Tuesday, April 30

We both woke up today feeling a little beaten. I have bug bites all over my body. We ate breakfast and Jay got the guy in the camper next to us - JP of JP's backhoe service from Mission Beach - to help rivet his stove back together. He was pretty excited about that. It is the same stove as I have, but it is about 10 years old and is pretty beat. We did little all day, but toward evening we went shopping and got the boats ready to go. I tried twice to call Mike but he didn't answer. I called Mom which was nice and I called Gail to get all the information. It was nice to hear from them both. Tomorrow I will try again to call Heidi and Mike. We met some boaters from La Paz and I met a guy in the group named Ken who wants to give me a wooden sailboat which is now functioning as a bird rock. I got his address in La Paz and will go say hi to him at least to have someone to visit in La Paz. After that a dog broke into Jay's boat and ate one of our hard boiled eggs and a package of cheese. I went and bought another since the cheese is so good. The wind started blowing so Jay and I got a $30 room here. We took advantage of the showers and slept in beds. I hope the wind clears up in the morning.

Monday, April 29

North 28° 56.870'
West 113° 33.494'
Distance: 8.7 miles

We paddled 8.7 miles today. We are now in Bahia de Los Angeles and 79.1 miles from Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. This morning we woke in that nice cove on Coronado Island. We had a bit of trouble with bugs last night - probably the standing water. It was a pretty night but again a little warm to have the sleeping bag over our heads. It was worth it to avoid the bugs, though. After breakfast this morning I decided to climb the volcano on the island. Jay didn't want to go, so I paddled the quarter mile back to the volcano and Jay packed up and headed for town. The volcano was about a 1500 foot climb and was well worth it. There was an informal register at the top. The last name was just over two months ago. I forgot to take the camera which was a big mistake since the view of the islands was fantastic. Then I paddled across the bay and found Jay at the bar. He was 7 beers and two tacos ahead of me. I did my best to catch up. Jay started talking to the waiter - a guy named Juan - and he offered to have his wife or girlfriend make us ceviche after work. I bought a case of beer and we all ate. Then we crashed on the beach in front of Guillermos bar. I saw dolphins today again for the first time in a while.

Sunday, April 28

North 29° 04.049'
West 113° 30.809'
Distance: 10.3 miles

We paddled 10.3 miles today. I am now 165 miles from Pete's Camp. 74.9 miles from San Luis Gonzaga. We started slowly this morning. The tide was late in the afternoon and we didn't have far to go. We cooked potatoes in the remains of last night's fire. Crows got Jay's sweet potato and picked at the rest of them but we still had a potato each for lunch and 4 more for dinner. We also cooked an onion. With that and some beans we should be good for dinner. We have just a little tequila left and no more wine. Tomorrow we will be in Bahia de Los Angeles with about 8 miles of paddling. We expect to be drinking a cold beer for a late lunch. I am a little sad that this part of the expedition is almost over, a little elated that I finished, excited about what I have learned, and anxious to talk to Mike, Heidi, Gail, and my parents. I also hope to be able to send out a bunch of postcards from Los Angeles. We have a pretty nice camp here on Coronado Island. There are Road Runner (Cordon) cactuses all over. In the morning I want to hike up the volcano and hope to get Jay to join me. The little flies are annoying, but maybe the citronella candle will chase them off. I have another 100 pages of my book and will be able to dump that weight by the time we leave Los Angeles. With the wind and current at our backs we had easy water all day.

Saturday, April 27

North 29° 10.344'
West 113° 38.108'
Distance: >13.2 miles

We paddled 13.2 miles today. Last night I had a dream I heard a dog rattle its collar. As I awoke I thought I heard it run away, but I thought that must be part of my dream. Later I heard my compression sack with my clothes in it being drug away. I woke up immediately and saw a coyote pulling it. I chased him away. I guess my clothes must smell a little like something dead. In the morning my head lamp was gone. I finally found it about 15 feet away. I think that was my dog dream. I am really glad not to have lost the head lamp since it is now my only flashlight. Jay gave it to me when I had no other light. At first I thought it was unbelievably geeky, but after using it a couple of times I really like it. Especially for reading at night. I still wouldn't want anyone to see me wearing it, though! This morning we have cool weather with cloud cover. The tide doesn't turn till 2:17 pm or whatever the correction is from that figure for our latitude. We will depart around 12:30 and make maybe 12 miles or so. Jay wants to make Coronado island tomorrow which sounds pretty interesting to me. Stay there a day and then go to Bahia de Los Angeles. The wind was still this morning and is still pretty light as I write this. The sea is smooth but likely to kick up a bit before we depart.

We just made camp. We actually paddled quite a bit more than the 13.2 miles we made today. We started out with a couple hours of smooth, fast going. We stopped once to take a bath, then continued to the point where the land drops off into a hook shaped bay. From the point we decided to cut over to the other side. After a short stretch on the point we set out. Almost immediately the old wind kicked up. I was taking water over the bow with almost every wave and the spray was in my face. We were going directly into the wind. After about a mike Jay suggested we cut right and get to land. I guess he saw my struggles. He has the better boat for rough water and was doing fine. Once we got to shore we continued around the hook almost to the point we had originally made for. We found a nice sandy beach for a change with smooth, heavy, packed sand which will be nice for sleeping. Jay is making spaghetti for dinner tonight. That is sounding pretty good to me right now! When I landed I had about 4 gallons of water in the boat to drain out. Not too bad considering the weather. We have been within sight of Coronado island much of the afternoon and should have a nice short hop over there tomorrow. I think I will take advantage of all the wood here and have a nice little camp fire tonight.

Friday, April 26

North 29° 20.980'
West 113° 43.038'
Distance: 13.2 miles

We paddled 13.2 miles today. We woke up late, had an egg, read, walked around, and just played for a while. The wind was bad this morning so we decided not to paddle today. After a while we made - well, Jay made - banana pancakes again. Yum! Last night we had tacos made from some of the smoked yellowtail, most of the rest of the cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and tortillas. Jay didn't much like them, but I ate 4 of them. After breakfast I did some fishing. I did the sorriest cast I have ever done and hooked a trigger fish on the first try. Then Jay tried a few and caught one. Then me, then Jay. 4 was enough for dinner so Jay quit. I caught one more which I threw back, then hooked something big. He bit off my leader and took my last Krocodile. I bet he would have been at least 12 lbs. He really tore the line off the reel. We cleaned the fish, then since the wind had improved and the tide had turned, we decided to move. Last night and today we saw fishermen around camp./ Two landed on the next beach over. I walked over as they were leaving and said "hola" but they just waved and left. A few miles down we saw a fish camp with two huts and five boats. It isn't on the map. A little later we saw a dead whale washed up on shore. Nice smell! The entire coast here is really nice. Pretty, deserted, lots of colors in the rock, lots of nice camping beaches. I am surprised that few people use this space. Much of it reminds me of Lake Powell. Sometimes I forget that the water isn't fresh. There are lots of off-shore rocks to paddle between and the birds squawk each time. The water here is colder - I guess it gets pushed up from deep in the Sea of Cortez. This beach is rocky with dirt up 25 yards from shore. It then goes into a canyon for a couple hundred yards. These make good camping beaches and my eye looks for them automatically now when I paddle. I was splashed with salt water all day today. Each time the water dries quickly from the warm, dry air. The result is that the front of my shorts are white with salt. I would really like to wash my hair tonight, but with the ocean being so cold I think I will wait for tomorrow. Jay plans fish tacos tonight with our fresh trigger fish. It should be really good. Follow that with a little tequila and some of that great wine and I will be sleeping well tonight. From this beach I can see almost the entire guardian angel island. We are about a quarter of the way down it. I think we will need three more days to get to Bahia de Los Angeles. Two more will get us to Punta la Gringa. Jay thinks they may serve food and beer there. That would be pretty OK with me. Today was windier that we have had. Sometimes in our face, sometimes at our back. It looks like tonight will have some wind, too. It has made writing this difficult.

Thursday, April 25

North 29° 28.609'
West 113° 52.803'
Distance: 10 miles

We paddled 10.0 miles today. We kinda screwed around all morning, then Jay made Banana pancakes. Great! I hope he makes them again tomorrow with our last squashed banana. The ocean was great today - flat and calm and warm. I started using the wet tee-shirt trick to stay cool. Mid - afternoon we found a place with rocks just off shore which we could paddle through. We even found a cave/tunnel which we could squeeze all the way through in the kayaks. Then we came to a nice beach with interesting rocks, pools, and shade. Jay wants to stay here. I am OK with this since this is the prettiest place we have been. The guardian angle island is opposite us - we can see punto refugio from here. Tomorrow and the next day the channel will squeeze down to just 10 miles wide. There are fish here everywhere. If I have time I want to go hunt some of them. I have seen only two cockroaches which is good since we really can't do much about getting away from them. Almost the whole day today we have seen great camping beaches with broad valleys and lots of firewood. This spot has none, but is worth the sacrifice. Jay just handed me a cup of wine. I am getting to be a huge fan of the taste of box wine in a tin cup. It is almost cold sitting here in the shade. What a great feeling! The beach reminds me of La Jolla cove - but warmer and prettier.

Wednesday, April 24

North 29° 34.547'
West 114° 00.090'
Distance: 18.3 miles

We paddled 18.3 miles today. We slept in for a while this morning. Jay says he didn't sleep well, but I heard him snore most of the night. We went inland to sleep on a sandy patch to get away from the cockroaches. I had never seen them so far inland before. It was cloudy, so few stars. In the morning we had eggs for breakfast, then started about 9:00 am. The wind was at our backs so we made good time to Calamajue. Garey offered us lunch which was great! I ate about 8 of their great homemade tortillas. He said that the yellowtail were not biting because of the full moon tides, so they hunted starfish for the tourist trade. They had pieces of plywood set out with about 2000 starfish drying. After a couple hours we left - about 1:00 pm. We kayaked with 1 brief stop till about 4:45. We found a nice beach - rock followed by a valley. Pretty, plus some firewood. Jay made himself a chair out of two rusted propane tanks and a board. A piece of plywood on a rock makes a table for the kitchen. I think we are at Punta Bluff tonight. For dinner we have rice and beans soup with onion, smoked yellowtail, hominy, enchilada sauce. We will have guacamole and wine with it and maybe a little tequila. Just before we landed we saw two pongas with fishermen from Punta Willard. Jay knew one of them. Jay says to note that I ate eight tortillas at Calamajue and that I am a pig. All day we have had cloud cover which has cooled us down. I cut the bottom off of one of my shirts today so I can wear it on the boat without it soaking up a lot of water. Last night was the warmest so far. Tonight seems like it might be another warm one. I may choose to sleep with just the sheet and the poncho liner tonight. I went fishing on the east end of the little bay and once I found the right place I hooked up on my third cast. He took me right down into the rocks and got me so tangled I had to cut off my line. I will try to snorkel for it on the morning if I can still find the line on the shore. It is a bummer to lose a Krocodile with a steel leader since I have so little tackle right now. Jay gave me a nice lure to use on yellowtail once we pass the full moon. Any yellowtail who doesn't want to eat that has something really wrong with him.

Tuesday, April 23

North 29° 45.055'
West 114° 13.824'
Distance: 11.5 miles

We paddled 11.5 miles today. Damn! It feels good to write that! We are not passed Calamajue yet, but at least we are moving again. This morning I got up and drove to the café at Papa Fernandez for what I hope is the last time in a long while. I had a great breakfast - no beer - then drove to Rancho Grande. The phone was broken so I didn't get to talk to Mike like I wanted, but I did get the Jeep tire fixed, put gas in the truck, and said Hi to Marco and Sirvando. Then I helped Jay clean up a little and by noon we were off. We paddled to Punta Bufeo, rested a bit, then did another hour east. It will be a bit before we head south again, but it feels great to be going down the peninsula again. We landed on a rocky beach about 5 and a half miles from Calamajue so we will pass there tomorrow. I am superstitious about that place and will be happy to see the last of it. We had a snack of wine and cheese. Boxed wine and Mexican queso fresco. The cheese is great and the wine is better than nothing. This will be my first night outside since the night of the 15th. I feel like the adventure is about to get into high gear again. The Bad Girl is cruising along nicely and is keeping pace pretty well with Jay. His boat doesn't seem too much faster - especially loaded down with food and water, but it looks like it takes the weather better.

Monday, April 22

Distance: 0 miles

Another great day in Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. I spent the day going through my gear getting everything cleaned and ready to go. I am missing a few things: pants, shorts, wind breaker, Bucktool, BBQ grill, gaff, most of the fishing gear. Still, all is good. Things are packed and ready to go. It was a long day and we still have much to do, but my boat is all ready to go. I need to call Mike tomorrow morning and tell him to pick me up a few things and to pick up Panama in Puertecitos. We made a nice dinner and had a couple beers. Well, actually, Jay made dinner and I helped eat it. Now it is time to go to bed and I am very worn out and ready to sleep. I somehow burnt my back and neck today. I'll need to be a little smarter about sunscreen. This is the first time I have done that, so not so bad!

Sunday, April 21

Distance: 0 miles

This was another long, hard, and interesting day. I took off for Calamajue at 8:30 am. I stopped at Rancho Grande for beer for the boys, then started down the road around 9:00 am. I told Jay to come looking for me if I was not home by 2:00 pm. I made Coco's Corner in good time, then turned toward Calamajue. Half way there I got a flat which totaled the tire. It was a full sidewall blowout. Good thing I had a spare! I figured out the jack and the lug wrench, and after a little work I got the tire changed. This took some effort since the jack wasn't really long enough. I found a rock to put under it and finally got it all to work. Once the tire was changed I continued toward Calamajue. Five kilometers before I got there I had another flat. It was another sidewall blowout. The rocks on the road are really viscous. It was 10:45, so it was to be a long wait for Jay. I walked down to the beach to see my boat and to say hi to the fishermen. They had just finished the day's fishing, so I talked to Garey for a while. Nice, interesting guys...They offered me lunch, but I had just recently eaten After a couple hours they gave me a ride back to the truck and I gave them the cases of beer I had brought them. I was back at 2:45 which I figured was the absolute earliest Jay could be there. Jay showed up at about 4:00 pm, and we drove to Mex 1 to get new tires. There was one in Jay's truck and we bought another at the llantera. We had a couple bad tacos while we waited for the tires to be mounted. We got a used tire and had both mounted for about 28 dollars. We returned to the truck, mounted the tire, and continued to Calamajue. The fishermen had just about finished the beer we brought them and were all a bit drunk. They helped us load the boats onto the rack and were a little too interested in all our gear as we transferred it from the boats to the truck. I would have preferred to just leave it all in the kayaks, but it made them too heavy for the rack. We had a long drive home over those roads in the dark, and finally made it home about 9:30. We tried to stop at Rancho Grande for a beer before bed, but they were closed. They seem to have random hours there. Sometimes open till early morning, sometimes they close early. We were exhausted and went right to bed.

Saturday, April 20

Distance: 0 miles

Gail's birthday. We woke up early, but not as early as we had planned. We drove down to Calexico, did our last shopping. Then on to San Felipe. In San Felipe we did some more shopping, got lunch, then continued on to Puertecitos where we met a friend of Jay's also named Jay, otherwise known as Panama. Stayed a couple hours drinking and he agreed to join Mike on the drove down to meet us. Then on to the mud house.

Friday, April 19

Distance: 0 miles

I had a great morning with Heidi. After 2:30, I drove over and picked up a bumper for Jay. Then I drove home and we put it on his new truck. Then dinner and bed - we leave early for Mexico.

Thursday, April 18

Distance: 0 miles

I hung out with Heidi till she went to work. Walked Sumatra, read, slept most of the day. At night, Heidi and I went to a nice dinner and just had a good time. It's great to see her. We didn't do much, but had a great time doing it.

Wednesday, April 17

Distance: 0 miles

I spent the day resting, helping the boys, and working around the house. At night Gail had a party for everyone. I stayed till Midnight, then drove to Heidi's house. She was almost as happy to see me as I was to see her.

Tuesday, April 16

Distance: 0 miles

This was a long and interesting day. At first light I got up and packed my stuff into my kayak. I got Mike's stuff cleaned up and packed, too. Then I left Mike sleeping on the beach. I paddled down to Calamajue which turned out to be pretty close. The first guy I talked to was a tourist from Tijuana and he pointed me to the local fishermen. Two of them agreed to drive us in a ponga to Alphonsina's in San Luis Gonzaga. A half hour later they were ready to go. I secured my kayak and left in on the beach in their care. Then I went to our camp and finished packing Mike up. The guys agreed to pick up his kayak on the way back and put it with mine. Then they took us to Alphonsina's. The trip took less than an hour. We invited the boys to breakfast with us while we figured out what to do. The Americans there took over! They found a retired EMT from Los Angeles. He looked at Mike's arm and said that because of the previous surgery we needed to go to a real hospital. He said that there are a couple good ones in Baja, but none closer than El Centro. Then they found a guy named Mike to fly us home. Mike has a Cession Sky-chief which really moves. We were driven to Rancho Grande to call Mike's Mom, then after a little trouble betting it unstuck we took off. An hour later we were in Mexicali. He dropped us there so he wouldn't have to go through customs. From there we got a taxi to the border where Linda met us. Mike decided that he would rather wait two more hours and go to a hospital in San Diego, so we drove to Grossmont. There we waited several hours to see a doctor, but when we did he got Mike's shoulder back together after 20 minutes of struggle. Finally, he was released and Linda dropped me off at home. I had told the Mud House Boys that they could use the house, so there was no key. I had to crawl in under the house to get in. They were out having fun and I didn't see them till morning.

Monday, April 15

North 29° 42.092'
West 114° 10.169'
Distance: 0 miles

This was a bad day! On my walk last night, I saw a rattlesnake. Perhaps it was a omen. The snake was angrier and more aggressive than any rattlesnake I have ever seen. As soon as I got to within 20 feet of him he started rattling at me. When I got back I put together a camp fire with a large pile of wood and another pile to put on later. We had a good dinner, then went to have a fire and some tequila. I poured gas from the stove onto the wood, then Mike said he wanted to light it. I recommended he light a piece of paper and then use that to ignite the gas. He misunderstood. He put the paper right on the gas and lit it. A ball of fire went up his arm and singed his eyebrows. After I saw he was OK I laughed at him for a half hour. The fire was great, the tequila was good and the night was perfect. We went to sleep. Then the wind started up. It was really howling all day today. I amused myself with reading till mid afternoon. Mike tried three times to throw his pillow into the ocean, but I caught it twice and it got stuck on a rock the third time. When Mike became too restless and couldn't lay around any more, we went for a walk south-east along the water. We climbed over stuff and around stuff for a quarter mile or so. When we could go no further we went inland up a draw. It got steep and crumbly, so I went 40 feet ahead to avoid dropping rocks on Mike's head. At one point I chose to go right instead of left. Mike decided to go left. I should have insisted that we stick together. Near the top it got steeper than I wanted to deal with, so I started back down. Just then Mike called to me and said "Chuck! You are not going to believe this. I just dislocated my shoulder." He had dislocated it a half dozen times before, but three years ago he'd had surgery and since that time it has never dislocated. He works out regularly as an added insurance. I hurried over to him and we found a semi-secure place to stand and try to put it back in. Between his strong shoulder and the surgery, I couldn't move it at all. He had to hike and climb with his shoulder hurt back to camp. After thinking for a while I cleaned out my kayak and turned it over. I put one end on an old tire and the other on a large piece of driftwood and taped it down with duct tape. Mike laid face down on this table and hung his arm over the edge. Then I made a cuff for his wrist out of duct tape - turning it inside out so it wouldn't stick to his skin and hair, but so it would stay on. Then I taped large rocks to his arm as weights. We left him there trying to relax with some drugs for an hour in the hope that his arm would pop back in. It didn't. As it got dark he started to get cold. With the kayak bottom not being too flat, he had to hold on. I tried taping him on, but it wasn't totally successful. Because of those two issues and because of the pain, he had difficulty relaxing. At any rate, we were not successful at getting his shoulder relocated. At 8:30 I made the decision to go to sleep. I gave him water and more drugs through the night. Mike dozed while I laid down and thought about what to do.

Sunday, April 14

North 29° 42.092'
West 114° 10.169'
Distance: 16.4 miles

We paddled 16.4 miles today. The first couple hours were nice, then the wind kicked up. We went till 10:30, then found a beach. After a couple hours of rest we got back in and did another five miles or so. We camped on a rocky beach north of Calamajue fish camp. The beach is all smooth rocks from golf ball size up to basketball size - mostly the smaller sizes. With a pad it is pretty nice just laying on the rocks. There is plenty of firewood here, so we will have a fire tonight. Pork, potato, onion, rice, and cheese in tortillas for dinner tonight. Then early bed, early rise, and another day of paddling. At this rate, we will be at Bahia de Los Angeles in 4 or 5 days. This is a very nice, very remote site here. Mike's back was good today, and he was paddling differently. I saw the change about 9:00 am. Suddenly he was in front of me and I was struggling to keep up. We hope that this new stroke is the key to his back not hurting. If so, then I will get strong just trying to keep up with Mike. I am going to hike up the hill and see if there is anything to see. We can now see the Guardian Angel island which will dominate our next week or so. We made good distance in adverse conditions today, so I have good hope for the future.

Saturday, April 13

North 29° 49.78'
West 114° 23.96'
Distance: 0 miles

We woke today at Alfonsinas in a real bed. That was quite a bit of luxury for us. We each took another shower, then started working on the boats. The woman who runs the bar has agreed to do our laundry, but it will take a while. The Boys from the mud house came over for breakfast. Mike has sworn off beer until we get to Bahia de Los Angeles, but I had one for breakfast. After breakfast, we went back to getting the boats ready. The boys took us to the store and we will go over to their house for dinner, water, and to spend the night. One more party, but I hope it will be a mellow one. No more than a couple drinks today. Later, the trailer girls showed up. They hung out with us for a while, then Kristen left. Nicole stayed with us to ride back with Mike on his kayak. Kristen took his bags back to the mud house to compensate for the weight. Finally, around 3:00 pm our clothes were mostly dry enough to take. We left for the mud house and got there before 4:00. Mike and I each tried Jay's fast kayak. Jay bet me $5.00 that I couldn't paddle out 20 strokes into the bay, turn around, and paddle back without falling off. He won. I made it two strokes and fell right in. I practiced for a while, then Mike tried it. He did better than I did, but not much. After an hour of practice each of us could go pretty well. Mike had to track down his fishing pole because the girls had gotten drunk and forgot to drop it off. We had a nice dinner with the guys and then went to sleep a little early.

Friday, April 12

North 29° 49.78'
West 114° 23.96'
Distance: 0 miles

We moved to Alfonsinas Hotel late in the afternoon. The Mud House boys and the trailer gang are coming for dinner. It really felt great to take a real hot shower for the first time in over a week. I hope we can depart tomorrow morning, but we have to go shopping and figure out how to get our laundry done first. It may be that we will have to leave first thing on Sunday morning. We went to Papa Fernandez for breakfast again today. The girl who runs the café does a fantastic job. The place is very informal - customers get their own beer out of the fridge. She works in her house and takes care of her kids if nobody is there. She runs back over whenever someone shows up. The food is always fresh and tastes great. Living down here and eating at the café wouldn't be a bad way to live.

Thursday, April 11

North 29° 49.78'
West 114° 23.96'
Distance: 0 miles

This was a day much like yesterday. We didn't start on the beer till afternoon, but made up for lost time later. The mud house gang has been fun and cool. We went to the hotel for one or three beers and reserved a room for tomorrow night. Then we went to the mud house for yet another great party along with the trailer gang. Great food again - steamed yellowtail stuffed with vegetables. Mike passed out on the couch before dinner again and this time I forgot to wake him up until it was time to go home. I drug him home after 11:00 again. The nights have been warm with a slight wind. We couldn't ask for better weather or more fun. There isn't much to say about what we are doing here, but it is great fun and the people are fantastic - the mud house boys, the trailer gang, the locals - everyone is nice and fun and the food is fantastic.

Wednesday, April 10

North 29° 49.78'
West 114° 23.96'
Distance: 0 miles

We woke up late, then wandered up to Papa Fernandez for breakfast. We ate two each with a couple beers, then went back to camp to rest. We met two girls named Kristen and Nicole. They are here with Kristen's boyfriend and just bought a lot here. Tony is an avid fisherman who lives in Encinitas. They were given the shell of an old travel trailer and brought it down yesterday. They plan to fix it up a little each time they are gown there. He also has a 14 foot fishing boat here. Later we went back to the café to eat and drink more. We ended up drinking beer all day - mostly with Cory, Kristen, Nicole, and Tony. Late in the day we got a ride to the store and called home. I got to talk to Heidi, so it was a big day for me. I called Gail, but she wasn't home. At night we had another party at the mud house. Great food and fun till late. They had grilled jalapeños and I made the mistake of eating one before dinner. I can eat spicy food, but this really set me on fire. Jay told Mike that he could be the "jalapeño eating champion of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga" if he could eat three of them. Mike did it and was really hurting. Then Jay changed his story - he would be the jalapeño eating champion if he ate more than three. It was a slick move and having had a few beers, Mike almost fell for it. I guess his mouth really hurt. Marco, the guy we met yesterday at Punta Willard, was there and offered a "cure." The cure was a glass of tequila to be consumed in one drink. It went down, then came right back up. Mike did seem to feel better after that, so maybe it was a good idea. Mike passed out on the couch , so I had to wake him up in time for food.

Tuesday, April 9

North 29° 49.78'
West 114° 23.96'
Distance: 18.3 miles

We paddled 18.3 miles today. Last night we met two guys named Chris and Greg. Chris is a strange old guy who does underwater construction supervision a few months each summer. The rest of the time he lives here in a rock house he built which looks like a fort. Way out in the middle of nothing about 3 miles north of a place called Nacho's Camp or something like that. He is trying to help the owner of the land lease lots on the mesa. Pretty view, but not near anything and too far from the ocean for a short stroll. They want $400 per year for a lot. Greg is a gold miner. He was using a backhoe to dig a launch ramp and sunk it into the muck at low tide. He got Chris to help him get it out, then they both came down to see us. After they left we had a bit of tequila and then went to bed. We woke up to the prettiest morning we have seen yet. We had a little oatmeal and then got started at 6:40 am. We went 4.3 miles the first hour. Mike said he thought we should be able to do better each hour, but by hour 3 we had made just 13.5 miles. Mike suggested that we could make Bahia San Luis Gonzaga today if we tried. I agreed and we cut as straight a line as we could. Mike started having back troubles again, but I encouraged him with talk of beer and food. Our goal was to land at Papa Fernandez Camp because we new they have a café there. We finally stopped to ask directions and by accident had landed on a beach just a few hundred yards away at a place called Punta Willard. The owner is named Sirvando and has a relation working for him named Marco. We asked him about Papa Fernandez camp café and he said that it was a half kilometer away and that the food was expensive and bad, and he suggested we should go to Alphonsinos instead. We ignored him because we wanted to eat soon and because everyone else we have spoken to has recommended Papa Fernandez. It turns out Sirvando has a feud going with the Fernandez family. The beer was cold and the food was great. We ate 3 meals each and 7 beers each. We also met a pair of brothers named Kurt and Cory. Kurt had done the trip before and his friend jay had done it several times. They invited us to come to their mud house that night. We took a nap for a couple hours, followed by a shower at campo Punta Willard. Cold water, but it felt great. We walked over to the mud house and met Jay. He immediately offered us a beer and a tour of the house. What a great piece of work that was! The house is U shaped and the walls are straw and adobe. It is all nicely done. The guys are all caddies in Wisconsin. They work 7 months a year and live here the other 5 months. They are preparing to go home now, but have worked on the house five months a year for the last two years. They say they will finish it in another year and plan to sell it some time after that. We sat around the fire with them and an old guy from Long Beach named Joe. We are trying to talk Jay into doing the rest of the trip with us since he knows a lot about Baja California and Kayaks. We will be hanging out with them a bit the next few days. They know about Ocean Beach because they drive through on their way down or back each year. We hung out with them drinking beer and tequila till about 11:30, then went home. That is about 3 hours later than I have been awake any time in the past two weeks. The night was calm and pretty and I slept like a rock. I forgot to get my pad out, but the sand was soft and nice.

Monday, April 8

North 30° 03.03'
West 114° 34.96'
Distance: 7.28 miles

We paddled 7.28 miles today. After looking around last night we realized we were just a couple miles from Nacho's Camp. There is nothing there for us, so we just looked at it from a distance. We found a very old travel trailer with a sort of shed built on to it. It was pretty torn up, but the bed was still made. We found a bottle of Mrs. Dash spice with an expiration date of May 1996, so it looks like it was empty a long time. To the south was a pretty house on the cliff. It obviously has not been used for a long time, and like so many places here it was unfinished. The view and breeze from the front porch were wonderful. The construction was poor, though, and I doubt it would have any value at all. Too bad since it was so pretty and nice. Shortly after we returned to camp, the wind picked up strongly and was steady till 8:00 am. When it died down we decided to take a chance on paddling for a while. Most of the night it was blowing straight out to sea, so we chose to stay near shore. This works out well since we can pick up sea bass on the rocky shore. We caught 5. I caught 4 little ones (plus a throwback sized one) and Mike caught one nice sized one. Then I caught a blue-grey fish with big eyes and a small mouth with teeth. He was tall and flat. I don't know what he was and I don't care right now since they are not as good to eat as the bass. I threw him back, but Mike caught one and wanted to try it. Shortly after that I hooked something which broke off my lure. It was a nice short red and white one which Bass really seemed to like. I am disappointed to lose it. We found a nice but rocky beach just south of Isla Muerte and cooked our fish with rice. After lunch, Mike decided to bathe in the ocean. I am going to heat up the sun shower since we have plenty of water and I have not shaven in at least 4 days. This will probably hurt regardless, but soap and hot fresh water should help. There is little hope that we will reach Bahia San Luis Gonzaga tomorrow, but it should be easy to make it by Wednesday if we make a good distance today. We have, by my estimate, 20 miles left till we get there. We will try to do 14 tomorrow, weather permitting, so that we will have a short day Wednesday. That should allow us to have plenty of time to see what there is before we have to decide on a camp or a hotel room.

Sunday, April 7

North 30° 08.7'
West 114° 38.3'
Distance: 14.9 miles

After we went to town yesterday we decided to clean our boats. We took everything out, cleaned it all, cleaned the inside of the boats, and repacked everything. It was nice to get it all cleaned up. Then we had a little fire and cooked chips and cheese jalapeño dip. Then we went to bed. Shortly after, the wind picked up again. Not as bad as yesterday, but annoying. I have learned the trick of going into my sleeping bag with the poncho liner around me Then I can pull the poncho liner over my head and enclose myself. Around 3:00 am the wind stopped, so I got up and de-sanded myself and slept well till 6:00 am. We got a good start and did 14.9 miles. We found a great camp in a cove. There is a break in the cliffs about 150 yards wide It goes back into a gentle bowl about 100 yards deep. There is a house on one side which looks abandoned. We will go explore later. The beach is a fine gravelly sand. There are rocks in the water which look good for bass. As soon as we landed we made a huge meal. Cornmeal and brown sugar fried in corn oil with rice and the remains of our cheese. Unless we catch some bass, we might not want to eat again till breakfast. There are 5 islands off the coast. We have seen several fishermen around but other than that there has been no sign of people for miles. This is the prettiest place we have stayed so far. There are tire tracks, so clearly people come here regularly. Last night about 10:30 Mike started talking about the trees. We should just cut them all down. They cause way too much wind. I think that if there were a tree anywhere around we would cut it down for some peace. We saw several dolphins while paddling today. Mike discovered that by adjusting his seat and paddling angle he could improve his back situation. I hope that this does not become an issue for him. The sea was flat and calm till about 10:00 am, then the wind picked up a bit and with it the waves. We powered on for another hour and a half and have been rewarded with a nice camp and a good distance.

Saturday, April 6

North 30° 20.1'
West 114° 38.4'
Distance: 0 miles

Last night was hard. We had howling winds which blew sand in our eyes, faces, hair, and sleeping bags. We had found a half finished abandoned stone building which we used along with three ponchos as a shelter. It helped, but not enough. I woke with sand all over my body - in my ears, hair, etc. I was gritty all over. Last night Mike claimed that if you ask people what causes wind, that many of them will answer "trees." He says that at one point in his life that he thought trees caused wind. I asked him how trees could possible cause wind. He said that people who think that wind is caused by trees stop thinking at that point. It is just trees. This morning we went to town and bought beer, cheese, and tortillas to go with our eggs for breakfast. When we got back, the lady who runs the camp called Mike over and gave us a plate of Carne Asada with guacamole. We ate that, then cooked our 10 eggs with cheese and tortillas and ate that, too. Then we took a bath in the ocean to get all the grime and sand off our bodies. We went to town in the afternoon to look around a little bit. Then we bought a few more beers, called home, bought water, and prepared for departure in the morning. Mike made friends with a kid named Iban who was from Mexicali. He and his brother and some friends are stuck here with vehicle problems. They drove off the road trying to miss a coyote. Iban is 11 years old and seems to have problems in school. He is a pretty smart kid, but seems to have attention problems. He taught us several useful words. Viento is wind. Ventisca seems to be wind blown sand. We used that a lot. Ola is wave. He is a nice, friendly kid and came over several times to talk to us. His father made us a fruit cup each which was very good. In the afternoon the wind started to die down. We hope we will have a good night and good paddling in the morning. We are moving camp back down from the half a building to the beach hoping we will be OK here. Things to do in town: The hot springs are a bust. They stink and hot water isn't the most interesting thing on a hot day. There is a taco place, but it doesn't open for another three days. There is a Pemex station, but it is also closed. There is an airport. One plane landed while we were here - a nice Bonanza. That is about all there is to do in Puertecitos except look at houses or the pretty harbor. It is clearly cheap to live in Puertecitos and it is very pretty.

Friday, April 5

North 30° 20.1'
West 114° 38.4'
Distance: 9 miles

This was certainly our first hard day. We departed camp after breakfast of beans. 7:45 am we were on the water. The sea was immediately rough with both wind and waves in our faces. Mike was having a hard time of it and was going slower. I got toward land and obtained some relief from the wind, but Mike stayed toward the outside and was blown pretty hard. I tried waiting for him, but the wind in my face blew me backward whenever I stopped paddling, so I would wait only till he got closer, then resumed paddling. When I was about 1 mile form Puertecitos, the wind and waves hit me hard, so I put my head down and made the corner to get to land as soon as possible. Mike didn't see me, and thought I landed earlier. He paddled to within a quarter mile, then turned around and went back. About an hour after I landed I got Mike on the radio. After much back and forth talking I decided to go back to where he was. At that point, water in the radio killed it. I also discovered that the kitchen bag was full of water and the batteries may all be dead. We bought some beer and food in town and had a little feast. The wind was so bad we couldn't sleep on the beach, so we found an abandoned half built house and secured it somewhat from the wind with ponchos. The night was thus OK. Mike's back is hurting, so we will stay here for a day. In all we made 9.0 miles with far too much stress and effort. I hope the wind dies down soon. If we have much of this, it will be a long trip. There does not seem to be an open taco stand in town, but the store has some good stuff including beer and fresh fruit. We bought 10 eggs for breakfast.

Thursday, April 4

North 30° 29.6'
West 114° 38.0'
Distance: 5 miles

We paddled 5.0 miles today. We decided on a short day because this leaves us with an estimated 10 miles to Puertecitos, where we intend to spend the weekend feasting and drinking beer. We started on the tequila Heidi bought us last night. Yum! We also found some wood and had a fire to drink around. Bed around 8:30. We are turning into morning people. We woke at 5:30 but didn't hurry, getting into the water at 8:40 am. Mike immediately caught a small sea bass<. He was trolling a popper - the same one he used the last three days. Today it just worked. I was trolling a strip of 6 flies with a shining weight. When I got over to Mike's boat to help him, I pulled my rig in. I had a tiny sea bass, too. 4 inches. Too small to eat, but I thought it might make good bait. We caught fish for about an hour, then got tired of it. Once I caught 4 baby fish at once. I got tired of letting them go just to get hit again right away. Mike caught fewer, but his were all eatable size. In the end we had 7 bass to eat by the time we pulled our lures in to make a serious effort at getting somewhere. The beach has been pretty rocky the last 8 or 10 miles, so we just pull our boats over the rock to sand higher up. I think the rocks hold the sea bass and that is part of why we got them now and not earlier. We made camp about 11:00 am We have been lightening the boats by removing the heavy stuff, then carrying the boats and stuff up the beach. It is about 30 minutes of hard work every day. After we camped, I cleaned the fish while Mike set up the shelter. The shelter is two ponchos snapped together, held in the middle with poles, and tied on the edges to the boats. We can put ourselves and our stuff in the shade for the hot part of the day. As the sun goes down and the day cools off we take down the shelter so that we can see the moon and stars and so we don't have to do it in the morning. Mike cooked some rice while I finished cleaning the fish. Then we fried the fish in corn oil with Cajun spice powder. Very good! We will eat well out here if we can keep this up. There have been no signs of people on the beach yet. Kinda cool to be alone. We bathed in the ocean after lunch, then finished off with 1 liter of fresh water in the sun shower each. I now feel full and clean and am just about ready to take a nap and then read for a while. This life has been good for me already. I can feel myself getting tougher and stronger. No junk food, no stress. Mike and I are starting to get a little tan, too. When I took my shorts off to bathe, I could really see how white my butt was compared to the rest of my body. So far everything has been fun and easy. I hope that this is how the rest of the trip goes. I plan to try cooking beans tonight. I soaked them yesterday for about 20 hours and will start cooking them in a couple hours so that they will be ready by dark. I hope we get good at cooking soon. Tomorrow, Puertecitos and a bit of luxury.