Midway Report
Greetings from La Paz!
We are about halfway through our Baja adventure and it has been just great!!
We are here in La Paz, near the southern Cape of Baja. Its carnivale time and the town is in a very festive atmosphere. We will skip the drunken debauchery that nighttime brings, however, and move on further south today.
Our five day paddle in Northern Magdalena Bay was outstanding. It is as unspoiled a place as is left anywhere on this continent. For five days we saw no gringos at all an only a handful of ¨Pangueros¨ the local fisherman who use small wooden boats. The mangrove lined bay is teeming with wildlife, full of birds and fish of many species. The barrier dunes protect the bay from the wild winds and waves of the Pacific Ocean proper and make for very calm paddling, ideal for fishing, bird watching and beachcombing. We allowed five day to travel only 25 miles so it was a very relaxed pace allowing much time for may diversion. We dined on VERY fresh fish every night, enjoying halibut, corvina and grouper.
The outer beaches on the Pacific side of the dunes are largely untouched. Sea shells and other treasures scattered all about. The “bocas” or mouths where the bay opens to the ocean are most remarkable with sea lions, dolphins and the endless surf and sand.
From Mag Bay we traveled south through the major farming region around Ciudad Constitucion. Looking very much like the irrigated lands of the western US.
Last night we camped on Tecolate Beach north of La Paz hoping to cross a 4 mile channel and spend several days paddling around Isla Espiratu Santo. At sunset we watched while groups of Pelican practices their precision diving, entering the water 10 to 15 at a time in very tight formation feeding on small schools of fish. The Norte winds came up over night bringing waves and current adverse to a smooth crossing. SO we are going to take advantage of the cooler weather these winds also have brought and go hiking instead in the Sierra La Victoria, returning next week to try to get to Espiratu Santo. The head on back north.
Phil and Deb
