by Well we finally made ourtrip to Baja. Now it's over...what a drag.
We left three weeks ago from Santa CRuz on Friday night, arriving in
Ensenada on Saturday afternoon. We stayed the night in order to stock up
with a few things ss Tequilla, Controy, and limes. Early on Sunday we were back on the road and because we spent some time looking at some cave paintings
just outside Cavatina, we did not quite make Gruerro Negro that night.
On Monday, we gassed up and spent much of the day taking a detour to see the
Grey Whales at Scammons Lagoon. This is a trip we've passed up on before but
it is well worth while at this time of year. There is even a good camp site
in full view of the whales.We were tempted to stay but the Vizcaino desert
and spent the night in San Ignacio.
The road from Ensenada to Cavatina is pretty bad. There are many more
pot holes than I"ve see recent trips and it really slowed us down quite a bit.\
However, from Cavanina on, it gets back to its normal self.
On Tuesday, I had originally though we would go to Punta Chivato, but as the
weather was very unsettled and cloudy, we gave it a miss because it didn't
look like there was any chance of wind.
For the next few days we hung around Mulege and camped at Playa Punta Arena
on the entrance to the Bay of Conception. Although this was great and we did
some diving and birding, there was no wind and it even looked like rain.
The whole of Baja has had a LOT of rain lately and we had heard that more rain
had followed us down. The effect of this rain is at there is quite
a bit of mud and rain damage but the desert is FANTASIC. It is very green and
there are wild fowers everywhere.
Because of the unsettled weather, we took a couple of days to drive down to
to Loreto and Puerto Escondido where we did a little boating and fishing.
On our return, the weather had improved dramatically and every morning
the wind came up by 9:00 am. I had three days of 5.5 sailing in reasonably
warm water. It was great but I nearly died because I am not in shape aat all.
At Playa Punta Arena, I met a woman who was a real wind snob and would not
go out when it was marginal. After the wind picked up properly, she was out
there on her short board, water starting and jybing like a champion. She
was nearly 70 years old and got her husband, a retired Portland firefighter
to rig her sails and carry them down the beach. What an inspiration.
The general consensus was that there has been very little wind in Baja
this season, and the locals told me they had not sailed since the middle
of December.
However, the weather looked pretty fair when we left, and judging by the
number of rig-laden vehicles driving south when were were coming home, a
lot of people must have got the word.
All in all it was a good trip. Wind or no wind, Baja is grea. Can't wait
till next time...... Now for that diet!
Jim Munro