Introduction

In the winter of 2000 I was working way too hard. I had been working too hard for many years. First in engineering school at UCSD. Then at work as I tried to get together a skill set I could sell. Then a half dozen years where I was starting my consulting business. I had done what I had wanted to do - I had put myself in a position where I could get well paid to do work which I consider to be fun, interesting, and challenging. But I had also burnt myself out to some extent.

One day a co-worker told me that Costco was selling kayaks complete with a paddle and a seat for under 300 dollars. I drove over for lunch that day and bought one. Then I bought a wetsuit and started playing in the ocean. At first I just paddled it in the surf, but soon I was going places in it. I would paddle up to La Jolla or down along the coast toward the tip of Point Loma.

One morning I got up earlier than usual and went for a paddle before I went to work. This time I went south from Ocean Beach toward the point. When the time came for me to turn around I started thinking to myself: "Wouldn't it be great to be able to keep paddling all day." "I would really love to be able to just paddle all day today. And tomorrow. Wouldn't it be great to just paddle all day every day for a while. Keep going south. And maybe someplace warm. Like Mexico."

These thought stayed with me all day. I daydreamed about how I would do it. What I would need to carry with me, and how I could carry it all. How I would sleep and what I would eat. That night I got out a map of Baja, California and started to see if it would even be a reasonable thing to do. Lots of people have done just exactly that, but at that time I didn't know it.

This was not the first such trip I had daydreamed about. From the time I was young, I have always thought about having adventures. I satisfied myself with small ones. Backpacking for a few days or a week. Driving around the country exploring things. I have taken as much as three weeks off work to travel, but it has always been a vacation rather than an extended trip. I have wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. I have thought about rollerblading across the country, or even bicycling or walking. I have dreamt about sailing trips and backpack trips to Europe. I even planned to go to New Zealand once with a friend, but we ended up canceling that trip.

My good friend and coworker, Gary Meloney, has a great family with a sweet and pretty wife, Linda, a daughter, Kristie, and two sons, Mike and Greg. Gary, Mike, Greg, and I have taken many trips to the desert to camp, four-wheel, and dirt bike. Gary is a real tough, make-it-happen kind of guy and his sons are much like him. They are always willing to pitch in for the hard work, never complaining about physical hardships, always ready to go do anything.

When Mike graduated from High School, he decided to pursue a degree in Computer Science like his father. He asked me if he could live at my house when he transferred from community college to UCSD. I said that I was sure we could work out some kind of a deal. I figured I would give him a room in my house for about half what rents go for in my area. It would be enough to make him be responsible, but it wouldn't be too big a burden on a student and would give him motivation to stay. He is fun to be around and I figured he would be a good guy to live with.

Mike was working part time for the same company I was working for at the time, so we would talk about kayaking and camping and other things. One weekend we went to the desert for a quick overnight trip. Just to get out of the house and sleep outside for a change. When we got home he said that he wanted to move into my house starting October of 2001. I started to say that I would rent him a room when he continued. "Here is my proposal. If I can live with you free for a year, I will go on an adventure with you." I cursed him. "Damn you! You know I have to accept that!" I said. The kid is smart. He knows just what to do to get a good deal and in return make me happy to give it to him. I said "Instead of free, you pay $300 a month. But instead of paying me, you put it into an account so you will have money when we go." The deal was now made, but we still had to decide what the adventure was to be. I suggested the Baja trip, the Pacific Crest Trail trip, and an Australia bicycle trip. I wanted it to be something that would be a long distance under our own power. Mike chose the Baja kayak trip and I was in agreement.

We first needed to pick the time. I knew that the spring would be a nice time. We would have warm weather and cooler water. Too early and we would have cold weather. Too late and we would roast in the summer heat. Since we were going to be gone for four months, we would have to have a little of both and needed to balance the cold against the hot. Mike would have to miss a little school, but we wanted to minimize that problem, too. We finally decided that we would go shortly after winter quarter 2002 so that he could have the full spring quarter off and could still make it home for second summer session. We picked April 1 because it worked for all those factors and also was a fun time to start on an adventure many of our friends and family called foolish.

Next, we had to pick the kayaks. They needed to be long for speed. They needed to have a lot of carrying capacity. They needed to be comfortable and stable since we would be sitting in them for a lot of hours.

- Chuck, December 2002

Friday, March 29

North 32° 44.7'
West 117° 14.5'

Our trip starts with frustration. Spring break has filled the camps. People are everywhere. We are to meet people at Pete's Camp, but we cannot camp there. We intend to search for a camp South of San Felipe. We think Heidi will be at Pete's around noon and we will try to meet her there. Maybe we can call and tell Gary to meet us elsewhere. Greg says the toilet is clogged here at Rancho Jacarandas Club where we are camping for $25.00 per night. Other than these issues, we are having a pretty good time.

Saturday, March 30

North 31° 8.3'
West 114° 53.3'
Distance: 0 miles

We moved to a camp 300 yards North of Pete's Camp. It's nuts here. There is an hour wait for food at the camp. Glass in the sand everywhere. People are riding 4-wheelers past camp at all hours. We took a test kayak for the afternoon.

Sunday, March 31

North 31° 8.3'
West 114° 53.3'
Distance: 0 miles

Easter Sunday. Gary arrived at 8:00 pm last night with Mike and Linda. Lots of food and comforts. Mike is putting a fishing pole holder and compass on his boat. Gary is a little miffed that I wouldn't get up and go party with him when he got here last night.

Monday, April Fool's Day

North 30° 56.4'
West 114° 43.8'
Distance: 16 miles

We paddled 16 miles today. We departed Pete's Camp at 5:37 am. Nice warm day. Greg paddled with us for about 12 miles. Gary, Linda, and Heidi went to town for supplies for us. We met about 12 miles south of Pete's Camp for a break and a snack. Heidi bought me a bottle of tequila. When we resumed at 11:00 am, Heidi went back to Los Angeles in Twuck. It was sad to say goodbye to her for so long. We hope she can meet me soon. Gary found a beach called El Faro Beach just south of a lighthouse. It would be a pretty place to stay for a while. Mike hooked a fish, but it got away. Hamburgers for dinner tonight! We will miss Gary, Linda, and Greg after tomorrow! Gary did the last 4 miles with us and I think I have him convinced to do the last 985 miles to Cabo San Lucas. All systems are working well so far. I hope that continues.

Tuesday, April 2

North 30° 43.3'
West 114° 42.2'
Distance: 15.2 miles

We started at 6:00 am today. We did 15.2 miles ending up about a mile south of Bahia Santa Maria. Muffins, Hot Chocolate, and Instant oatmeal for breakfast. We loaded 3 gallons more water on each boat and 10 lbs. of food. We both noticed the difference. Mike caught a bird this morning while trolling. He reeled it in and grabbed it's neck. It bit down on his finger while he got it loose. Gary and Linda chased us again and Greg paddled with us. The sea conditions were contrary, so it took till 11:00 am to finish. Linda made a big brunch with 24 eggs, bacon, bread with Jelly, Orange Juice. Mike burned his back, I my stomach a little. There are showers here again, so we will all be clean tonight. Gary, Linda, and Greg leave in the morning when we do. After today we are on our own. We are all tired and sore after two long days, so a short one tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 3

North 30° 33.8'
West 114° 39.4'
Distance: 11.3 miles

This is the first day of our adventure. Mike and I departed at 6:40 am. A little later than we had intended. Muffins for breakfast. We filled and packed everything and said goodbye to Gary, Linda and Greg. This was very hard for Linda, but she was tough about it and only cried a little. We had some difficulty at first with Mike's fishing rig. Gary had played with it the night before and it was a little raveled. About an hour and a half out we saw a pod of dolphins. They played with us for a couple minutes and then took off. I think they will be a constant source of entertainment for us. At about 9:00 am we found a beach that looked good for camping and pulled up. There is a house a couple hundred yards down, but we have seen no signs of people. There have been hundreds of houses on the beach so far. This was the first deserted stretch we found so far. The beach was rocky and the tide was out so we had to carry our gear up to the flat sandy part. We took out about 60 lbs. of gear out of each boat first, then carried the boats. We made a tent with two ponchos snapped together and the poles. Mike smoothed the ground and put a third poncho down as a floor. Cool and shady here. We did a short day today - 11.3 miles. We are a little tired from the last two days. We still have not caught a fish, but will keep trying. There is a rocky bottom off our beach which might attract life. We can try that later. Linda gave us two apples which we ate. Yum! We will have rice and corn tonight. I will also try some beans. It feels great to be on our way. Let the adventure begin!

Wednesday, July 24

We made banana pancakes and good coffee for breakfast, then packed up and headed out. We went to an old onyx mine at a place called El Marmol. The best thing there was a wind mill pumping cool water out of a well. We bathed and cooled down while horses and cattle watched. We found a camp just between El Rosario and San Quintin on the beach with no people anywhere near. It is a pretty place with real Pacific Ocean surf and much cooler than anything I am used to. There are trash cans, an outhouse, and other signs that this is a pay-for-use beach, but there are no signs of people. We had another great dinner with Rick. He will stay till tomorrow, then he is off to Santa Barbara to hang out with friends. I noticed today that more and more cars have California plates. We are no longer so far into Mexico. It really feels like we are going back, though we can put off the actual return for another week or so.

Tuesday, July 23

It is nice to be done working! I got up and found a book, ate breakfast, bought gas, read, cleaned, organized, and about 11:00am I took off to meet Mike in San Rafael. I got there about 12:30. I found Mike talking to a guy named Pancho who lives there and runs the llantera and whatever else anybody will pay for. It seems like mostly he hangs out and talks to people. Nice, interesting guy. He warned us about the orcas. He has two dogs and six cats. Three of the cats are adults – two orange males and a grey female. The other three are four day old kittens. Orange and grey. He said “The grey one is the mother. I don’t know who the father is. It may be this one. It may be that one. It may be me…” The big dog is named Vaquero or Cowboy. The dogs are friendly and want lots of attention. Pancho made us instant coffee and we hung out for a while. Then Mike told me he didn’t want to kayak alone anymore. After one day! I gave him a hard time about it, but he was sure, so we loaded up the truck and headed for Bahia de Los Angeles after giving Pancho Mike’s kayaking food. We went to Guermo’s and had lunch. While we were there a guy named Rick came and joined us. Mike had met him on the beach near Pancho’s. He reminded Mike of the character Dude in “The Big Lebowski.” He ate with us and we decided to camp together tonight. Mike and Rick went to the store for food, then we gassed up and headed out. Ten miles short of Mex 1 we found a little dirt road and camped. Rick and Mike made great carne tacos and we hung out and ate for a while in this pretty, pretty desert space. Rick lives in San Francisco and was down for two weeks of kayaking and fishing. He was to have had two friends with him, but they each had to cancel at the last minute. He is an interesting guy to hang out with.

Monday, July 22

Last night the wind died down completely. That meant the bugs were out and biting, but no problem because that means we get to leave this island. Then about 3:00am the wind started again and was going pretty well by dawn. Then it started to rain pretty hard. It was enough to make everything wet and to drive us out of bed. We got up, waited out the rain, then made coffee and food while we dried out our beds. Finally in the late morning the wind died down to the level of late yesterday afternoon and we decided to go. We packed up – much lighter now, and got into the water in the late morning. After a half hour of paddling and zero progress we gave up and headed back toward San Lorenzo. It was a rough crossing. When the wind and tide are opposing, the waves peak up throwing spikes of water as high as three feet off the surface. Frequently the water swamped my boat. When we got close to San Lorenzo we got caught in a current which disallowed further progress. We were no more than a mile from the point we needed to land on, but we could go no further. We drifted north a couple miles down the island and were finally able to make shore. The trick is to go in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the waves. We made a little rock beach and rested while we decided what to do next. Mike decided to head for Bahia de Los Angeles and I to San Fransisquito for the truck. I would meet him in San Rafael – a fish camp a third of the way to Los Angeles – with more water. I gave him most of the water and all of the food and we parted. An hour later I regretted not taking more of the water. I rounded the tip of San Lorenzo at the south end and started across the channel. The sea was rough and still a bit windy and I was still tired from the previous crossing. I had eaten nothing all day except one and a half peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I paddled from 3:40 till almost 9:00pm to make San Fransisquito. I was tired and hungry and thirsty the whole way, but at least I was pretty warm. The last mile seemed to take forever and I was never sure if I was making progress or not since there was no landmark to judge against after the first mile. The lack of water worried me and so I saved the last sip till I was sure I would make camp that night. I was also concerned that they would be closed when I got there. When I finally made shore I pulled my boat half way up the beach, then stopped to breath. When I stood up I almost fell over. My legs were shaky and my head was light. I pulled the boat a little further up the beach and then gave up. I walked or staggered to the kitchen and got one and a half liters of water and asked for dinner. Gernado was there and was helpful and nice. He got me food in less than ten minutes. I ate, drank another one and a half liters of water, showered, and got the truck over to the boat. I pulled it the rest of the way up the beach – it seemed much lighter now, and then fell asleep in about ten seconds. I decided at that moment that this is the last paddling I will do on this trip. I will drive the truck and will do land activities until we get home.

Sunday, July 21

No progress again today, but in the late afternoon the wind seems to be slowing down a little. The white caps are mostly gone and the wind feels more like fifteen to twenty miles per hour which is a huge improvement. Mike was restless again today and engaged himself trying to spear a fish for dinner. He made an anchor for his boat out of a rock and some of our spare line. He paddled out a little and threw it overboard. The line tangled on the way down and pulled the whole thing to the bottom. He spent the next hours trying to dive down and untangle it. The first few times the kayak drifted so far on each dive that he would have to swim hard to recover it. Then he tried pushing the boat into the wind as far as he could before he dived. This tired him to the point that he couldn’t do much work when he got to the tangle before he had to go up for air. Then he enlisted me to hold his kayak while he dove. That worked a little better, but he finally gave up and abandoned the line. At leas it kept him occupied. I finished “Armada” and re-read “Sliver” by Ira Levin. I am now completely out of reading material if we are stuck here again tomorrow. I have good hope that the slowdown of wind we feel now is a trend and not a lull. I heard it blew for six days before we got here and it has now been three days continuous blow. I believe that it can’t blow forever. At least I hope not. If tomorrow doesn’t show any improvement then our new destination will be San Fransisquito rather than on to Kino. Today Mike and I both read Francis Drake’s words “The continuing to the end until it be thoroughly finished, yields the true glory.”

Saturday, July 20

No progress today. The wind blew all night last night and all day today. We estimate it at between 35 and 40 miles per hour based on how hard it pushes on our bodies as we stand against it. At least it is cooling which is nice since we can’t put the sun shade up in this wind. It is just blowing too hard, so we gave up after a little trying. We sat around most of the day with nothing to do. This is harder on Mike than it is on me. I can sense his frustration at just sitting here and I reminded him not to hurt himself. We have been swimming in the one little part of our beach which is protected from the wind a little. We also spent some time fishing without good result. Mike has been snorkeling and says it is great, but I don’t want to risk anymore ear problems since I am a little concerned about our situation here. We are twenty four miles from land in one direction and thirty in the other direction. If the wind doesn’t die down in the next few days we could be in a difficult situation. We may have to leave the island in the wind if we start to run out of water. We will be pretty light by then and with the empty water bottles in our boats we won’t sink, but we could have a lot of difficulty making land. At least the water is warm enough that hypothermia won’t be an issue. Between the wind and the current we could be pulled pretty far north in a couple hours. That could mean we would have to go all the way to land in one paddle. Also, the main land falls away significantly to the north, which would mean a longer pull. It could mean we would have to paddle over thirty miles at one time once we commit ourselves. This with water breaking over the deck the whole time and filling the hold. The boat goes much slower full of water. I shipped about five gallons of water in 10 miles yesterday. Fifteen gallons weighs 120 lbs which makes the boat very hard to push. If we must do that I will duct tape the hatches closed before we leave and hope for the best. For the moment we still have food and water for several days. When we swim the sea lions are very curious and interested in all we do. They keep a little distance, but watch us the whole time. We made camp up the beach a way in order to disturb them as little as possible, but that puts us in a location which is more exposed to the wind. The good thing about this is that we are familiar with the wind and note every change. Meanwhile the food is good as always and I have Mike’s Armada book to read.

Friday, July 19

North 28° 40.307’
West 112° 36.160’
Distance: 32.8 miles

We paddled 32.8 miles today. This has been quite a day. We started with breakfast at the camp again. Then we watered up and packed the boats. We rented covered parking. Twenty dollars for as long as we will be gone. Gernado paddled with us for a half mile or so, then went back. The weather was nice and the water was very nice – not at all cold, but slightly cooling when we jump in. A couple hours later we were near San Lorenzo and saw a wave to the left of us. I pointed it out to Mike and he said it was dolphins. Hundreds of them – maybe 400 or more. They were chasing a school of bait and pushed it right through us. They were on both sides of us moving the bait in a long line maybe a quarter mile wide. This is the best dolphin experience I have ever had. Last night Gernado showed us a video he had made on the beach in San Francisquito a few weeks ago. There were two orcas – a mother and a child – and they came within a few yards of the beach. Maybe 50 feet offshore at the most. There are great things to see everywhere around here. We made San Lorenzo and the wind was just starting to come up a little. We stayed an hour and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the potatoes Lauren gave us in Punta Chivato. Then we got back in the water and headed for San Estaban. It was rougher going but not too bad for a while. About half way over we started getting breaking waves hitting us from the side. It was pretty exciting till we discovered that they were local and in a line. We headed right into them and powered through them for a few minutes and then it got better. When we got to within a half mile of San Estaban the wind and tide were both hard in our faces. We worked hard for a half hour to get to a small beach with lots of sea lions. They were not at all pleased to see us there, but we were exhausted and needed to rest. I emptied at least five gallons of water out of my boat and that helped a lot. After about twenty minutes of rest we moved down the beach a half mile or so to a big gravel bar which had been our original goal. We had to displace a few more sea lions, but we were able to pull the boats 150 feet up the beach and got out of their way. Mike made the best pasta I have ever eaten, then it was time for bed. Great day! I hope tomorrow is as good. The sea lions are barking, the wind is blowing, the stars are all out. It should be a great night.

Thursday, July 18

We woke up with a brisk wind blowing and soon the water was choppy and ugly. We decided to wait and see if it got any better later in the day and it never did. We had breakfast at the camp and ate with the couple staying in the next palapa. She lives in Long Beach and he lives in Tijuana, so they have a bit of a long distance relationship. After breakfast I started reading and in a few hours I finished my Gibbons series. It is about 3200 pages of western civilization. It was well worth having read. One of the advantages of taking four months off work and living in a place which affords lots of free time is the opportunity to read things like this. We went for a hike/climb along the cliffs at sunset, then went into camp for a couple of beers and dinner. We met a kid named Gernado – the son of the owner. He is a nice, hard working kid who lives in Tijuana. He wants to be a doctor and will be going to school for that in the fall. It will be lots of work – good luck to him. Then we went to sleep because with a little luck we will be working hard tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 17

Mike and I made breakfast from what we had intended for dinner last night. We drove into Santa Rosalia for gas, money, supplies, and internet use, then on toward Mex 18. I was driving and missed the turn for Mex 18. Suddenly we were in Guerrero Negro. We had a little lunch and turned around. When we got there it was obvious why I had missed it. The only marker for the road is “microunda” – for the microwave station a few miles away. No sign for El Arco or Mex 18. The road was pretty rough and it was 7:30 before we made San Francisquito. Well, I guess it was really 8:30 since we are back on Pacific Standard Time. The cook was gone, so we made a little food from left-overs, cleaned and repaired the boats, and went to bed.

Tuesday, July 16

We woke up this morning determined to get going! Mike and Frank went to the store for food for everyone. Just as he was about to cook a Mexican family descended on us with a pile of kids and one of the guys. We decided to wait for breakfast. While I waited I swam out to John Johnson’s boat. I had met him the night before and he had invited me out to see it. He showed me his boat and his wife, Nancy who I had met the first night gave me a couple beers. He is working on a dinghy cover, so we played with that for a while. He also gave me recommendations for trucks. He is an old Baja racer who lived in San Diego, so he knows a bit about what I will need. They are nice and fun and we invited them to join us for breakfast. I offered Mike’s services as cook. Debi paddled out on a surfboard later to avoid the noise and confusion at home. She and I paddled and swam back to shore when the people all left. We finally had breakfast and by the time it was done and cleaned up it was 2:30 in the afternoon. We said goodbye to everyone and went to Loreto for gas, then on to Punta Chivato. We pulled up to a camp site without a palapa because it was kinda crowded. Five minutes later I saw the woman next to us taking down her camp. I went over to her and asked her if she was leaving and she said yes, but not till morning. That didn’t really help us since we were only there for one night, but I stayed and talked for a minute and she offered us dinner. Good old Chivato! I get nothing but free food here. The woman’s name is Loren and her kids are Taylor and Rusty. We had burgers – my first in months, chicken, potatoes, and more. Mike and I brought the beer and we stayed for several hours. We finally said goodbye and went back to our camp to sleep at around midnight.

Monday, July 15

The sun came and woke me up at 6:00 am. We listened to the cruiser net on the VHF, then had a little breakfast intending to leave soon. Debi’s friends went fishing early and came back about 11:00 with a boat full of Dorado. Mike when to see and while he was there he got Debi to get her friends to take us waterskiing. This was delayed till 2:30 and we didn’t finish till after 4:00. Fred and Rainey had the “Siesta” sign out, so we went to get some food from the market with some beer and hung at Debi’s house with the guys. It was soon clear we weren’t going anywhere today. We all crashed there that night. It looked like a gas leak with six people, four dogs, and a cat all sleeping on any flat surface.

Sunday, July 14

We woke up with cows all around us. This part of highway 1 seems to be through a ranch. We got going and after eating breakfast on the road, got to Puerto Escondido around noon. We stopped to see Chris and Pam – the couple we had met the last time we were here. We hung out with them till about 4:30, and then went on to Juncalito to visit Fred and Rainey – the people who took such good care of us near Agua Verde. They had also put Mike up when he went to get the truck. They showed us their new place and gave us beer. Later we all went to a neighbor’s house for dinner. The neighbor’s name is Debi and she had three guests from the States staying with her. There were also other guests eating there, so it was quite a party. This lasted till about 8:30 when we went back to Fred and Rainey’s house with a few of the other guests and we ate and drank till 2:00 am. Finally, Mike and I crashed – I on the couch and Mike in the camper.

Saturday, July 13

We got up early and packed and got into town. We had breakfast at the internet café callejon and Mike flirted with the waitress until she started showing him her underwear. At that point we felt it was time to leave. I stayed and used the internet while Mike drove Johnny to the airport. Then we hung out in La Paz all day till it was time to meet John and Mary for dinner. Edith, who works at La Fuente saw us at a store and came up to talk with us with her sister. They were both looking at Mike with desire in their eyes and I drug him out of there before he ended up married with three kids in La Paz. We hung out with John and Mary for a few hours and had dinner and one last malteada at La Fuente. Then we drove north for an hour or so and found a little dirt road off highway 1 to sleep on.

Friday, July 12

North 24° 18.456’
West 110° 14.314’
Distance: 4.42 miles

We paddled 4.42 miles today. We woke up and had coffee for breakfast. It was a nice day, but a little too windy, and the wind was in our faces going back to the mainland. I wouldn’t have worried about it for Mike and I, but I was afraid it might tire Johnny out before we reached land. He doesn’t have three months of paddling experience behind him. Some Mexican officials visited us to see if we were with a company and to see if we had a permit. Of course not! They were very nice about it as most Mexicans are. We packed up and got on the water. Mike took his own course toward the truck and Johnny and I headed toward Tecolote Beach. Johnny and I amused ourselves by trying to remember as many old Beatles songs as we could. After a couple hours we made the beach and ordered tacos and beers and played dominos for a couple hours till Mike arrived. We went in to La Paz for Johnny to make calls and ran into John and Mary from Irish Rose. We made a plan to meet them tomorrow at 5:00 pm for dinner. After food, ice cream, and a bit of just hanging out we went back to Tecolote Beach to sleep. The wind is howling and it looks like it will be a bit sandy tonight.

Thursday, July 11

North 24° 24.288’
West 110° 19.549’
Distance: 6.96 miles

We paddled 6.96 miles today. Mike made eggs with avocado and tomato in tortillas for breakfast with most of the rest of our breakfast food. The flies are pretty bad here, but at least there are none of the pesky no-see-ums. Both Mike and I are suffering from the bites from two days ago. Thanks again to Gail for the cortisone cream she gave me. It is almost gone and we should try to get more in La Paz. Last night we watched the tide come higher and higher. It finally peaked about 5 vertical inches and 30 horizontal inches from our beds and boats. The night was perfect – not hot and with a slight breeze. When we left, Mike wanted to fish, so he went way outside. Johnny and I stayed nearer the islands. After a couple hours we found a nice point to land on and Mike followed about twenty minutes later. We traded snorkeling time for about an hour and a half. This was a great location for it – coral and rock and sand with a natural bowl full of fish. I played with the spear gun and caught a couple to use as bait. The strap on the back of my left fin broke. It is about fifteen years old and I am lucky that it lasted as long as it has. We continued toward the south end of the islands looking for a camp without flies or no-see-ems. Around the bottom we found a nice place with a clean sand beach, few bugs, and a great view of the canal. We set up the shade and had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Later, Mike made pasta. After a bit of looking, Mike found the tequila bottle. He challenged me to drink a nine-second poor. Nine seconds almost completely filled my mouth, but I did it. It was like being hit in the head with a hammer. Then Mike’s turn. He made it to seven seconds, then it started pouring out the corners of his mouth. We made him take a two second penalty. We ate Nutella and watched stars and talked about crossing back tomorrow. We want to get to Playa Tecolote tomorrow so we can get him on a plane back to San Diego early the next day. His visit was too short. I have gotten used to having a lot of time out here to do stuff. I guess I will soon have to get used to schedules again.

Wednesday, July 10

North 24° 29.423’
West 110° 23.030’
Distance: 6.08 miles

We paddled 6.08 miles today. Mike made banana pancakes for breakfast and I made mud coffee. Then we drifted northwest in a casual way for a while. A big pod of dolphins came by and said “hi.” It was a great sighting. The islands are very pretty and the water is nice. Each time I jumped in I was reminded how nice the water is. After a while we pulled our boats up to one of the little islands and snorkeled for a while. I got a couple little fish with the spear to use as bait. I also got a larger one, but he wiggled off before I could get him to shore. The coral is pretty and this was one of the best snorkeling days I have had. Later Mike caught a big jack and we cut him up for bait. While Mike was fishing, Johnny and I saw some more dolphins. I hurried up to see them and got very lucky. A large pod was fishing within a few feet of me. They took off to follow the fish, but I saw them at various distances for a half hour. Then we landed and set up shade at a nice beach. A little wind to keep the bugs away, a nice place to sleep, and a world class view, along with good food and a drinking game which Mike lost badly.

Tuesday, July 9

North 24° 24.518’
West 110° 20.902’
Distance: 5.63 miles

We paddled 5.63 miles today. We woke up kinda early. Johnny said he didn’t sleep much, but he spent a bunch of hours snoring, I guess to make up for not sleeping. Mike made us a big breakfast and I made two pots of coffee and the two of those got us going. Mike and Johnny went to town for more supplies while I cleaned and packed the boats and replaced a couple of the rudder cables. The right cable on Mike’s boat was broken at the foot peddle and the left cable on my boat was broken at the rudder. The repair went well and now both are working well. The patch on my right cable has been working well for four weeks now and I assume it will last the rest of the trip. I do want to get more cable next time we are in La Paz just in case. When Mike and Johnny got back, Mike took off to rent a boat for Johnny and to park the truck. He was gone two hours and Johnny and I got everything ready while he was gone. When he got there we finished the last details of packing and took off for Isla Espiritu Santo. I caught a jack on the way over, but after trying a few bites we threw the rest away. We found a nice camp, but were eaten by no-see-ums while we had dinner.

Monday, July 8

North 24° 21.037’
West 110° 17.137’

Mike went and got Johnny at the airport and bought supplies. Then we hung out and had dinner. I read a lot while I waited for them.

Sunday, July 7

I woke up early and had got Mike out of bed after just three hours of sleep. We showered, breakfasted, packed, and moved out of the hotel. Then we got our boats out of storage and loaded onto the truck. We drove to Todos Santos and had lunch, then on toward La Paz. We picked up a hitchhiker and I entertained Mike with my pantomime telling him to get into the front seat at a light so that he could tell Mike where to go. Johnny had missed his flight so we got Ice Cream and drove to Pichilingue to camp. He will be on the same flight tomorrow. We got stuck in the sand and Mike lost his wallet. We also bought a six-pack of Pacifico, so the evening was a treat. We found a boat for Johnny to rent and a place to park the truck while we are at the islands.

Saturday, July 6

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday. In the late afternoon Mike came back. I had eaten, used the internet, and walked around. This city is pretty much a pit. Tijuana of the south. I have not been offered sex, drugs, and fishing trips so much in the past 15 years as I have to past two days. In the evening Mike got drunk and I watched TV. I woke up about midnight and Mike was gone. He left a note saying that he had left at about 9:30 and that he would be home early. He rolled in at 3:00 in the morning. He told me that he had met up with the front desk people and had gone out with them.

Friday, July 5

We woke up early and had breakfast downstairs before going to the bus station. After waiting a few minutes Mike got on the bus and I returned to the hotel. I didn’t do much today except use the internet, talk to Heidi, exchange some travelers checks, and eat. I also spent some time talking to the front desk girl in Spanish. I got email from Johnny Gorton saying he would meet us in La Paz on the seventh for some island kayaking.

Thursday, July 4

Today we did very little! We woke up late and went down to the café to eat. Well, first we took advantage of the shower for about an hour. It seems to take about three showers to get two weeks of kayaking gunge off my body. A little food and coffee, then we went to find the bus station to buy Mike a ticket for Loreto tomorrow. The bus station was about two kilometers away – a nice walk. We bought Mike a ticket for 10:30am tomorrow, then walked back to the hotel. We stopped at the laundry to clean our clothes and to check our email. What a great idea to combine laundry with email service! The lady there was very helpful with both. I called Heidi a couple times but she wasn’t there. I did get to talk to Mom and Gail. Then we returned to the hotel to have a couple beers in the pool. Later we went to the Chinese place across the street. This was the first non-Mexican food I have had in three months and it tasted great! There was a problem with flies and the girl walked circles around the table waving a menu at the flies. We went out to Cabo Wabo to listen to a little music. We are about out of money so we didn’t spend too much on beer. I want Mike to have a good supply of cash when he goes to Loreto. There is not too much happening for Independence Day, but it made me feel good to be here for the Fourth of July.

Wednesday, July 3

North 22° 52.528’
West 109° 53.604’
Distance: 12.7 miles

We paddled 12.7 miles today. We are now at Land’s End – the end of the Baja California peninsula. Well, we are not there now, but we were a few hours ago. We started early with a little coffee. Mike was useless yesterday without it and I enjoy it too, so today I made mud coffee which jolted us both awake. A couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to make it all work. We had to get the timing just right to get into the water today. The waves crashed on the beach and would smoosh us if we got trapped under them. The waves are bigger today than they were last night. We spent some time watching them and watching their patterns. We had to pick the lull between the sets to get out. I picked just right, but I got my paddle caught in a rope and it took a while to get it untangled. Also, my broken seat back was in my way and I couldn’t sit in the seat. Mike was yelling “Go! Go! Go!” I was imagining the next wave smacking me into the ground. A crowd from the hotel was watching my graceless floundering and, I guess, wondering if I was going to live. I got lucky. This was one of the longest smooth times we had seen all morning. If I had done nothing else right I had at least picked the right time to do it. I finally got everything untangled and started paddling. I just slid my butt forward eight inches and worried about the seat back after I got a few hundred yards out to sea. Once he saw that everything was OK with me, Mike made a textbook entrance and a few minutes later he was with me. We paddled for a few hard hours and then came to the arc at the end of the peninsula. The waves were large and surging, but we took pictures of each of us in front of the arc. I paddled all the way around the island off the end past the arc. Then Mike and I paddled to Lover’s Beach and had a celebratory shot of El Jimador, took our last GPS reading, and sat down for a while. We met a nice couple who had just gotten married. Teachers from Idaho who had to go home the next day. They told me they were going to be in San Diego the next day, so I told them where to go for dinner in Ocean Beach. They seemed like the kind who would appreciate my town. Then we all paddled into the harbor. Mike and I went to the marina looking for a hotel and dry storage. We went to a few wrong places first, but finally found the right office and for sixteen dollars we could store the boats for four days. They also pointed us to a hotel – Best Western Cabo San Lucas. Se spent a couple hours checking in and hauling our stuff around. We looked pretty funny carrying the boats the couple blocks to the dry storage lot and everyone we passed had a comment. We got food and showered and bought a six-pack and went back to the hotel. We spent some time talking to the girl at the front desk and to the security guard. They were both helpful and interesting and told us a little about Cabo San Lucas and helped us with our Spanish. After a short while we went to our room and watched “You’ve Got Mail” in Spanish while we had a couple beers. Then we went to sleep in real beds. As usual, completing a big goal is a bit anti-climatic. The exact moment of completion, nothing changes except that you have a little less direction and maybe less confidence. Going down the coast I knew where I wanted to get and roughly how to do it. Now I need to figure out what to do next. A couple days rest here in Cabo San Lucas should help with that. I know from experience that the let-down feeling is transitory and I will soon be involved in the next goal.

Tuesday, July 2

North 22° 59.321’
West 109° 44.319’
Distance: 23.9 miles

We paddled 23.9 miles today. We are now 644 miles from Pete’s Camp which is just four miles further than we were yesterday. We crossed the 23rd degree of latitude today which is our last before San Lucas. We woke up early today and were on the water by 8:00am without coffee. This may have been a mistake because Mike kept falling asleep while paddling. The ocean was pretty flat with little wind until about noon. At 2:00pm I realized that Mike had disappeared, so I waited for him for about a half hour. I finally saw something that looked like a kayak a few beaches back and I saw someone who walked like Mike walking around it. Fifteen minutes later I was on the beach next to him. We went for food and beer, then got back in the water about 6:00 pm. This was a mistake. The wind and waves were up and with much work we made about a mile and a half, and then crashed on a beach. I mistimed the surf and got crushed in a wave. This was another of those beaches which drop off sharply and the surf crashes right on the sand. The wave came over the top of me and slammed me to the ground. I lost my good sunglasses, and I broke the back support for my seat. Once again, everything eventually gets eaten by the trip. I will miss them. They are good glass lenses and fit well. I am lucky they lasted three months and I am glad I brought a spare pair. We are now about twelve miles from San Lucas and I am ready to be finished with the cold, rough water. Also, a couple days of leisure will be very welcome. Big lessons for today: Stick together, and put the sunglasses in the zippered pouch when going through rough surf. I have known those things for a long time, but every once in a while I need to be reminded. I was thinking today that the trip was my idea and that I have driven much of it for the past year. After San Lucas I want to let Mike make the decisions and do what interests him. I am now thinking more about life after the trip. I don’t know if I want to go home or if I just want to visit home, but I have started to think more about home. Also, being a goal oriented person, as I finish one goal I naturally start to think about the next. A vague idea about drifting around Mexico isn’t much of a goal.

Monday, July 1

North 23° 12.883’
West 109° 27.179’
Distance: 17.0 miles

We paddled 17.0 miles today. When I pulled my journal out this morning I noticed that my map bag had leaked and my journal is wet. Mike found that his sunscreen had leaked in his bathroom bag. These two disasters consumed us till about 10:30 in the morning. Once again we see that anything we own out here can be lost, stolen, broken, rusted, or soaked. I am running our of possessions which have not been the victim of one or more of those. Breakfast of eggs, tortillas, avocado, tomato, and cheese while things dried. We left at 10:30 and at 11:00 we hit Cabo Pulmo which is a pretty little town on a bay with a reef surrounded by mountains and with lots of white sand beaches. That town will explode with tourists someday. We bought water, another avocado, cheese, and some beans. We just need a couple more days of food till we hit San Lucas. We continued until about 3:00pm when the wind came up hard in our faces again. It seems to be the pattern. We rested until about 6:00pm, then continued for about another hour and a quarter. We wanted to go on longer but we were finding big surf on the beaches in places. We were afraid that with the sun going down we might find ourselves in a position where we were forced to land in the dark through the surf on an unknown beach – maybe into rocks. We wanted no risk of that. Mike got crunched a bit coming in, but I got luckier in timing the waves. A group of Mexicans watched us from the cliff probably wondering if they were going to have to rescue us. The beach here is steep so that the waves crash right on to the sand. This is the first sign we have seen that we are getting close to the wild Pacific Ocean. By my map we have less than thirty five miles left to go. Today we passed the easternmost point on our journey and last night was our easternmost camp. By tomorrow we will be going more west than south. We want to get an early start tomorrow and try to beat the wind. We want to get past San Jose del Cabo of possible tomorrow. For the past year and a half I have been planning this trip. For three months I have been paddling. Now I am within a couple days work of completing my goal. This is quite exciting. I know little will change when we get there. There will be no party. Nobody will know that we are finishing a journey. Nobody will care. We won’t be going home. We will still be living in kayaks. The vacation will not be over for another month. But this will fulfill for me an ambition that goes back to High School – to complete a long journey from end to end of some geographical boundary under my own power and with my own resources. Camping, cooking, everything on my own. I have always loved sleeping outside and that aspect of the trip has been a special treat for me. Also, I have seen the entire eastern coast of the Baja peninsula and have found it to be wonderful beyond my expectation or imagination. The people, both Mexican and Gringo, have been fantastically friendly and helpful. I have renewed my interest in learning Spanish and have come a long way toward that goal. I know it is a little early to start summing my experiences, but I now feel that the rest of the long part of my trip is just details. One more city to deal with, and a couple more camps. This is a pretty satisfying evening for me. I guess the fact that we made a good distance today makes the rest seem easy. We will soon see if that is true or not.

Sunday, June 30

North 23° 27.642’
West 109° 26.169’
Distance: 7.88 miles

We paddled 7.88 miles today. We got a late start after making pancakes for breakfast.and just hanging around having a good time. Just about when we got into the water the wind came up hard in our faces with rough waves. We paddled for two hours and forty five minutes, then took a break for a few hours and just relaxed. The wind has blown out the fishing and the water is cold. Mike has changed from being slow to being ahead of me all day like he suddenly switched into a new gear. In the afternoon we took a nap, read, and had a nice lunch with most of the rest of our fruit. About 6:30 we got back into the water for another hour and fifteen minutes, and then paddled to a nice beach for the night. It is all nice white sand with no access other than by water. There was a lot of driftwood on the beach so we made a fire and watched stars for a while before going to sleep. I have noticed that as I work hard pushing the boat I have become very interested in both food and sleep. I sleep like a rock every night and I eat at least three times as much as I would at home. Fresh food tastes much better than anything I ever have at home and a bed of rocks or sand feels great after a hard day of paddling. I think this will be our easternmost camp site and we will start heading back west tomorrow as the cape narrows at the bottom.

Saturday, June 29

North 23° 33.783’
West 109° 29.449’
Distance: 15.6 miles

We paddled 15.6 miles today. We woke up early and cleaned up a bit, then went into town. A couple people stopped to see what we were up to and they were all very nice. The laundry was closed, so we went for tacos while we waited. Then Mike started laundry while I hiked to the ATM or Cajero Automatico as they say down here. While laundry was going we went shopping, used the internet, made phone calls, and got ice cream. Then we bought 30 fresh hot tortillas at the tortillaria and ate 6 of them immediately. There is just nothing like a fresh, hot tortilla as they make them in Mexico. Then we packed up and left at around 2:00pm. At 2:15 I remembered that my plug was open and I landed. At 2:30 I was dry and plugged and started again. I think that is the sixth time I have forgotten that plug, but the first on about a month. Some day I will learn not to do that. Mike was feeling slow and tired so I had to kinda drag him along till about 6:00pm. Then he woke up and I was chasing him for the next two hours. We landed on a perfect beach just north of the lighthouse and made our favorite food – tortillas with beans, avocado, tomatoes, onion, lime, cheese, and salsa piqante. Mike made a fire. It was cold from the time we landed, so the fire felt great. This is the first time I have been cold for at least a month and it was a nice change. We are both ready to fall asleep after a long day.

Friday, June 28

North 23° 41.352’
West 109° 41.750’
Distance: 7.41 miles

We paddled 7.41 miles today. We took an easy day and crossed the 600 miles from San Felipe line today. We woke up on the beach under the palapa at the hotel in Punta Pescadero. We got up early and packed the boats because we knew the hotel guests would soon be coming down to the beach. I went up to the hotel bathroom and shaved the five days of beard off my face, then went and met Mike for breakfast. I ate at least a plate of fruit and drank four glasses of their good orange juice. The hotel guests were all interested in our trip so we showed them our map and hung around the pool all morning. After a few miles Mike got sunscreen in his eyes, so we went to shore to clean it out. A nice lady named Julie asked us if we needed help. We asked her for water and she filled us up and fed us each a couple beers. Then we went down to Los Barriles and landed in front of Nolan’s house. We stopped at Kevin and Betsy’s house, but they weren’t home. We left them a note saying we had been by, and then continued to downtown Los Barriles. We got carne tacos, used the internet, had a couple more beers, played pool, and just relaxed for a couple hours. I called Gail and Mom, but got no answer. Then I called Heidi and got to talk to her while she was walking Sumatra, so that was a treat. Tomorrow is shopping, laundry, and maybe a big paddling day.

Thursday, June 27

North 23° 47.778’
West 109° 42.008’
Distance: 20.0 miles

We paddled 20.0 miles today. We crossed the 24th degree of latitude – just one more before we make Cabo San Lucas. We got up this morning and discovered we were just a few hundred yards from a huge fish camp. Last night Mike asked which side of the lighthouse we should land on. I kinda randomly picked the left. If I had picked the right we would have been right in the camp. I am amazed that with all those people and vehicles that there were no lights last night. No fires, nothing. This lighthouse is a large concrete tower with a wall around id. Some one made stairs over the wall by pounding out the cinder blocks, so I climbed over. The tower is a cylinder with stairs up the middle. The door was off its hinges so I climbed up to the top. On top are the same light, battery, and solar panel as the other lighthouses. We watched the view for a while, then took off. We paddled past Ensenada de los Muertos – lots of pretty beaches and some houses. I caught two large Mexican Needlefish. Fun to catch but not worth eating. They have lots of long sharp teeth, so we have to be careful when taking them off the hook. Mike said he was going to catch a fifty pound dorado at 1:30pm, but that time came and went without a hookup. About 5:00pm we came to a beach to rest. There was a nice little hotel on the beach. Nice people – the guy is from Spain and his wife is a local. They have a pile of cute girls from 4 to 14 years old. Mike started a water fight with them and we had giggling girls all around us while we had beer and food. We got back in the boats around 8:30 and paddled for another hour. It got very dark and when we were ready to land we had no idea where the shore was or if it were sand or rocks. We found the hotel at Punta Pescadero and remembered that they had at least some sand, so we decided to land there. We could kinda see some of the rocks by the light of the hotel and we crashed on the beach through the light surf. We occupied a palapa and went to rinse ourselves in the hotel pool and to have a beer or three. Finally we went to sleep under the palapa in front of the hotel at the foot of the cliff. We need to get sleep now because the sun comes up early and we will want to be up and packed before the hotel guests started coming down.

Wednesday, June 26

North 24° 03.666’
West 109° 49.887’
Distance: 6.88 miles

We paddled 6.88 miles today. We woke up on Cerralvo this morning and it was such a nice place that we put up our sun shade and made ourselves comfortable. We made breakfast and read for a while. I went for a walk to see if I could find any sign of sailboats around the point of the lighthouse. None. I found a sign saying that it is illegal to be on the island without permission of two Mexican officials. This seems to be widely ignored and I suspect it is just there to impress American conservationist extremists with how sensitive the Mexican Government is toward their sensitive ecological areas. I am guessing that the 20 fishermen who live here are no more sensitive to their environmental impact than any of the other Mexican fishermen I have seen. About the time we decided to go, the wind came up strongly. We waited till about 4:00pm, then gave up and went to look for goats. I had seen the skin and heads of three of them which had been left on the beach by the fishermen, but I saw no live ones. I did hear some while paddling last night. We also tested the flair gun which Johnny gave us in La Paz. It is fun, but it doesn’t go very far or very straight. We also saw a pelican with his left wing missing. This is the second one I have seen like this in the past week and I wonder how that happens. Maybe they get bitten off? Both were taken at the joint and were pretty clean. Maybe they get caught in fish nets and the fishermen cut them off, but I would think they would kill them at the same time. Perhaps they are torn off – maybe by the birds themselves when they are trapped. However it happens, it is sad to see. I would have killed it if I had the means. This way it will die slowly of starvation. About 6:30 the wind died down some and we crossed back to the mainland. The wind and current were against us so we went pretty slowly. It was about 9:00pm when we landed at the lighthouse. From where we are we can se three lighthouses – each with a different light blink pattern. We climbed the one by our last camp today for a view from the top. There is an old lighthouse right next to the current one. It is badly rusted and has a bird nest at the top. After we landed we made pasta for dinner. Once again the whole thing was gone in minutes. We are now about 24 miles from Nolan’s place in Los Barriles. It has been fun to go a bit slower and see things these past few days, but I think I am now in the mood for a good distance day tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 25

North 24° 09.183’
West 109° 52.373’
Distance: 13.2 miles

We paddled 13.2 miles today. We are now 28.6 miles from La Paz and 571 miles from Pete’s Camp. We are again as far south as we were when we left La Paz, but are much further east. Today we crossed the 110° line of longitude which is the last one we will cross on this trip. Today we are east of Cabo San Lucas. We will go a little further east but will start back west in a couple days. Again today we woke up late and relaxed in the morning. The palapa we found last night is a nice place to just hang out. We had shade, protection from the wind, and nice soft sand to stand on. We had comfortable chairs. The seal on my hatch started to leak so Mike and I glued it back on with Marine Goop. Both of Mike’s had come off early on the trip but mine had been fine until now. They just seem to randomly come off. We started out at 2:00pm and went five miles to Punta la Gorda. The wind and waves were against us so we put in and did some shore fishing and snorkeling. We got three puffer fish – one on a krokadile and two on the spear. At 6:00pm the wind died down and we started to cross Canal de Cerralvo to Cerralvo Island. This is about an 8 mile crossing and we got to the island just a few minutes before full dark. We hung out for about an hour until the moon was up over the horizon but hidden from our view by the island mountains. This gave us a little light and we knew we would have full moonlight soon. We paddled to the south end of the island to a sand beach just before the lighthouse. There was a fish camp with a fire so we stopped to ask directions. Mike thought it might be American boaters and hoped that they would have beer, but it was just fishermen. The beach we found is nice with a cooling breeze, nice sand, and a view of the coastline of the mainland. We can see the glow of La Paz and lights from El Sargento andLa Ventana. This is more humanity than we are used to, but it is interesting and fun to run into people. The last paddle we did in the dark was really fun. We had phosphorescent plankton lighting up our strokes, a full moon to light our way, and stories of orcas eating fishermen bouncing around our heads. Mike was attacked by a baitfish which jumped into his boat and hit him on the chest. Kinda spooky and lots of fun. We had expected to see sailboats out here but so far have seen none. This island has few of the bugs we have come to expect on islands. Maybe it is the time of the year, or maybe there is just enough breeze to drive them away. Either way, I am happy with this island landing. Tomorrow we cross back with a short five mile crossing. We will make a course for Punta Arena de la Ventana, then around the corner to spend the night at Ensenada de los Muertos.

Monday, June 24

North 24° 12.158’
West 110° 04.493’
Distance: 13.5 miles

We paddled 13.5 miles today. We are now 16.2 miles from La Paz and 561 from Pete’s Camp. We are still north of La Paz and will be tomorrow, too. Today has been great. We woke early, but with the shade of the palapa or shack we were in last night we stayed cool. We made coffee and just read and relaxed for a long time. When I made coffee, Mike said he didn’t want any. I made him a cup anyway and he drank it. Then he made more. We became so ambitious we made a list of Spanish words to memorize and spent a lot of time playing with the dictionary. When we took off at 2:45 the day was hot with little wind. The sea is full of life and we had a great show of rays jumping. Mike saw a Dorado and there was a lot of bait jumping and sheeting. After a couple hours we decided to take a break on shore. We saw a nice beach and headed for it. When we got close we saw that there was an American looking house on the beach. The house was deserted so we rested in the shade. After a half hour or so a Mexican man came to see what we were up to. His name is Roberto and he lives in the ranch house back from the beach. He gave us water and talked to us for a couple hours. He gave us excellent coffee and told us about the area. He said that there is a hotel at Las Cruces five kilometers to the southeast but that the food was very expensive. By this time it was after 7:30pm and we wanted to move on. We got back in the water by 8:00 just in time for the sunset and the moonrise. The moon was a huge orange ball in front of us. Roberto told us to be careful because there are orcas in this part of the Sea of Cortez and that they were seen here a few days ago. He claims that they have eaten four fishermen. I don’t know if it is true or just an urban legend, but it makes kayaking at night just a little more exciting. An hour or so later we heard American voices on the beach, so we decided to say hi. They were Greg, Nicky, and another guy who refused to identify himself even by first name. We decided that it would be fun to assume he was a Mafioso in the Witless Protection Program. Before we landed Nicky told the others that if we had come from San Felipe that he would buy us a drink. He ended up buying us two and then invited us to dinner. It turned out that Nicky runs the hotel which is part of a family-owned chain in Baja California. Dinner was an American steak – melt in your mouth tender – a fish taco, chili relleño, rice, beans, and tortillas and finished with ice cream and all washed down with another beer. Then he told us about a palapa we could use down the beach a quarter mile or so. The palapa was very nice with a wall, sand, and comfortable chairs. Life has been very good to us today. As Gail would say, “It’s good to be Chuckie.”

Sunday, June 23

North 24° 19.959’
West 110° 14.089’
Distance: 13.5 miles

We paddled 13.5 miles today and are now 548 miles from Pete’s Camp. We woke up at about 7:30, had coffee and donuts, and got in the water at about 9:00am. Johnny and Gordon followed us in Gordon’s inflatable kayaks for about a mile. We stopped at Irish Rose to say goodbye to John and Mary and arranged to look for them near Isla Espiritu Santo in two weeks. Johnny has expressed interest in flying down and renting a kayak to join us for a 4 or 5 day visit to the islands. We paddled for a couple hours while thinking up “Damn! It feels good to be a kayaker” lines. Bad ones. It really does feel great to be in the ocean again. I was getting soft living in the city for so long. About 11:00am we found a beach with shade and relaxed for an hour or more. Mike fell asleep for a while. Just after noon we took off again for another two hours. We started passing party beaches full of Mexican families. Before this trip I had believed that Americans on the beach in Mexico were the rudest, loudest, and most destructive people on earth. I have learned here that they are just following the lead of their Mexican hosts. I couldn’t wait to get away from the jet skis, trucks, motorcycles, and boom boxes that the Mexican families bring to the peaceful beach by the hundreds on Sundays. We finally found a quiet beach about 2:30 and took another short rest. We got going again about 3:00pm or so. We were just about at the point where we were starting to go east instead of north. Mike and I were paddling close together talking when a baitfish started jumping off to our left. I watched it while finishing a sentence when suddenly a large dorado jumped behind it. Each fish must have jumped 10 times while passing less than 40 feet in front of my kayak. The bait would jump, then the dorado would jump. The dorado was all lit up and maybe 10 feet behind the baitfish. It looked like he was jumping to see where the bait was. I started yelling incoherently, and Mike was struck speechless. The water was blue, the fish sparkled in the sun. The bait fled and the dorado chased it. It probably lasted no more than 10 seconds, but it seemed to go on forever. A film of that moment would have gone on Animal Planet or National Geographic. Mike and I had been fishing, but I am sure the dorado had eyes only for the baitfish. We are now excited about the possibility of hooking one up. It would clearly take both of us to land a monster like that and we would likely lose it, but what a thrill that would be! Shortly after we made Punta El Coyote and started into the bay on the other side. There are a few houses on the beach at the back of the bay. Clearly a person could keep a truck in La Paz and fly in and get here in about an hour. Isolated but accessible. The water is warm and full of life. This place would make a great vacation house. We found a fishing shack on the north side of the bay and occupied it. It is just a tin cover and a brick fireplace, but it is relatively clean. Mike took a nap in the shade and I relaxed with some writing. Then we made dinner – beans, avocados, tomatoes, onion, lime, and salsa in tortillas. I feel like a new man getting out here again. The city life was starting to wear on me. It feels great to have sore arms and to be tired and hungry at the end of the day. We went into the water at least five times today. The hot sun and cool blue water just feel like heaven. This is what I came down here for. We have a full moon this week, so we might do some night kayaking. There is a nice sandy spot a few yards away and I think I will sleep well tonight.

Saturday, June 22

Another night on the boat. I am really getting used to luxury! Again we went to the internet café, stopping for a malteada at La Fuente. In the afternoon we washed the boats using Gordon’s hose. I was afraid Bad Girl would fall apart with all that fresh water. This is the first time she has been washed with fresh water for almost three months. Then we went shopping for supplies and water. In the morning we went to the Irish Rose for breakfast with John and Mary. Their boat is small but nicely laid out and is neat and simple. They are living on it for two years and are one year into that plan. They clearly know what they are doing and have figured out how to live simply. After shopping we took a last advantage of the nice showers here, packed the boats for tomorrow, and went out to our taco stand with the transvestite waitress with the guys in the next boat. She kindly went and bought us a couple six-packs of Modelo and we had tacos for a couple hours. I will be going back there – the food and service are great. Then a last malteada from La Fuente. At dinner I bet Mike that he couldn’t talk me into having one. 1 peso. He tried and tried, but I held firm. But when we got there and he offered to buy, and go get it, I gave in. It takes a little planning to get a free shake. Tomorrow we are leaving for Cabo San Lucas. After 10 days I feel like a fraud when I tell people I am kayaking down Baja. Five, six, seven days I was OK with it, but now I feel it is time to put up of shut up. The city is great, but I am getting fat from all the food and beer and I miss the water. My hands don’t hurt anymore. I want to go again. It is just short of midnight and this is my last night in the luxury of the yacht.

Friday, June 21

We woke up on the boat today. Gordon’s mast howls in certain kinds of wind, and the kind of wind we had last night was it. This kept a bunch of people awake and pissed off some of the neighbors. I slept like a rock as usual. At least the ground was flat. Mike tried to sleep on the swim step, but after water splashed him a few times he moved to the dock. We went to the internet café for breakfast, stopped at La Fuente for a malteada, then back to the boat. New people moved into the slip next to us where we had left the kayaks. Gordon moved them to the other side for us. In the afternoon we went for a walk around town and had another malteada. A couple beers, then to see a movie. There is a taco place with a transvestite waitress. Nice but a bit strange. We had carne tacos and papas rellenas. Great food! The movie was interesting but not great – Sandra Bullock as a homicide detective. The town was pretty lively when we got out, but we were tired and went back to the boat to sleep. John and Mary invited us out to the Irish Rose for breakfast tomorrow. Johnny and I spent some of the afternoon paddling the kayaks around. There are a lot of dying boats in that harbor.

Thursday, June 20

We woke up late today and went down to the café Callejon for more food, coffee, and internet use. We saw the French kids again and had a great time using the web. We got an ice cream at La Fuente again. Those are really good. Then we came back and checked out. Felix tried to talk us into staying. Then he tried to talk us into paying for an extra day since it was 2:15 and he said checkout was at 2:00 pm. We brushed him off, got our stuff from our room, and then left. We gave a cheerful goodbye to Felix who was still trying to get more pesos from us. Then we walked over to the marina and put our clothes in the wash at Lavamatica Polly. We bought a shower, cleaned up, and returned to put our clothes in the drier. I tried calling the international number Johnny had given me without success. Then I called Gail and asked her to try. Twenty minutes later I called her back, but she was unable to get through. I walked back to “Polly” and told Mike. He was trying the VHF radio at the dock. No use. We looked at the book exchange, then took our clothes our of the dryer. We left the lavamatica and there was Johnny walking by. We went and met his friends Gordon the boat owner, Jeanne, his girlfriend, Karen – another friend. The boat is 47 feet and is called Phantasma del Mar. We were invited to stay on the boat so we got our kayaks moved over there. Then we hung out, talked, had another malteada, and went to bed. This has been a fun day. It is great to see Johnny and I enjoyed meeting and talking to his friends. Gordon is retired and plans to take his boat for as long as he can. Jeanne will go with him for the first 14 months, then has to go home and work. He wants to spend the summer in the Sea of Cortez, then go south in the fall. Johnny will likely hook up with him from time to time over the next years when he isn’t working. He has spent much of the last year traveling and feels compelled to get back to work.

Wednesday, June 19

Interesting day. We got up late and walked down to the internet café from yesterday. We like it because they have good machines, coffee, food, a nice location, and good prices. On the way we met a woman named Norma who was trying to rent us a room in her house. We agreed to go see it at 2:00pm. We had breakfast, used the instant messenger for a while, checked out Dorians department store, then it was 2:00pm. We hurried over there and met her husband and kids and her sister. Her sister works at our favorite Ice Cream place and recognized us. We talked to her in Spanish for a couple hours, had lunch, and mike learned to make tortillas with her. Her husband, Gregorio wants us to help him find a contact in the US toy market so he can be a toy distributor here. I think that if he can’t find his own contact that he will be unable to do all the other things needed to import and distribute toys. Then we stopped back by the café for their 10 peso beer happy hour. We met some French kids and spoke Spanish with them for a couple hours. It was easier to communicate with them since their Spanish is about like ours. Some of them also spoke a little English but we didn’t use it much. Then we went and watched Blade 2 which is the worst movie I have seen in years.

Tuesday, June 18

Today we woke up and went to use the internet café and to eat breakfast. John Gorton sent us email saying he would be in La Paz on the 20th, so we decided to stay a couple more days. We paid for the room at 130 pesos a night and boat storage at 10 pesos a night. I bought some cable and fittings to fix my boat but have not yet made the repair. I think I will wait till it actually breaks first – it might go for some time the way it is. Then we took a nap and went out to explore for a while. We had food and Ice Cream and later watched the movie SpiderMan or Hombre Araña. It was in English with subtitles in Spanish, so we were both distracted reading the Spanish. We haven’t done much here except eat ice cream, drink beer, and walk around, but we are having a great time doing it. Tomorrow another day of doing nothing, then a day or two of doing nothing with Gordzilla. Then back on the water. The guy who runs the hotel is named Felix and is kinda strange. I guess he wants us to continue spending money at his hotel without it costing him anything. He would do better to just leave us alone. As typical, Mexican style hotel rooms do not include maid service which I guess suits me just fine.

Monday, June 17

We got up, cleaned and packed everything. Mike said there is a 9:00am bus and an 11:00am bus. We got there about 10:50 and started waiting. We asked around and got 4 different answers about when the bus comes. About 12:00 Mike figured out that he had left his keys at the house. He walked the 5 miles or so back, found them, and made it back to the bus stop about 1:40. About 3:15 the bus came. We met a nice girl who studies law in La Paz and talked to her for a while. We got back, checked our gear, and I went to find boat parts and a hotel room for the night. 150 pesos. Interesting place. While I was gone, Mike met John and Mary. Santa Cruz communists who are living on a boat for a couple years. They took us for a tour of the town and we got ice cream. Finally we bought a six-pack and went to our room and went to bed. Tomorrow we want to shop, pack, and get back on the water for the stretch to Cabo San Lucas.

Sunday, June 16

Father’s Day. It was good to be with my dad in such a place on Father’s Day. Thanks again to Nolan! We watched more golf, used the internet, went out to dinner. More just hanging around.

Saturday, June 15

Mostly the same as yesterday. We went to town and watched golf a bit. Later we went for a walk and Kevin invited us to use his pool. Nice people.

Friday, June 14

This was a big hang around day. Nolan’s house is great for this and we just relaxed and ate most of the day. We did laundry and I washed my pillow. It feels great!

Thursday, June 13

North 24° 09.287’
West 110° 19.529’
Distance: 10.3 miles

We paddled 10.3 miles today. Our goal today was to get to Los Barriles to visit my dad and Nolan Johnson. We got moving reasonably early and paddled along the sandbar which protects La Paz harbor. It is kinda a bummer we had to go all the way around wince it would be a short paddle otherwise. On the way we saw two boats beached and abandoned. The first was an old wooden fishing boat – maybe 25 feet. The second was a steel sailboat. The weather was easy – not too hot or windy but just nice. Once we made the corner we had to decide what to do. We thought for a while about hiding our boats in the bushes and walking in but decided in the end to go to the marina. Good decision. Mary, the woman who seems to be in charge, took care of us. She showed us a place to leave the boats for a dollar a day and we bought a shower each. These were great showers and we cleaned up pretty well. Then a meal and a couple of beers at The Dock which is a restaurant at the marina. Then we packed what we needed and headed for Los Barriles. Our thought was to hitchhike there, but after an hour and a half with no luck while walking toward the edge of town we came across a better idea. We saw a bus with “Los Cabos” on it. For 60 pesos we got a nice, comfortable ride to Los Barriles and got there about 8:00 pm. I called Mom to try to make contact and also used the numbers she gave me. No luck. We found the Playa del Sol hotel and Juan, the guy who helps Nolan. He took us to the house just as they had gotten back from dinner. The boys were all baracho and were watching slides. Jerry is an underwater photographer with some great stuff. Frank is a doctor friend of Nolan. There were also Kevin and Betsy who live a few doors down. It was great to see them and we were invited to stay the whole time they were there. The house is wonderful and Nolan made us feel welcome while we crashed his party. We all finally went to sleep about 1:30 in the morning.

Wednesday, June 12

North 25° 23.206’
West 110° 59.937’
Distance: 21.7 miles

We paddled 21.7 miles today. We are now 137 miles from Loreto and 548 miles from Pete’s Camp. We woke up early at our cool camp on the ledge. The water was down, so we were a little higher off the water than we were last night. We ate breakfast, had some coffee, and just hung out for a while. There were blowholes all over which were fun to watch and listen to. The rocks felt good under our feet and some were curved nicely for sitting on, so we just stayed till about 11:45. We had a bit of adventure getting the boats back into the water. There were waves smashing on the rocks and we were still at least eighteen inches higher off the water than when we came in last night. We finally just threw the boats into the water during a lull in the waves and jumped in after them, then hurried in and paddled away before the next set of waves smashed us into the wall. I cut my thumb a little where it joins my hand and it was a little uncomfortable all day. A couple hours later we came to a mine with a pier. We paddled under the pier for fun. Then we saw on the road the guys from San Evaristo. Too bad we couldn’t talk to them. After the mine the road was paved, so we saw more traffic. Later we stopped for a break and a snack of pineapple, nutella, and an apple. Then we got back in gear for a couple more hours. Mike caught a couple sierra, but lost one of them. When we landed he cleaned it and cooked it and we had fish tacos with rice made with dried black beans. This has been yet another great Baja day. The water, the air, everything is wonderful. There is a tiny sliver of moon which is just now going down at 9:45 pm. We are being attacked by spiders right now, but that should end as soon as we turn out the lights.

Tuesday, June 11

North 24° 27.580’
West 110° 41.208’
Distance: 24.1 miles

We paddled 24.1 miles today. That is my second best day and the best day Mike and I have had together. We got up early, ate a couple eggs, and were in the water by 7:45. Before 8:00am my rudder cable broke on the right side. We made two hours of paddling into the wind and then pulled over for a break. Mike and I took the rudder apart and repaired it with the BuckTool, the Leatherman, and two shovels. Pretty crude, but we got it working. We were hungry so we made 3 ½ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each. We used all the bread, peanut butter and jelly. The bread came with soccer trading cards – three of them. We ended up with an empty jelly jar and two empty peanut butter jars, so we wrote three messages and put a trading card and a note in each and set them loose. At 1:00pm we started again. The day got better and better. The water has been cold because of the wind, but I took a bath around 2:30 anyway. We stayed on the water until about 7:15, then found a great ledge on a cliff with rock and a little gravel a few inches off of the water. We made bean burritos and started on a little tequila. We are now 115 miles from Loreto and 527 from Pete’s Camp. I am constantly looking around at my life in amazement. I love it out here and keep thinking that I want it to go on and on. The night is calm, the sunset is orange and purple. Another great day on the Sea of Cortez.

Monday, June 10

North 24° 48.539’
West 110° 39.666’
Distance: 8.31 miles

We paddled only 8.31 miles today in what was some of the roughest wind and waves we have seen. We woke up, make breakfast, and got going about 11:30. We paddled up around the punta and immediately hit big wind and waves. We made the port at San Evaristo and bought apples, water, and tortillas. After loading the boats we headed out into the wind and waves again. We were both especially careful to get the hatch covers tight since we were both swamped frequently on the way in. A couple hours and 8 miles later we decided to pull in to shore in the lee of the next punta. There was a fish camp there, but nobody home. We went for a walk around the point and found a lighthouse. We climbed up to see how it works and to see the view. It is battery operated and has a solar panel to charge the battery. We ate some of our new hard boiled eggs and just wandered around and read for a while. When it became clear that the wind wasn’t going away today we decided to cook dinner. We had two kinds of pasta and Mike cooked all of both. We added oregano and a little corn oil and topped it with salsa picante. It looked like way more than we could eat, but 10 minutes later it was all gone. I could have eaten more if there were any. Working against the wind and waves takes a lot of energy. We will certainly be having this again – it was a welcome treat. For once Mike didn’t burn anything. He is becoming quite a good little homemaker. Then we sat and watched the sunset for an hour or more and talked about the rest of the trip. Time is going by far too fast. The adventure is already more than half over. We intend to get up and out early tomorrow in case the afternoon is windy again. I have a feeling the weather will improve tomorrow and be better still the next day. We will want to get a couple more 20 plus mile days in order to make it to La Paz in time. My rudder cable is breaking slowly and I hope to get it fixed when we get there, too. About half the strands are broken now and I am using it as carefully as I can in the hope that it will last. Every day I see more places I would like to see again. Baja is a wonderful place and I could easily spend quite a lot of time here.

Sunday, June 9

North 24° 55.213’
West 110° 42.633’
Distance: 15.7 miles

We paddled 15.7 miles today. We are now 85.6 miles from Loreto and 498 from Pete’s Camp. Tomorrow we will cross the 500 mile line for our trip. Today we crossed the 25th parallel of latitude makes a total of seven which I have crossed. The place we camped last night was perfect. There was a little wind, but after the long push yesterday I certainly slept well. This morning we made coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and had a feast. The weather has been so perfect that I am tempted to just sit and enjoy it rather than do anything. Cool in the shade and still pretty good in the sun. About 12:45 we started going again. We saw two pods of dolphin today – the first I have seen in a long time. One of them gave us a show of jumping at least 12 feet out of the water just a hundred feet from us. Mike caught two fish – a bonito and something else. Neither was very good cooked, but the something else was pretty good raw. He was silver with blue/green stripes. Red meat. We saw a group of nice block houses and stopped to ask for information. The houses were interesting because they were by far the nicest we had seen in a fish camp and they were in a place where the block has to be brought in by boat. It seemed odd. He gave us directions to San Evaristo which has a store. We got juice, eggs, tortillas, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and cookies. We also met a group of guys from Solana Beach. We visited them for a while, but they didn’t seem to interested in company, so we left after a while. We were disappointed that the store didn’t have avocados, tomatoes, bananas, cheese, or beer. Still, we will be able to get water there tomorrow and we will be in La Paz in a few more days. They make salt here in San Evaristo and we camped next to the field where it is dried. We had to walk about a kilometer to the store. On the other side of the punta there is a harbor and the town. Tomorrow we will paddle over there to stock up our water and get more tortillas before we head out. As usual I like getting stuff but an anxious to get out of town. It is a warm night and the wind is dying down, so it might be pretty comfortable to camp here. The country around here has been as pretty as any I have seen. Certainly better than I imagined when I planned the trip. Much of it reminds me of Lake Powell in Utah, but much more remote and unspoiled. The best places are those with no road access. I see people camped in the worst places and wonder why till I remember that they just can’t get to the good places with all their gear. I guess that is good.

Saturday, June 8

North 25° 05.817’
West 110° 52.086’
Distance: 21.6 miles

We paddled 21.6 miles today, mostly in the face of the wind. We had fruit for breakfast and then got going about 9:30. Mike wouldn’t let me have an coffee today so I punished him with a long day. Almost immediately I hooked up a nice sea bass, so Mike and I made ceviche. Back in the water the the wind started up in our faces. We caught no more fish, but Mike hooked his $9.00 lure on a rock and lost it. He was a little miffed about that. Mike also got sunburned in a couple spots which he had missed with the sunscreen. We stopped a couple times to rest, but otherwise just spent the day paddling. The wind kept us cool along with a few dips in the water. At 7:15 we pulled into a nice beach with walls for wind protection and what we think will be shade in the morning. Our fresh fruit and vegetables are running out. The avocados are not too good and we finished the bananas. We hope for a store tomorrow. We are camped on a ranch with a ruined mission nearby. We have already been visited by cows. The days go by quickly and especially when we push for distance. I really want to make La Paz early to visit with my dad and Nolan. Mike cooked rice tonight to go with our ceviche and tortillas. We used the last of our habanera sauce with it. He only burned the rice a little which is a huge improvement in his cooking skills. I wish he had practiced cooking a little while he was gone.

Friday, June 7

North 25° 23.206’
West 110° 59.937’
Distance: 11.5 miles

We paddled only 11.5 miles today. This is getting to be a bad habit! We are now on the east side of the 111° west line of latitude, but just by a few feet. We are 48.8 miles from Loreto, 462 miles from Pete’s Camp, and 632 miles from home. We woke up this morning tired from going to bed at 1:00am and had coffee with our people from last night. They fed us more, entertained us more, gave us food and water for our trip, and were just generally great to us. I helped Mike diagnose a problem with his van. He had a broken part on one of his break calipers. We made the problem less irritating and then bolted it back together. We finally departed at 12:30 and had perfect weather for paddling. The day was warm but not hot, the water was great for swimming, and the wind was light. We had fun catching a couple junk fish. We took an hour break in the shade, and then continued paddling. There was a lot of bait boiling around us for over an hour. I saw a Dorado showing his colors at close range chasing a school of bait. I passed my squid jig within 10 feet of him, but he wanted nothing to do with it. Mike saw something hit my jig, but it didn’t stick. Mike got a few nibbles, too, but nothing was caught. After 6:00pm we saw a nice beach and took it. We used the GPS to find the exact 111° line and marked it. Then we wrote this:

Damn! It feels good to be on the 111°
At least within 14 feet.
Kayaking down the Sea of Cortez
Thinking about what we are going to eat.

Pretty bad, but we have been out here a long time. The country here is as pretty as I have seen and I feel like I am into the core of the trip now. This is my life now and I don’t really think about home. I am pretty fit and have adapted to the life. The beach feels like home. We are going with a light meal tonight since we have been pigging out so much the past days.

Thursday, June 6

North 25° 31.462’
West 111° 06.130’
Distance: 8.97 miles

We paddled 8.97 miles today. This has been a wonderful day in every regard except for distance. We camped in a place where we would be protected from the morning sun. We slept well and late. In the morning we took advantage of the shade to relax and cook banana pancakes. They were great and we stuffed ourselves. We are now out of pancake mix and I want to be sure we get some in La Paz. After breakfast we rested, read, and captured wasps in our mason jars. The wasps are a frequent visitor, but they are slow and stupid and don’t seem to sting. Mike caught two and I caught one. I also killed one with a towel while Mike cooked. We finally got moving at 1:00pm and went a few miles. Then we pulled up to a beach to rest. We left and paddled another 20 minutes till Mike noticed a couple boats coming toward us. He waved as they went by. A half hour later they came back and offered us a beer. Then they invited us to their house for cocktails. We accepted and asked where their house was. One of the guys pointed vaguely to a distant beach which looked deserted from where we were. When they left we followed them with our eyes and marked where they were headed. We pushed another two hours and with a little care and some lucky guessing we found it at around 4:00pm. It is a trailer under a palapa like so many of the homes down here. It is in a great location with a private bay and up against a cliff on the southeast. The mountain arm going into the water and the little island protect the bay and make a great location for their boat. They have several miles of white sand beach to the north. Lots of trees for shade and wind block. Their names are Fred and Rainey. They had about a dozen guests and made us feel at home. Beer and wine and cake and quiche. Then later a turkey dinner. We stayed up talking till about 1:00am and played darts and had crab races. Fred is an old co-worker of my uncle Chuck from his Convair days and has been living here for the last 15 years. He is also a 100 ton boat captain. Mike, another guy there, is a hardware geek and another mike is an ex-professional darts player. In all, it was an interesting bunch of people. We were invited to stay at their place in Loreto on the way home. We had a great time and will try to visit on the way home. This is all a wonderful area and I would like to return here for some camping.

Wednesday, June 5

North 25° 37.390’
West 111° 11.718’
Distance: 15.1 miles

We paddled 15.1 miles today. This has been an almost perfect day – perhaps my best yet in Baja. We woke in our palapa and had shade as soon as the sun started to get hot. The weather was perfect – dry and cool. Chris came to visit us and to tell us about snakes and lizards. He claims to have caught hundreds of rattlesnakes with his hands. Perhaps he has. Anyway, he is an interesting guy. We stayed and talked to him and his wife till noon, then departed. It was a little windier than I would have liked, but that kept us cool. We saw two turtles today. One was the best I have seen. I saw him before he saw me, so I stopped paddling and drifted toward him. He hung out with me for maybe 45 seconds or a minute till Mike caught up. The second was a little closer, but very brief. The fish are changing, too. All pretty tropical fish and millions of them. Every hour or so we jumped into the water to cool off. The water temperature is ideal now – not cold but still refreshing. We stopped after three hours to rest in the shade and to have a snack of pop-tarts and hard boiled eggs. Then about 4:30 we started out again. Mike left his snorkel and mask on the beach and had to go back after about 20 minutes. After that we busted it for a while and pulled in about 7:25. A nice beach with trees and walls. We have a nice place to sleep protected by a wall from the morning sun. Mike threatened the trees with gasoline if they cause too much wind tonight. So far there is just a nice cooling breeze. We have been looking at the map and are thinking of hurrying a bit and trying to re-do some of the parts Mike missed. Or at least as much as we can before time runs out. That way we can finish up with four weeks of hard work to end up as fit as possible. Otherwise we will end with weeks of easy paddling. There is certainly a lot more traffic in this part of the sea of Cortez! We saw several boats today at a distance close enough to wave or shout. It is nice after being alone so long, but I think I will miss the solitude, too.

Tuesday, June 4

North 25° 48.892’
West 111° 18.801’
Distance: 14.4 miles

We paddled 14.4 miles today. This is the first time in weeks I have been able to start this sentence out with the word “We” instead of the word “I.” It feels great to have Mike paddling with me again. It started out very foggy. By the time we paid our bill, said goodbye, and ate the treat the hotel people made us it was 10:30 in the morning. We left in a fog so thick we had to use the compass to navigate. This is rare! I drug a line in the hope of catching a Dorado. No luck. Maybe it was because of the fog, but the water was very smooth – almost glassy. We made good progress for two hours stopping to swim every once in a while. Mike’s shoulder was good and he had no problems with his back. His hands were hurting, but he has gloves to put on for that. After about 1:00pm the wind came up pretty strong and in our faces, so we turned toward land. There was an island we had mistaken for a point. We went between the island and the mainland looking for a place to rest and wait out the wind. Since the beach we were headed toward was on the island, we kept going looking for another beach. We have had bad experience with island beaches and this one was covered with pelicans and pelican guano. As we approached the next beach on the mainland I saw masts on the other side of the rocks. We had lucked onto a window for Puerto Escondido. When we landed I pulled in my line and found I had a little cabrilla hooked. Mike cleaned it and we made ceviche. We wanted to catch another so Mike went back out and paddled up and down the beach for a while. He got a couple hits but nothing stuck. When we pulled the lure in we saw why – the hook had fallen off when the crimp slipped. Mike decided to try with the spear. I fixed the hook and gave it a try from the kayak. Neither of us caught anything else. Mike had a great time trying, though. Finally we pulled our boats over the rocks to the bay side and paddled on. We couldn’t find anyone on any of the boats so we stopped at a palapa by a half finished hotel. We met a guy who gave us a ride to the little store. His name is Chris and his wife is Pam. They live in a trailer in a palapa a little distance from the bay. We bought Ice Cream and beer and a few more tomatoes. We returned to the palapa and had a small feast. The little bay is pretty with about 100 boats at anchor. In the morning we are pulling for Agua Verde which is about 27 miles to the southeast. We will probably need two days to get there. I would like to do 20 miles tomorrow and then have an easy cruise in the next day so we can spend some time there. I have heard the snorkeling there is fantastic. I can really see now how much I have learned in the past six weeks. I have 2/3 or less of the gear Mike has. He hasn’t yet had time to learn what he really wants and what he doesn’t want. I threw away more gear in Loreto and am very light now.