29 October 2014

Loreto Islands 21-day Challenge - part one

The biggest challenge of the Loreto Islands Challenge, Part 1, was keeping cool.




We snorkeled a lot! Seargent Majors are everywhere, but this is the first I've seen a cormorant under water.



Calm weather also gave us opportunity to explore Coronados, Carmen, and Danzante Islands in intimate detail including caves, arches, and graceful rockhopping.




Dynamic geology reminded us that we ride on a living planet. In this case, the dynamic was primarily erosion, but the colorful and unique formations tell a tale of volcanoes past, and of ancient sea floors raised up. Personally, I'm happy to be a close witness to the occasional erosion instead of the other options. In Ballandra, a cove, this used to be a beach backed by a sandy dry arroyo. The rains blasted out a channel that we could paddle for half a kilometer.



Where the dark water line stops, a section of this wall has fallen into the sea.



For the final segment of our 21-day Loreto Islands Challenge, we're heading out to the more remote islands of Monserrate and Santa Catalina, weather permitting. Looking forward to the simple camp life for another 10 days!


12 October 2014

Sea Paddler Training in Baja

Tropical Storm Simon brought excitement to the Sea Paddler Training this year.
From the thunderstorms of Loreto to the Pacific surf outside Isla Magdelena, we felt its distant presence.

“Flexibility is the key to greater air power,” says my fighter pilot brother-in-law.  It’s true of kayak courses as well. The conditions were always good for something.

Venues got creative enough to include the pool and meeting room at Tripui Resort, and more standard fare such as: a hot calm morning off Rattlesnake Beach for paddling a variety of craft, refreshing rain by Punta Coyote through which to refine slicing strokes, 12-knot winds crossing Bahia Magdelena where we got to use navigation skills to see whether the wind or the current was drifting us more, 7ft Pacific swells and using other paddlers to measure the height, and 1-3’ surf on a long sandy beach where there wasn’t much we didn’t do.

Jill from Seattle, Kate from the Yukon, and Matt from Georgia joined Maddie, Marcos, Ramon, and me. We could brag that there was not a drysuit to be seen.  Not even a wetsuit!  Even in the rain and surf we were comfy in single layers.

People will do dramatic things to get to good surf. All we had to do was load the kayaks on Marcos’ panga, launch it in front of our hotel--Mar y Arena in San Carlos, motor across the bay, drive it up onto Delia’s waiting trailer, get hauled across a sandy strip of Isla Magdelena (by a valiant Ford pickup), and arrive at a deserted surf beach with a panga-full of surf toys on a trailer! And then play until we were utterly exhausted and ride panga-trailer-Ford back again to the steps of our hotel.












02 October 2014

Desert Migration

The Baja California desert is shaped by sun, wind, and periodic storms.  And the occasional earthquake.  They continue to do their work.  It’s easy to forget how temporary the calm periods are and how unstoppable are the forces.

My heart and support go out to those affected by the recent hurricane.

Meanwhile, the desert does its thing. Arroyos rearrange. Mountainsides move in short sprints towards flatness. And after the rain comes the green.  The short-lived grasses.  The fat cacti. The ephemeral blossoms.

The desert is beautiful both in its patience and in its drama.

I caravanned down the peninsula together with Operations Manager Maddie and Sea Paddler Training student Matt, in Maddie’s Subaru and a salvaged ’86 F250 I was just getting to know. Crossing the border was a multi-day learning experience, but thankfully the biggest adventure south of the border was an isolated thunderstorm that we stopped to appreciate.

Some arroyos still had water, others showed signs of having had a good blast. Wherever it had rained, the desert dressed up in all its tropical bling.  Even my traveling companion of 25 years, Moose, had a good romp in the grass.

The islands around Loreto got rain, too.  Some beaches on Danzante are hardly recognizable for all the plants!  I do hope the mosquitos will die soon, though.