Kayaking Isla Espiritu Santo Day 3

Once again woken by the early sun the morning started with coffee and a cooked breakfast. Some of the group went on a short hike, I stayed behind to relax, read and take more pictures of the scenery. Once into the kayaks we paddled about two hours to a gorgeous beach surrounded by high ridges for lunch. This day I was paddling a green Necky kayak a stable, well handling boat which I liked a lot. As a side note Necky makes a kayak from 100% post industrial materials, what a great idea!) After a lunch of salads on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen Rafael led us on a hike up one of the ridges. We stopped in a cave high up that the native people would have once used to shelter from storms. Painted markings and rounded out grinding stones are still in evidence. After admiring the views from the top for a while we descended back down to the beach and started off again in the kayaks.

The afternoon was very calm as we paddled by Rooster and Hen islands. The water was crystal clear and we could see many fish swimming below as we came to our final camping beach. The afternoon was again spend snorkeling along coral reefs with the best display of sea urchins and fish yet. As the stars came out in the evening Rafael told us a Mexican folk tale about the pearl divers of Espiritu Santo. I can't remember the last time I was somewhere I could see the Milky Way, but there it was in its beautiful starry glory!

After a last night of camping on the beach (sand, sand everywhere!) we set off over rougher waters for one last bit of kayaking past more red cliffs and white sandy beaches. Around noon we arrived at our last lunch beach and all too soon the motor skiff was there to bring us back to La Paz. The kayak guy and I rode the three hour bus ride back to San Jose del Cabo, checked into the Hotel Tropicana and immediately jumped into the warm swimming pool. After a wonderful hot shower we settled in for our last meal in Mexico at our hotel where a fantastic Cuban band was the evening's entertainment. The journey home was long and arduous and best left forgotten, I can't express how happy I was to eventually be back in Oakland.

Kayaking in Baja was a great experience, I hadn't known the area was so beautiful. Overall there was probably not enough kayaking in this trip, though I enjoyed all the time spent snorkeling. I often say that I like camping, but when I am actually camping there's not a whole lot that's enjoyable about sleeping in a tent, not showering and having sand everywhere. The warm dry days and hot cooked meals certainly made this a more comfortable than usual camping trip. The thing I like best about camping is being unplugged for a number of days. When I get back I miss the quiet, the focus you have without TV, radio or a million things going on outside your window.

Day 1; Day 2

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