to look at their homes, ride sea turtles, buy some jewelry, etc. I am not going to write about that part of it here, because since it's on the tour of course someone has already written all about it. If you want to know more, you can Google up "Isla Coyote" or even read the story of Don Juancho at
http://math.ucr.edu/ftm/bajaPages/Tales/DonJuancho.html

After thinking about Juan Cuervos descendents all living on one small island together for over 70 years,my six days on a boat with my in-laws didn't seem to be much of a problem at all.

What interested me about these families living on this rock was the fresh water situation. Fresh water is one of those topics I think about a lot - very much due to our own situation here in the TCI. It only rains on a few days a year in Baja. When I asked where they got their fresh water I was told that they basically bum it from various boats including the one we were on. I was pondering the mechanics of how they get the water from a boat big enough to carry that much water, up to their little village on the rock. Boats big enough to have big water tanks are also too big to anchor close to Isla Coyote. I had a mental picture of a half mile of garden hose....And then I spotted a panga headed out toward where we were anchored.



And my questions were soon answered.

This was one of the Cuevas family coming out for a load of fresh water from the "Safari Quest". He had that panga loaded up with all sorts of empty plastic 5 gallon containers:



Thats about 300 or so gallons worth. We were able to talk, a little, about panga boats. I don't know how much info actually got communicated. There were a whole lot of words flowing in both directions. A lot of smiling. I do know we both appreciate the panga hull design. I also noted that Yamaha outboards are popular here, as they seem to be in third world countries in general. I gotta admit I had never seen a 100 horsepower Yamaha with tiller steering and engine controls before this:



Ignition, throttle, and shifter are all on the tiller. Once I started paying attention, I noticed that there are a lot of those here. And panga-style boats are very very common. We probably saw over a hundred during the week. Make that two hundred, at least. The Andros one that we saw at the marina was the only non-Mexican made panga that we saw all week. I think that says a lot for Andros Boatworks. That boat left to go unload the (by my calculations) 2500 lbs of water they took on, and another boat came out for more. They float a whole lot lower in the ocean when all those jugs are full.

After leaving Isla Coyote we motored to these rugged, isolated, bird-poop covered rocks sticking up out of the water for some more snorkeling.



The mission this day was 'swimming with sea-lions', and since swimming was involved La Gringa and I were all over that one. This is actually one island, with two large rock formations connected by a low area between them.



The place is thick with sea lions. The noise of them barking was tremendous. One of the island rocks has a pretty neat looking hole right through the middle of it, which the locals call "the keyhole".



The sea bottom here is pretty rocky without much sand. As far as I could see, it just slopes down, down, down into the deep:



The critters like to sun themselves on the rock ledges fringing some of the island:



Just off that part where the sea lions are snoozing there is an underwater ledge and the area is absolutely teeming with fish.



With isolation from land, protection from the wind, and unlimited fish to eat, it's really no wonder the sea lions like it here. Its pretty comfy there on that sun-baked rock. Makes you want to curl up and take a nap, doesn't it?



We swam over to that 'keyhole' formation, just to have a look at it.



It does indeed go all the way through the island:



The sea lions were acting a bit shy, at first, and staying away from the snorkelers. I was trying to keep an eye out for them underwater, but for the first half an hour all I saw underwater was fish:



Well, fish and La Gringa swimming down below me to harass the fish:



Of course I caught her while she was clearing her ears.

Eventually, we started seeing the sea lions rocketing past us underwater. I tried several times to get photos of them, but they are so danged fast that by the time I brought the camera around they were already past me and pulling away:



These swam right under me:



I found out later that the juveniles are usually the curious ones that will get right in your face underwater and of course the young ones were all snoozing in the sun while I was in the water. The ones I was seeing swimming under me were the adults, which are not nearly as inquisitive. Just my luck to show up at nap time.

The expedition leader , naturalist Kevin Martin, had some great cameras on board. Big Nikon digital SLRs with lenses that almost needed their own support team. Beat our little pocket digital all to heck quality wise. (ha ha but mine goes underwater). He took a group on a rubber boat ride later to get some better photos. These next two were taken by Kevin. First, a young sea lion now awake and in the mood to play:


(photo by Kevin Martin)

And one of the grumpy old adults, showing teeth that certainly appear to me to be fully functional. I also noticed he's got a fair number of scars on his neck as a record of past encounters with other grumpy old adults. Somehow, I can sort of identify with this one:


(photo by Kevin Martin)

That guy looks like he's seen some stuff in his life. Probably got some stories to tell. I didn't get close enough to ask, though. We were warned that the crusty old timers could be cantankerous. Same everywhere, I guess.

While these rocks are pretty impressive, they are not that rare in the Golfo de California. We saw some others in the distance throughout the week. No time to explore all of them. This one, for example:



Without going into a biological litany of all the other animals we saw on this trip, I do want to mention that we got into the largest pod of dolphin I have ever seen in all my travels. I am sure there were several hundred of them. I took a lot of pictures with our little camera, but the light was beginning to fade and once again Kevin's Nikon lenses did a much better job and I am going use a couple more of his photos here. Because they're better than mine.


(photo by Kevin Martin)

And the kids loaded into the rubber boat for a closer look:


(photo by Kevin Martin)

After the dolphins, we ran into a bunch of short finned pilot whales. Well, we didn't actually run into them literally. It's more like they flowed around us like they were a river and we were a rock. They pretty much ignored us. But that's certainly better than them running away. I did manage to get some photos of them from outside our stateroom door looking down:



The puffs of mist are from them blowing when they surface.

Here's one while he was blowing:



And here's another one of Kevin's excellent shots:


(photo by Kevin Martin)

So that's basically pretty much what we did for the week. Motored a few hours each evening, dropping the anchor in a protected cove or behind an island. Days were spent snorkeling, riding mules, hiking, kayaking, looking at critters, and just enjoying a very pleasant cruise. Eleven of our party were between the ages of 15 and 22, so they were hitting the water sports pretty heavy. Any morning when the water was calm...



They were up for some boarding, even before breakfast:



The crew rigged up a nice knotted rope swing, and there were some real creative belly flops going on. Especially after a few beers on the after deck. Here's the swing just before sunset:


(photo by Kevin Martin)

Finally, as all vacations go, it was time to start heading home. The weather had started turning a bit rough with winds and waves kicking up from the north so it was a good time to end it. Pulling into the harbor at La Paz, I noticed a lot of sailboats up on blocks, or 'on the hard' as them sailors have been known to say... It struck me how close together they were positioned:



and at first I thought "wow, if one of those gets blown down they all will fall like dominos.."

But then I started looking at them closer, and I think I got it figured out. It would be pretty hard for the wind to blow one of them over. They are so close together that they probably support each other to the sides. So rather than single boats with a lot of room around them in case they fall down, these guys get them acting more like a solid block of sailboats that simply cannot fall down. Has the added benefit of fitting a lot of boats onto a small area, too. Clever people, these Mexicanos.



So, now I am wondering what happens if I owned one of those boats, and called them up and said I would be down for the holiday weekend and wanted my boat launched from somewhere right there in the middle of that dense pack......hmm. Anyone know how they handle that? I know in some marinas they would say "Okay, no problem" and then pray fervently for something to delay me for a few weeks while dusting off that old standby...."we can't find the work order...who did you speak with, again?" But the Mexicans seem so efficient that I am sure they must have some solution. Maybe it's as simple as the boats here being stored for the duration, until boat launching season. Whenever that is.

We had a few hours to kill in La Paz, and La Gringa and I wandered around the streets doing the tourist thing. You know, getting away with being exactly the kind of people we complain about at home? If I could have rustled up a pair of black socks to wear with my Crocs, and a flowered shirt, I would have completed the image exactly. We were also finding out once again that there are two kinds of money: the money you work to keep in your wallet at home vs. the money you are just looking for excuses to blow when on vacation. (Ever notice that if you convert your home currency to the local currency it suddenly somehow gets much easier to spend? ) The price tags say something like $137. on an ashtray, and somehow a financial giddiness takes over when you realize how cute that ashtray is, that you don't need, when the real driving force is that you can spend $137 and it's really only ten bucks...."Here, Honey, let ME spend some this time!!!"

Mexican paper money is pretty neat, too. They have these little clear plastic windows in the bills. They look like this:



Twenty pesos is worth something around a buck forty six. I don't know how they can print money that fancy with a durable plastic window and still make money at it, you know? And who is going to counterfeit a bill worth $1.47 US? Still, I do like their currency. There is a pride and craftsmanship inherent in the Mexican culture that I really appreciate. Something about that money makes me want to slip a couple aces up my sleeve and sit down to a poker game with a shot of tequila and a loaded .45. Growing up with too many Western movies I guess. Hey, did you know that the Texas Rangers once hand-made their five star badges out of silver Cinco (5) Peso coins back in the 1800's? (that was the educational portion of the blog)

La Gringa picked up a bunch of long, loose dresses that she likes and which work well in the TCI, and one of those Mexican pullovers just in case we got caught in Mexico City in the cold on the way home. I didn't take many photos in La Paz, although it is a pretty colorful little city. The people are great, the food is fantastic, and La Gringa has discovered Herradura tequila. I got a couple of t-shirts. And Diet Coke is called Coke Light here.

I really got a kick out of all the artwork scattered along the waterfront. There are a lot of whimsical, nautical themed statues scattered all over town. Things like these three shellfish musicians:



The trip home was pretty boring. I know I shouldn't complain. I don't think we would prefer "exciting" flights. Boring is good when you are talking commercial airlines. It was La Paz to Mexico City, kill four hours over enchiladas and airport window shopping, change planes and arrive in Miami late. We could not get a flight from Miami until the next morning so we took a room at the Miami International airport hotel. I think we will try to avoid that in the future. What a hassle after a long day. The rooms there, well let's just say they are sufficient for a few hours sleep if you have an early plane to catch. But they have to be some of the smallest rooms for the price I have ever seen. So small you have to leave some of your vices outside. And the only place to eat at midnight was Burger King...first fast food we have had in over three years. Wasn't bad, actually. It even had a brief floor show provided by the manager telling some rowdies from a nearby bar that no, they could not bring their beers into Burger King to enjoy with the cuisine. We finally crashed at 2 AM in a room that was so small, that every time we tried to grin our teeth would touch the wall...

Mornings in Miami International .. What a mob scene!!. It did not help that American Airlines changed the gate from D 34 to E 22 just as we got there. Imagine our surprise when we found out that the plane we were expecting to fly us home was actually going to Antiqua..we were the last two people to board the correct flight. Out of breath and sweating from a fast couple miles through that danged airport. But we made it.

We were very glad to get off the plane in Providenciales, clear immigration and customs, and find the Land Rover dry. It tends to fill with water when it rains hard. It was also nice to hear that the funny noises seem to have stopped in the drive train. That was a last minute scramble on my part right before we drove the Land Rover to the airport for this trip. (Oh, I guess I didn't explain that I now know all the grease fittings and how to fill a front differential...thanks to the Internet)

Then we stopped by the "Pampered Paws" kennel to bail old Dooley out. We heard him barking and yipping when we pulled into the parking lot. There was no doubt that he had heard the Land Rover's diesel coming from a half mile away. I tried to get some movies of his excitement, but it was impossible. He would not hold still long enough for me to get him into the frame. I kept getting photos of a blank spot where he had just been. I did get one shot from a distance while he was rattling against the cell bars like he was screaming about his innocence:



Not a good photo for a number of reasons, but Dooley is the alert little knee-high-to-the-other- dogs thing commandeering the cell gate. We noticed that he was in a pen with six full-sized dogs. I guess he graduated from the puppy-sized kennel, and no longer gets housed with the Fifi's, Fluffy's, and Snookums. Nope. Dooley has been doing time with Killer, Zeke, and Boris.

I gave up trying movie-mode at this point, but managed to get a few quick images of him greeting La Gringa after ten days in the cage. Please notice that at no time are all four of his feet touching the deck:

All this was followed by an attempt to climb up into La Gringa's lap. Which of course doesn't exist while she is standing up. If we could get some flippers on those back feet, I believe he might be able to hover... They were just a blur..

It was hard to get a sharp photo of him. He was bouncing back and forth between us like a richochet on Dexadrine. Like a bullet in an oil drum. Found out the new camera keeps taking photos for as long as you hold the shutter down. There are few displays of pure excitement that can rival Dooley the Dervish when he gets cranked up to this level. That dog could make a hummingbird look sluggish.

So, after a day at home spent recuperating from the trip, and catching up on emails and messages, we are ready to get back to life in the TCI. And as I was writing this, our friend Preacher just called and said he had the fiberglass patched up enough on "Cay Lime" to maybe try launching her !! He's managed to get his hands on a 200 horsepower Evinrude. He also wants us to ride over to Middle Caicos on Sunday..So we should be having some more TCI photos to post in the not too distant future. Back to normal.

So it's Gracias, México. Hasta que nos encontremos otra vez.

Gringos in Mexico?!?!? Who woulda thunk it?

So, what do people who spend most of their year messing around with boats, the ocean, and small desert islands do for a vacation? I know this might seem insane, but we just yesterday returned from a mini-cruise during which we messed around with boats, the ocean, and small desert islands. Ah, but we did shift a continent to the left...

That must say something about La Gringa and me. It pretty much confirms our dyed-in-the-wool status as lifelong water babies. We spent six of the past ten days living on a boat surrounded by the rugged wilderness of Baja. The other four days were spent travelling from Providenciales to La Paz, Mexico, and back. But before I get into all that, here's a sunrise photo. Ah, but this one is in the Sea of Cortez:



Neither one of us are the type of people to go on a 'cruise'. Not a cruise conforming to what our mental image of a cruise entails. Oh, we know lots of people who love the big cruise ships. We have met people who take a cruise every year. We get contacted now by people who are planning a cruise that includes the TCI. And we can understand some of the elements of those all-inclusive sea journeys that would be appealing to many. But not us. Neither of us like crowds, although La Gringa's idea of a crowd would be several times my own. To me, more than about six people is a crowd. More than two if the third one is a stranger. Neither of us are attracted to the orchestrated, scheduled aspect of it all. We are not into fancy dining rooms, casinos, or onboard swimming pools. We are not crazy about dealing with other people's kids except in short doses. We like maintaining the option of walking away from situations we would like to walk away from. Our idea of a vacation is not on a floating city making a set of predetermined tour stops in cruise terminals, with an itinerary and a guide. Nope, nope, nope. Not our style at all, and if you have been reading this blog you probably already know that. We prefer to set our own boat travels, and to take photos of scenes that may not have ever been photographed or written about before. Also, I realize that this blog is all about our lives in the TCI as expats, and really has nothing at all to do with being tourists in Mexico.

But this cruise was not like that. For starters, we spent the week on this boat:



That's the "Safari Quest", from American Safari Cruises. It's a small boat, as cruise ships go. It only has bunk space for a maximum of 22 guests, and 8 very competent, friendly, and professional crew. It only draws 8 feet of water, which means it can get into places the big boats cannot go. That part of it, we like.

Another reason this cruise worked for us is that except for the crew, we knew every single other passenger on board. Nineteen members of La Gringa's family. I guess another way to phrase that would be 'Gringo, along with La Gringa and seventeen of his closest in-laws'. We also already knew the boat, because two years ago we rode it for a week in Alaska. And we had a great time then, too.

It took us two days to get to the boat. We flew from Provo to Miami. Then from Miami to Mexico City, where we spent the night in a hotel near the airport. It was 78 degrees when we left Provo. It was 40 degrees in Mexico City. We were in shorts and t-shirts. We were two of the coldest gringos in town. Then we flew from Mexico City to La Paz, on the Baja peninsula. Ah, back to the warm. I did not take a lot of photos of the city of La Paz, but it sure seems to be a nice place. 150,000 people in one town. That seems like a lot to us, coming from a nation of 40,000.

We had to spend one night at a hotel in La Paz both coming and going on this trip. The hotel is located on a small marina, named the Costa Baja. When we checked into the hotel we headed for the cafe/cantina and got a good view of the marina full of boats...and guess which one immediately caught our eye on Day One here in Baja?



Yep, right there in the foreground, where it could not be tied up any closer if it tried, sat an almost exact duplicate of our recently departed panga "Cay Lime"..



I couldn't believe it. An Andros Boatworks Permit 22. Same boat, same builder, exactly. Minor differences in how it's equipped, with a Merc outboard, dodger, and different swim ladder, but otherwise, an exact duplicate even down to the t-top and hull colors. What are the chances of us finding the sister (hermana?) of our own panga tied up here in Mexico? A US-made boat here in the land of Mexican built pangas? What kind of coincidence would that be, if one believed in coincidences? When I finally finished my nostalgic crying jag, I was once again reminded of a universal truth I keep having to re-learn. The supreme being has a wicked sense of humor.

I was pleasantly struck by how many boats there are in La Paz. Power boats, sail boats, and even the odd Mexican Navy boats:



I didn't take too many photos of the military boats. In my experience, Latin American countries tend to get officially excited about people taking photos of their military installations. I don't know why that is. Nobody south of Mexico is capable of invading them, and there is certainly nothing about their Navy that would concern anyone north of them. But hey, their country, their rules. I also did not try to sneak any photos of the truck loads of armed Federales patrolling the streets of La Paz, nor of the armed Mexican Army personnel at the airport with a luggage-sniffing dog delaying a plane load of people while they went through their bags. (What the heck are you going to smuggle into Mexico??) I did whisper "Remember the Alamo" to the dog, but apparently he doesn't bark English. Or maybe he was taught a different and more recent version of who runs SW Texas these days.

We boarded the boat and got underway, dropping anchor a few hours later in a cove off of some rugged, deserted island somewhere or other. Got up the next morning to a Baja sunrise for a change:



I was actually thinking of writing a day-by-day trip log of this week, thinking I could even squeeze several blog posts out of it before I have enough TCI photos for another post. Then I realized that, this being a cruise and all, there was probably already a well written version of the itinerary available. And there is. I found one, for any of you who are thinking you might like to know more about this type of tourism. If you are really interested in a dot-to-dot version, please check out http://cruises.about.com/od/americansafaricruises/ss/Safari_Quest.htm

She did a good write-up, with lots of interior boat photos, descriptions, links, etc. That saves me from having to write about every little place we visited, and posting photos of the boat. With a few exceptions, I will stick to photos that we took.

One of our early side adventures was a snorkeling trip to a rocky little beach off one of the islands. I think this was basically meant to be a 'beginner's guide to snorkeling' excursion, since not everyone on these cruises is experienced in the water. Well, La Gringa and I certainly did not need any help determining which end of a snorkel goes where, but we wanted to try out the water here. So we went along.

La Gringa's first dip in Mexico! (not counting Yours Truly..)



I should mention that we got another camera for this trip. We bought a newer version of the Olympus pocket digital that we've been using for the past year. It's got more mega pixels. It's a convenient size, it's rugged, and it still claims to be waterproof to 33 feet, just like its predecessor did. Its predecessor made false promises about that waterproof part. So for this one we ordered an underwater housing as well. We figure that a camera claiming to be waterproof, buttoned up inside a housing that claims to be waterproof, might actually result in a camera that can handle getting immersed. We hope so. This is our fourth 'underwater' camera in four years. This Olympus doesn't seem to take any better photos than the previous one in low light. The telephoto still doesn't work very well, and the menu got even more complicated and harder to use with additional added 'features' that have nothing to do with recording nice images. It's that trade-off thing, I guess. We also got a silicone 'skin' for this one, to protect it from day to day bumps and scratches. That's working out real well so far.

Ok, I am writing entirely too many words here. I have a bunch of photos to get to. I took about 160 myself, and have copies of another hundred or so taken by the "expedition leader" on the boat.

Close in to the shore, the bottom of the Sea of Cortez is way different from the TCI. It's a combination of marine growth and boulders. The water is not as clear as it is where we normally dive in the TCI. There is a LOT more marine life in the Sea of Cortez, though. Everywhere you look there are sea urchins:



Those are the little round, spiney things in the photo. They look like this:



Some of them are black, some purple, and some are other combinations of colors.

We saw quite a few of these inflatable fish with spines:



I always knew them as Puffer fish, but the crew called them Porcupine Fish. Same animal, near as I can tell.



We have a similar version over here in the Atlantic.

We saw some kind of sea slugs, which some call Sea Cucumbers:



That one's about a foot long. It's skinnier than what we are used to, with a different coloration.

There are a lot of pretty fishies in the Sea of Cortez, some of them very colorful. They really stand out against the relatively drab bottom and (to us) murky water:



Those structures in the bottom of that photo are the closest thing we saw to coral on this trip. They remind me of the Brain coral we see a lot of on the reefs around the TCI. Here's another photo of one:



Once you get away from the near shore, the bottom changes to a mixture of sand and scattered rocks. The zones of different life are very pronounced, and I think that's because the soupy nature of the life-rich ocean here filters the sunlight out very quickly. This was taken near the first boundary zone, in about 8-10 feet of water:



I mentioned that this first little snorkel trip was geared toward getting inexperienced people comfortable with the idea of floating around with their faces in the water breathing through a tube. My new step-mother-in-law tried it for the first time here:



And NO, before you ask, my step-mother-in-law does NOT have four arms. (That would just be too much of a stereotypical fable, wouldn't it?) What the crew does for people uncomfortable with snorkelling without a life jacket is to use a "Noodle" floatation device to support them at the water surface. What a great idea. For anyone contemplating trying snorkelling for the first time, I would highly recommend it. You can see it better in this photo:



See? Doesn't she look pretty relaxed for her first time ever with a mask, snorkel, and flippers in a strange ocean full of squiggly fish with teeth? The crew also provided skin-suits, which are these thin nylon whole-body swimming suits. They help keep the swimmer warmer for longer excursions. They also help keep the swimmer from getting stung all over his or her exposed body by these absolutely evil little jellyfish called 'hydroids' (see http://www.scuba-doc.com/jelistngs.htm )

They are so small you can barely see them. I have heard them described as 'dots with legs'. I went snorkeling here without the skin-suit (macho man, yeah yeah I know) and can report that the stings are definitely uncomfortable, even for someone like me who is about as sensitive as pavement. Anyone whose skin reacts to these kinds of stinging critters should definitely obtain a skin-suit before swimming in these waters. The hydroids were everywhere. We don't encounter these in the TCI, by the way. La Gringa now wants to get her own skin-suit for our home waters. She gets cold a lot sooner than I do while immersed, and this would be just perfect for that. Will do a better job than sunscreen for UV protection too. An all-around good idea I think.

We saw a lot of starfish, all different kinds. Some of them look like this:



While everyone else was exploring along the shoreline, I took a look at the area where people would tend to anchor their boats. Wouldn't you know it, I saw a piece of metal just peeking out of the sand and when I pulled it free, ta daaaaa!!! I found another piece of scrap aluminum. About 18 x 24".



I don't know why scrap aluminum seems to have become a recurring theme in my life lately. I have a garage filling up with it, and now I can't even take a vacation from the stuff. Is this some kind of a sign?

This little mini-cruise ship is equipped with just about everything you need to explore coves and inlets. In addition to all the snorkelling gear, they carry a whole rack of kayaks. In one cove several of us wanted to give them a try, so they dropped some of them into the water for us.



La Gringa and I took the big blue one and headed out for some sightseeing. It was a good trial to see if we could be happy with both of us in the same kayak. We already know we probably would never get along on a tandem bicycle. Only one person gets to steer in a tandem toy and La Gringa and I each have our own cycling priorities. With the kayaks, the rear paddler operates the rudder. We are thinking we need to add some kayaks to our little fleet in the TCI. This was a good opportunity to try one out. In this case, it worked out fine.



See? She's smiling!

We wanted to get a good look at the rugged coastline in Baja. And we did. The wind and water erosion sculpts the rock into some fantastic shapes.



That little shoreline bluff is about 20-30 feet high. The surface hangs over it like a rock lace tablecloth, and the entire hillsides are honeycombed with caves. The geology of the area is fascinating, if you like that kind of thing. We do.



The bird life in the Sea of Cortez is amazing. We saw hundreds of pelicans, frigate birds, gulls, terns, every day and every where. And they are not afraid of humans. Or of Gringos, either, for that matter. We decided to see how close we could paddle up to these three without spooking them :



And the answer to that question is that they never did fly away. Even when the guy in charge of the rudder let the kayak bump into the rock they were standing on.

A couple of hours of kayaking and she's still smiling!



(YES it's a few hours later. Look at the background. All different. So there.)

I guess this means that a tandem kayak is still an option for us in the TCI. Unfortunately, the kayak I have my eye on doesn't come in a tandem model. (For a number of reasons including three methods of propulsion, stability, and load capability, I am still lusting after the Hobie Mirage Adventure Island models. But the little suckers are expensive)

Oh, see that little cross on the hillside just ahead of La Gringa in the photo? It's actually not that small, when you get up close. And we decided to get up close to see if we could see any more detail.



We still don't know the purpose of it, or why someone went to the trouble to climb up to erect a cross on this desolate hillside. We did think the buzzards were a nice touch. Added a Clint Eastwood sort of feel to the whole fantastic landscape.

The "Safari Quest" carries a full complement of water toys. They have two inflatable boats, in addition to the kayaks, etc. All of the shore and snorkelling excursions run the passengers from the anchored mini-cruiser to wherever they are going. This was during the first snorkel trip:



This a load of LaGringa's family headed ashore for a hiking expedition:



And another shot, headed to the beach:



The RIBs are also great for skiing, wake boarding, tubing, and all that adventurous watersport stuff. Like La Gringa's two eldest sons found out:



The idea is to hang on while the boat driver tries to make you fall off, I think. In this case he managed to turn two of my stepsons into the 'flying burrito brothers':



Actually, come to think of it, the burrito reference is appropriate in more ways than one. We ate a lot of Mexican food on this trip. I will let your imagination work with that one, without any further help from me.

And of couse, all good rides must eventually come to an end.



(yes, Hydroids were definitely harmed in the filming of this adventure. Probably swallowed.)

Okay, La Gringa just pointed out to me that long posts with a lot of photos will take forever to load for readers with slower internet connections. So I'm going to end this post here. This is about half of the trip, anyhow. And besides, I need to run to the grocery store to resupply Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. Poor Dooley is out of dog food. And since he just got out of jail yesterday afternoon...he is sensitive to that kind of thing. So I'll end this one with a couple of Baja sunsets, and if anyone is interested I'll post the other half of this trip in a Part II. Got some sea lion photos, more underwater pics, more of the same sort of thing. It ain't the TCI, but it is pretty tropical. A change of scenery, anyhow.



And one more for good measure: