Southern Baja

Hola from La Paz.

We head out tonight on the overnight ferry to Mazatlan on the
mainland. Last week we cycled 90 kms south from La Paz to Todos
Santos and Los Cerritos before turning the bikes around and returning
to La Paz. We initially had thoughts of cycling through Cabo San
Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo, two mega resorts towns on the southern
tip of the Baja. As we neared, though, the traffic became heavier and
heavier and the tourists far more frequent. Los Cabos (as the area is
known) is filled with expensive resort hotels and no cheap camping or
lodging options, not the kind of place we are really interested in
checking out, especially on a low budget trip like this! Aiding our
decision to return to La Paz the way we came was the state of the
highway between Todos Santos and La Paz. The road was fantastic for
cycling with a new divided highway sporting a huge paved should in
both directions, the only stretch like it in all of the Baja! Even
better, the final 15-20 kms into Todos Santos was still under
construction with one side of the highway closed to traffic but
perfect for two bicycles. On the return trip we encountered our first
significant head winds since northern Oregon but this did not dampen
our spirits on this nice stretch of the Baja.

From Todos Santos we explored the gorgeous but rather inaccessible
beaches on the Pacific coast. We spent one afternoon watching grey
whales breaching on the horizon, a few flying completely out of the
water. Closer in to us land creatures hundreds of rays were leaping
out of the water and countless huge sea birds fished all afternoon.
It was another fantastic Baja wildlife viewing experience.

We returned to La Paz on Saturday and back into the same friendly
hotel we stayed at earlier in the week. The place had filled up
considerably with a pretty fun mixed group of travelers and an when
older lady with a tiny dog announced it was her birthday and she was
throwing a party for herself complete with free margaritas things got
even better. I posted a photo of Dave (who is cycling from Alaska to
Argentina and who we have seen off and on since Westport Washington)
pouring margaritas from the "jug". They were delicious and
contributed greatly to a good time that night.

On Monday I went scuba diving. The first two dives were out in the
deeps looking for hammerhead sharks. I saw one shark on the first
dive and two on the second. The third dive was alongside a sea lion
colony and featured abundant fish, some corals, moray eels, octopus,
and some extremely close encounters with the curious sea lions.
Luckily, the only other diver on the trip has underwater camera
housing for his Canon G10 (the same camera I am using) and he gave me
his photos from the dives. I also have a video of the hammerheads on
the second dive and one of some of the sea lions underwater, I'll try
and post these as well. We also attempted to swim with dolphins but
once we jumped into the water they were nowhere to be seen.

Time to check out of the hotel and head to the beach until we depart
at 8pm. I'll miss the Baja but will certainly be back again another
time. Next time, though, I would plan to come with a vehicle capable
of accessing the countless difficult sand and rough dirt roads up and
down this still very undeveloped peninsula. Also, I'd want to have
supplies of food and water, kayaks, snorkel gear, and perhaps surf
boards to really explore the Baja.