Baja! Loreto, San Javier, Islands to Aqua Verde

What could be better than the Sea of Cortez in early March? If our trip to Baja is any indication, not much. Roger and I signed up for our first guided kayak tour ever. Before that began we spent an enjoyable 3 1/2 days in Loreto, staying at the Iguana Inn. The owner, Julie, was very helpful with local knowledge, recommendations and making arrangements with Spanish speaking taxi drivers and guides.

Loreto malecon

Loreto has a laid back, small town feel, and invites strolling down the malecon, beach, or the tree-lined street with an old mission and little shops. My sister Linda, Michelle and Colette from Twin Falls, Idaho joined us in Loreto.

Loreto beach

On our first full day in Baja we took a taxi up into the Giganta Sierra mountains to visit the tiny village of San Javier and its old Jesuit mission. The building of the mission was an impressive feat, or perhaps we should say feet, as the stones were quarried 12 miles away and transported uphill. The interior is very beautiful and, if I understood the docent correctly, everything is original except the benches. A short walk behind the mission leads to a large, gnarly olive tree which is 300 to 400 years old.

San Javier mission, dates back to 1758

We had lunch at the small restaurant in San Javier. Good food, friendly owners, and cute kids and puppies made it a favorite. We were brought some unusual looking but tasty local citrus fruit to try.

Restaurant in San Javier  (L to R: Taxi driver, Colette, Michelle, Linda, Roger)

We were fortunate that Carnaval was being celebrated in Loreto while we were there. One evening we watched the introduction of the Queen and her court. (Very fancy dresses.) Also on stage were 4 grim reapers and the "Candidate" shown below. One of the reapers read a long story which elicited laughter from the audience. Then all the reapers took the "candidate" down from his stand and carried him to the back of the audience and hung him from a crane. The "candidate" exploded with fireworks! Maybe we should show the video to some of our politicians.

Candidate hanging in effigy at Carnaval Celebration

We also watched a very colorful and exuberant Carnaval parade. Seeing the float pictured below reminded me of the Seattle Seahawks' Superbowl win! Roger bought some decorated eggs from a couple of girls at the Carnaval. They told him the eggs were "con fetay". Con means "with" in Spanish so Roger kept asking the girls "Que es fetay?" (What is fetay?) They answered by repeating "con fetay" and making a throwing motion. Finally Roger responded, "Oh, like English! Confetti!" The eggs were filled with shredded paper and spectators were tossing them during the parade.

"Seahawks" on Loreto Carnaval float

Unfortunately I got sick and missed out on the whale watching and bird watching tours. I felt sorry for myself listening to the glowing reports from everyone else but was happy that I recovered enough to go on the kayaking trip. (It helps to travel with 2 pharmacists along. I started on antibiotics as soon as symptoms appeared.) The whale tour was successful with the sighting of a blue whale, a colony of sea lions, rays, dolphins (at one point they had hundreds surrounding the boat), another whale - probably a humpback - performing a spectacular breach. Linda was especially excited to see a Blue Footed Booby. She said seeing one had been on her bucket list for a long time. Had I known that she wanted to see a Blue Footed Booby I would have dipped my feet in blue paint.

We went on the kayak trip with Baja Kayak Adventure Tours. They certainly lived up to their name on the first day. When we reached the channel where we planned to cross over to Isla Danzante there were ocean swells ranging from 6 to 10 feet.  The guides decided to try and make the crossing and gave us a few instructions. Sister Linda, recovering from abdominal surgery, was in a double kayak with Roger. He was under doctor's orders to make sure Linda took it easy. Two hours into the trip Roger was shouting at Linda, "Paddle now! Hard!" Colette, paddling near Ryan, credited him with helping her get through the swells. She said the most useful thing Ryan said was, "Colette...Stop bowing your head and folding your hands!" I was in a single kayak, not very experienced paddling by myself or using a rudder and feeling more than a bit wimpy after two days without much food. I would have probably been more effective bowing my head and folding my hands but I managed not to go in the water. Progress was slow battling the wind and the waves so the guides finally called for us to retreat back to calmer water to wait for better conditions.

Packing up for Islands to Aqua Verde kayak trip

We took refuge at a protected beach where Roger, Colette and I scrambled up the steep and scratchy ridge.We came back just a bit bloodied from the cactus and thorny bushes.

Roger scrambling down from ridge 

Linda helped guides Joel and Ryan make lunch. All members of the group took turns making meals. Everyone did just a great job despite the dietary restrictions. We five Americans were especially a problem. We had 3 vegetarians, one who will eat fish, one who doesn't eat fish, and one who doesn't eat fish, dairy, or eggs. Another one of our group eats meat but doesn't eat gluten, dairy, or chili powder/peppers. The rest of the participants were Canadians, They weren't so fussy although one couldn't eat garlic. Peter and Mary cooked the first night. It was Mary's birthday so Ryan and Joel made a yummy cake with chocolate/avocado frosting. Ryan and Joel also cooked the last evening and made sushi! Sushi in the wild! So good.

Linda helping guides Joel and Ryan cook first lunch

After lunch and relaxation we were able to make the crossing to Isla Danzante, where we camped. The goal had been Isla Carmen but the beautiful camping spot on Danzante more than compensated for not reaching our destination.

Backdrop to camping area on Isla Danzante

The next morning on our way to Isla Carmen we heard a splat. A couple rays put on a show, leaping about 10 feet straight up out of the water and then dropping straight down, landing with a plop. Seeing rays was my inspiration for the trip so watching them was a highlight for me. After setting up camp on Isla Carmen, we went for a beautiful and interesting walk along the rugged white bench with fossilized shell. 

Isla Carmen walk

On day 3 we left the islands which are part of the Loreto Bay National Marine Park and headed back to the coast. Working to get back on schedule made it our longest day of paddling. I was exhausted at the end of the day! Traveling south the scenery was beautiful and development minimal. We had multiple dolphin sightings during the trip. On one occasion they came right by our boats. 

For me day 4 was the funnest day on the water. The sea was calm, making for smooth paddling and good visibility. It seemed like we were floating on top of an aquarium when going around rocky points and by ledges. We camped on a beach south of Punta Carrizalito that has an intertidal hot springs and is near Rancho San Cosme.  

Ironically, our calmest day on the water was followed by our windiest night. Roger and I woke up in the middle of the night due to the howling wind and the ferocious flapping of our rainfly. We didn't get a lot of sleep but it was nice by the time we got up in the morning. We saw that Colette's tent, which had been pitched near ours, was gone! Michelle's tent was collapsed around her. She commented that she had a sand facial during the night. Linda's tent was semi-collapsed.We found Colette at the other end of the beach, her tent pitched behind a rock of inadequate dimensions. I brilliantly asked Colette if she had moved. She joked that yeah, she wanted some real estate with a better view. During the night, the crazy wind had broken the pole of her brand-new REI tent. Ryan had gotten up and helped her repair the pole with duct tape. Almost everyone had been up in the night trying to keep their tents from blowing away, finding large rocks to use as anchors. One of the kayaks even flipped over.    

   

We had a layover day at the beach near the hot springs. Most of the group, including Roger, decided to go on a mule ride available at the nearby ranch. Linda and I spent the time hiking up a hill that offered a view of the bay, snorkeling, and soaking in the hot springs. I was ready for some leisure and didn't regret my decision when group members returned from the mule ride walking funny. 

The wind visited again the following night so everyone was suffering from sleep deprivation as we left for a beach near the small community of Aqua Verde. More beautiful scenery kept our eyes open. 

On our last morning we had a some time to either kayak around the bay or go on a little hike before the van arrived to pick us up. I hadn't paddled with Roger all week so I decided to go in the double kayak with him for a paddle around the bay. Big mistake! Roger decided to follow Joel out to witness the dumping of the toilet. Apparently sea creatures do a good job of gobbling up poop so each day the toilet was taken safely away from shore and emptied. Roger, for some reason that still eludes me, asked Joel if he could go along and watch. (I have a photo of brown streaming into the water that I'll politely not share.) Joel confirmed that Roger's request to go along on the poop dump was a first and I'm sure it will be a last!  

Black toilet base riding behind Joel 

More Poop: Abundance of birds creates "Baja Snow"

We were very lucky to have such a good group to share the trip with. The Canadians certainly lived up to their reputation for being nice people. One couple from British Columbia lives on Texada Island, BC. Roger and I camped on Texada last September during a kayak trip. (See previous post.)

Standing left to right: Ryan, Linda, Michelle, Mary and Peter from Texada Is., Katherine, Curtis and Zoe from Nanaimo, Roger, Gordon from Calgary.    Kneeling l to r: Joel, Jenny from Calgary, Colette.