Kayak Baja Journal

Introduction

2002-12-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

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

2002-07-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

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

2002-07-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

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

2002-06-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Tuesday, May 28 through Monday, June 3

2002-06-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

I rested an entire week at the hotel Las Trojes in Loreto. Many great things happened. I ate and drank all the good stuff I wanted. I discovered the internet cafes in town and set up an email account on Yahoo. I met a young police officer named Felix who has been very helpful and interesting to talk to. He is the kind of man every small town needs for the police – more interested in maintaining peace and order than in giving tickets. On Thursday Mike and Megan arrived. It was great to see them again. Gail sent a batch of good home made chili for me and we had a little feast along with a small bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey. I met a guy named Sam in Tiffany’s Pizza who was the father of the owner, Denise. She made great espresso. He is an interesting old man who was drafted for World War Two in 1943. The town was pretty empty since this is the lull between tourist season and fishing season. I ate a lot of tacos and ice cream and drank a few beers. Finally on Friday night, Heidi arrived. We picked her up at the airport and then all went to dinner. That night at about 3:00am, Mike knocked on my door. “This had better be important, Mike!” I said. “I was just stung by a scorpion,” he answered. I let him in and he told us the story. He was sleeping and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He got up and tried to figure it out. After a few minutes Megan pulled back the sheets and found the scorpion. He said it suddenly hurt twice as bad. Since he was stung over the heart, he was pretty sure he was going to die pretty soon. Megan captured the scorpion in a Snapple bottle. I looked at it and it didn’t look too bad – just a slight swelling and redness. I asked him if he was having any trouble breathing or feeling any swelling in his throat. He said no, so I gave him an antihistamine and told him to call me if there were any problems. Since my girlfriend is an optometrist, I am qualified to practice medicine. In the morning Mike was still alive, but the scorpion wasn’t. I think Mike’s blood poisoned him. Saturday, Mike, Megan, Heidi, and I took a drive to see the San Javier mission. It is a real beauty way up in a valley in the hills. There are water and fruit trees and a few ranches up there, but the mission is the real gem. On Sunday, Heidi and I visited the mission in Loreto. They have a museum and the church is still very active. We spent the afternoon there and then went out for a nice dinner. Saturday and Sunday went way too fast. Soon it was Monday morning and Heidi and Megan had to leave. They were on two different flights a half hour apart, so we took them to the airport together. It will be another two months before we see them again. Loreto is 413 miles from Pete’s Camp and we have maybe another 325 miles left to go. We hope to meet my dad in La Paz. He will be in Los Barriles June 13 – 17 and may be able to drive up if we can tell him when and where we will be. That is 10 days from now and we have about 150 miles to go to get there, so we will have to average 15 miles a day. Our first day destination is a place called Puerto Escondido. Mike is now under orders not to hurt himself.

Monday, May 27

2002-05-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

North 26° 01.323'
West 111° 20.751'
Distance: 16.4 miles

I paddled 16.4 miles today. I am now 81.5 miles from Punta Chivato, 413 miles from Pete's Camp, and right on the northern edge of Loreto in the Hotel Los Trojes. I started paddling at 10:00 am. I had intended to walk around this morning, but it was too difficult to get passed the cliffs and shrubs which surrounded my beach. There was no shade to hide in, so I just packed my things up and got on the water. A few miles north of town I saw an abandoned building by the lighthouse and stopped to explore. It was a nice stone structure, but it had been abused and vandalized and wasn't too nice a place to stay. I considered staying the night in one of the cleaner rooms that still had a roof and a floor, but a quick inventory of my food stock changed my mind. By this time I could see that I was very near Loreto and the thought of a carne taco, a cold beer, and a clean hotel room motivated me to keep going. I guessed at a beach, landed, and put on my second best shirt. Then I started looking for a hotel. I walked inland on the first street to the south of me and one block in I saw a sign for Los Trojes. I went and talked to them and they took me to see the rooms. The last one on the end had a nice stone floor and was more or less what I wanted with a nice stone patio and a palapa top outside. I moved my boat to the "Beach Club" at the back of the property along the beach, then carried my gear up to the room. Then I drug the kayak up to the patio. I had eaten nothing all day except three hard boiled eggs, so I really wanted to eat. I walked down to Chille Willie's bar and had a meal, two beers, and two bad margaritas. I met a few baracho Americans there, too. Then I walked around town a little and got an ice cream. Then I called Gail to get news about Mike. It sounds like he won't be here till the 30th so I have a couple days here on my own to relax and look around. Then back to the hotel to take a shower, read, write, and go to sleep. I am now laying on a real bed with sheets and pillows. Almost too much luxury! Tomorrow I want to do laundry and start cleaning gear. With the kayak empty I may take it out for some snorkeling.

Sunday, May 26

2002-05-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

North 26° 15.367'
West 111° 23.878'
Distance: 17.8 miles

I paddled 17.8 miles today. I am now 65.8 miles from Punta Chivato and 397 miles from San Felipe. I am also 569 miles from home. I don't know what is harder to imagine - that I have paddled almost 400 miles or that this place is only 569 miles from my house. Today was yet another idyllic day in Baja, California. I woke up at about 7:00 am and read and ate for a little while. Fruit flies have ruined my bananas, but the rest of the stuff looks OK. Then I made coffee and sat in the shade for a while. Sitting in the shade with a slight breeze feels fantastic down here. When my shade went away I packed up and went for a little walk. I found an even nicer beach about 250 yards back up the bay. It still had shade, so I sat for another hour. About 12:15 I started my day's journey. I cut across the bay. The wind was at my back and the waves were perfect for surfing. It is hard work, but several times I caught the waves just right. I am sure I was going better than ten miles per hour for short bursts without paddling. Overall it is more work per mile, but it is great fun. There were five shrimp boats on the bay. After a couple of hours I made the point and there was a smaller bay with some sailboats. I wanted to go in and introduce myself, but I needed to make more distance since I want to be sure to be in Loreto by the time Mike gets there. A little later I decided to try out the lure Charlie made me last night. It sure worked! After 20 minutes I hooked up a nice bass. Maybe 20 inches. Five minutes later I hooked another. The second was bigger than the first, but either would have been a great meal for two. I threw them both back since I didn't need the meat. After that I stopped fishing because I didn't want to wear out the lure. Another 45 minutes and I found a beach to sleep on. Sand up to cliffs. By my calculation there will be about fifteen feet between the water and cliffs at high tide. Tonight is the full moon, but last night is the higher tide according to my San Felipe tide charts. The tides have become much smaller here and are not nearly the issue they were a month or more ago. I took a bath in the warm water. I love the water temp now and go in the water several times a day to cool off. I may sent the wetsuit home with Heidi or leave it in Mike's truck after Loreto. I have mixed feelings about ending the solo part of my trip. It will be great to have Mike with me again, but being by myself has opened me up to meeting tons of great people out here. Tomorrow I will probably get to within a couple miles of Loreto and the next morning I will be there. Being by myself out in these remote parts of Baja California has been an experience I will never forget. I just looked up and saw a big hermit crab lumbering by. What a great place this is and what a great way to live! There are a couple houses a mile or so away. It looks like there may be a road to them from here. In the morning I want to try to get to them and see if anyone lives there.

Saturday, May 25

2002-05-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

North 26° 30.611'
West 111° 27.229'
Distance: 13.1 miles

I paddled 13.1 miles today. It was another great day. I started out slowly just hanging around camp and enjoying the great spot I had found. The shade lasted all day there which added to my lethargy. At 12:45 I finally had everything packed up and ready to go. I went a couple miles to the old fish camp at San Sebastian. The fish camp was gone, but there were a few American looking houses. There were also two very nice looking sailboats anchored. I paddled to the first one which was also the biggest and nicest to ask for information. They told me there was no store there but asked me what I needed. I told them I needed water and they offered me all I wanted and invited me aboard. Joel and Ann were the owners and their kids were Ellie, Charlie, and Emma. They are very nice people from Portland who are doing a year on a boat. The boat was a 50' Catalina and was very nice and well equipped. Ellie made me a couple ham quesadillas. Charlie made me a fishing lure. I stayed an hour and a half or so and would have loved to stay longer. Then they gave me a shirt with their boat name on it (Catherine) and sent me on my way. I paddled hard and made the point at 6:00 pm. It was a very pretty cliff with natural arches I could paddle through. The point was just past a nice little harbor and there was another harbor on the far side. I am starting to see lots of sailboats and will probably start to regularly hit them up for water. Joel suggested I try to get a job crewing a boat back from Cabo San Lucas or La Paz. It struck me as a great idea - not for the ride, but for the experience. Toward sunset I found a beach to camp on. Not great, but it will do. Last night it rained a little and I have my eye on the sky to make sure there isn't a repeat without my being more prepared for it. There is also an almost full moon which makes the night very pretty, but also makes me less interested in sleeping at night. This makes it hard to get going in the morning. Last night I experienced a new kind of bug. They look like little pill bugs, but seem to jump. They are annoying since I pulled at least fifty off of myself last night, but at least they didn't bite. The sun is down and the moon is up. It is another hot, muggy night. I miss the cool dry nights from up north, but I guess I had better get used to this. Boy, and I glad I have the sheet!

Friday, May 24

2002-05-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

North 26° 40.232'
West 111° 34.052'
Distance: 22.1 miles

I paddled 22.1 miles today. This was a great day in pretty much every way. I got up and had a nice breakfast of two eggs and a banana. These are the best hard boiled eggs I have made - they really taste great. I got packed and on the water at 8:21. By 8:45 realized I had not put the plug back from last night. OK, there was a good beach right next to me. I drained the boat and was paddling again in a few minutes. At 12:00 pm I pulled over for a break. Another banana and an egg. Then a little tanning. I burned my butt a little, though. Then a little snorkeling. It was a perfect place for it. Lots of fish and warm, clear water. I got a shot at a trigger fish but I missed. It was a good thing I had the spear because I needed it to clear the sting rays from the sand on the way back in. Then back in the boat for a little longer. I wanted to make up for the short day yesterday and I was having a great time paddling. Each punta had something new to see. I saw a couple turtles today. Just for a moment - they are very shy. Just before I landed I saw a rock holding lots of fish. I put a line out and hooked a big trigger fish. He immediately went to the rocks and snagged me. I worked it loose in about 10 minutes and them pulled him up. He was a big one and was still full of fight, so I let him out a few feet and started paddling with him on the line for a while. He planed pretty well. I told him I was going to bring him to shore and feed him to a coyote for snagging my line and for fighting me after I got him up. I headed for a beach a mile or so away, but on the way I found a perfect cove. I pulled in and threw Mr. Trigger up on the rocks. Then I pulled the boat up and got the pliers out to get him off my hook. After I got him disconnected with no real damage to my lure, I took pity on him and threw him back into the water. The cove is a gravel beach with walls on both sides jutting out into the water. Rocks outside make a nice place for snorkeling and for fish. There is a twisty little canyon leading back away from it. There are a bunch of boats to the south a couple miles. There might be a town over there, too. I may stop over there tomorrow for more water. Dinner was a treat. Avocados, tomato, lime, cheese in tortillas with habanero sauce. Washed it down with good water. I do miss Jay's wine, but I feel that by myself I am better off without alcohol. The sun is going down behind the mountain and it is cooling off now. Time left to set up bed, clean up, read a little, then sleep. I am pretty tired after the long paddle, but I do feel much stronger than a month ago. Twenty mile days just aren't that hard anymore. Today I had the wind against me much of the day. Not too hard - just a little. The sea has calmed down nicely. I hope it stays that way for a few days. There was a little cooling cloud cover today, too.

Thursday, May 23

2002-05-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

North 26° 53.238'
West 111° 49.849'
Distance: 8.9 miles

I paddled 8.91 miles today. I am now 122 miles from Punta San Francisquito where I began on my own. I now have much more confidence in being alone in Baja California. I meet people everywhere I go. Most of them are Americans or at least speak English, but a few are Spanish speaking Mexicans. The language and cultural barriers make speaking with Mexicans much harder, but there are a lot of good, helpful, and forgiving Mexicans who I am meeting on the trip. A few of them are at the same time scoundrels, so that makes things a little more interesting. One guy, Humberto from Punta Chivato lived in the US for many years but is now unable to return for unspecified reasons. I got out of Mulegé today at about 10:00 am, and got to the mouth of the Mulegé River at about 10:25. The wind was in my face, but I crossed directly toward Punta Concepción. About 2/3 of the way there the wind increased and the waves, too, so as soon as I made land I pulled in to wait it out. I fixed lunch and put up the shade when I got to land at about 12:30 pm. By 5:00 pm the wind was still high and out of the southeast, so I called it a day. Not great progress, but I got quite a workout beating the wind and waves. I expect better weather tomorrow, but I want to start very early if it is calm so I can still make good progress if the wind comes up in the afternoon or late morning again.

Wednesday, May 22

2002-05-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

North 26° 53.710'
West 111° 58.502'
Distance: 12.4 miles

I paddled 12.4 miles today. This was my first progress in a week. I got up, said goodbye to Steve and Jane, and got started at 8:00 am. It was easy going for a couple hours, then I landed on a beach where some guys were doing a model shot for stock photos. Then I continued till 1:30 along the beach and up the Mulegé River. I stopped at a place called The Orchard. I immediately met Gary, Jeff and Carol. Nice people. They gave me a couple beers, took me to town, and cooked me dinner. I got supplied up for the next few days with Bananas, avocados, tomatoes, tortillas, limes, and water. Tomorrow morning I will be on my own again. At night Gary, Jeff, and Carol invited me up to a nice dinner of fish, pasta, and real broccoli. Then I met a bunch of kids in the camp space next to me. Two of them were from South Africa, two were from England, and three were from Canada. A little tequila with them sealed off the evening. I crossed the 27th parallel today. I will cross only four more on my trip. I have crossed five as of today. I have also crossed two lines of longitude and will cross two more before I finish.

Tuesday, May 21

2002-05-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

There were high winds all day today. I hid in the lee of someone's house on their patio and read my crap novel all day. At night I am sleeping there. Two more meals in the cantina. I guess this kills my day to hang out in Mulegé. I'll have to do with one afternoon. If it looks nice tomorrow I will try to get an early start.

Monday, May 20

2002-05-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

Today is my last day in Punta Chivato. I cleaned EVERYTHING including the boat, myself, and my clothes. Two meals in the cantina. Everyone left today except Steve and Jane. They made me coffee this morning and we sat and chatted. At night I got a cheap novel from the cantina. It is crap, but something to read. The big news is that I talked to both Heidi and Mike today. Heidi will be in Loreto May 31st at 7:00 pm. Mike will be there about the 29th. The plan is for him to take his truck to Cabo and leave it there - he should be able to deliver it and make it back by the time Heidi leaves. I can't wait to see them both, but Heidi a bit more so than Mike! That changes my plans to one day in Mulegé, then on toward Loreto. No time for Concepción. It is a pretty place, but I have been there before.

Sunday, May 19

2002-05-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

I woke up early and had coffee with Mike and Mary. Then I walked to the store to call Heidi and Mike. Neither of them was home. I returned and T & T. I can't remember their names, but I will try to correct that. They are a crazy retired couple with a nice Toyota Tundra truck and a 4X4 popup camper. He gave me a tour of the camper. It is a great rig for down here. Eight feet long plus a cabover. Six feet wide. He has a three way fridge, two burner stove, sink, thirteen gallons of water. One bed over the cab and another foldout below, so it sleeps four. It is roomy inside and a roof rack on the popup part holds up to 1000 lbs of gear. The camper weighs only 800 lbs so it will work well on the rough roads. Steve and Cody left today and gave me light beer and Capri-Sun drinks. I hope to have dinner in the restaurant tonight with Brad and Heather if they get back from fishing in time. I also want to try calling Heidi again.

Saturday, May 18

2002-05-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

Today was a big day for sitting around. I had quesadillas in the morning, then was given a pork chop by Cheryl, and then another. Brad and Heather made quesadillas, and then Steve and Cody - they guys who gave me the ride last night - gave me bread and meat for sandwiches. They also gave me some beer. Finally at night while going home I met Mary and Mike Macie from Bonita who gave me pasta, salad, and wine. I talked to them till late. They are here for their tenth anniversary and have four boys at home. They are nice, fun people.

Friday, May 17

2002-05-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

Today was a big day. I got up early and got a ride with Blake and Pam to Highway 1. They are headed to Los Cabos for a few days before they go home. They left me at the bus stop. The locals said that the bus was coming in a few minutes. It soon arrived and the driver said it would cost 25 pesos to Santa Rosalia. The girl in front of me barfed out the window about 15 minutes later. She had been sticking her face out of the open window on and off for a while and finally released the flow. I had a roll of toilet paper in my backpack which I gave to her mother to help her clean up. A few minutes later I was in Santa Rosalia. First I went to the bank and got 4000 pesos from the machine. Then I walked around town a bit and found a random taco stand. The food was great and the people were fun. Eight pesos for a taco and five for a cup of coffee. Then I went and got my hair cut by an old barber - he used a real straight razor to shave me. Then ice cream and a bit of walking. I sat in the park for a while and met Dale and Heather - a couple living on a 38 foot boat. They are heading back to the US to work for the summer, then back to the boat in the fall. I visited the museum and the old hotel. Pretty hotel! I bought a beer and just relaxed in the shade of the old trees for a while. Then I started home. The next bus wasn't for four more hours, so I asked a guy with California plates for a ride. He is from London and runs a camp in Concepción. The pride of his camp is a 5000 watt sound system. He claims he has food and a bar, so I will try to check it out next week. He dropped me off at the start of the dirt road to Punta Chivato. While I was walking down the road, a truck stopped to ask me for directions. Steve and Cody from Santee. They gave me a ride to camp and a beer and I talked to them for a while. They are staying in the hotel. Home in Punta Chivato I discovered that the store has a phone for 15 pesos a minute, so I will be able to try to get ahold of Heidi and Mike more easily. Steve and Jane invited me to dinner, and that kinda finished off the day.

Thursday, May 16

2002-05-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Distance: 0 miles

I spent most of the day just hanging out. In the afternoon I went to the store and to look at houses with Pam and Blake. This was pretty interesting. They looked at a house and spent some time talking with the owner. He had a large palapa covered patio with an outside kitchen and an outside bedroom. There was also a nice living room and an upstairs bedroom and bathroom. It was all artistically done with 100 year old doors on the living room. It was all available for about 120 thousand dollars. The patio was great - cool with an ocean breeze. I want to do something like that at home. In the evening we went to the hotel for drinks, then found a house where a local Mexican woman sells food to the locals. 150 pesos for 5 people to stuff themselves. That about finished me off. We went back, had a beer, then went to bed.

Wednesday, May 15

2002-05-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

North 27° 04.447'
West 111° 56.896'
Distance: 2.63 miles

I paddled just 2.63 miles today. I woke up early, ate an orange and packed up and left. On the water by 7:30 am. The 2.63 miles figure is deceptive since I went several miles around the point. I landed on the camping beach at Punta Chivato and met Steve and Jane from Tierasanta. They offered me a beer and then I imposed on them for a ride into Mulegé. I got bananas, gas, water, and flashlight batteries. I also got a lot of food and some ice cream. I restrained myself from getting more since I can't get more money till I go back to Santa Rosalia. There is no bank in Mulegé! Tomorrow or the next day I will hitchhike up there and make a day of it. When I got back from Mulegé I introduced myself to Brad and Heather - two kids from San Francisco. They are out here fishing for a few weeks and have Tarpin kayaks like mine. Brad gave me a fillet knife to replace the one I lost. I was pretty grateful for that! Then he invited me to join them for fish tacos for dinner. Then I set up camp on the east end of the beach under the only available palapa. It isn't much, but at least it provides some shade in the middle of the day. Then I went down to see Steve again and while we were talking we were asked to help unstuck a truck. It was an F-350 dually and the tide was coming in quick. The water was already over the bottom of the rear tires. We aired down the tires and Steve got a tow rope to his F-150 4X4 and with a couple efforts we got it out. Bob - the owner - was so happy he bought us a couple 6-packs of beer. In the truck issue I met Blake who with girlfriend Pam was also joining Brad and Heather for dinner. They are nice people from Oregon. So after one day I know everyone on the beach. Dinner was great. For a simple donation of a couple avocados and a tomato I got a feast! After dinner I started walking home and stopped to thank Bob for the beer and was invited in for a Seagrams and 7-up. That pretty much finished me off for the night.

Tuesday, May 14

2002-05-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

North 27° 09.093'
West 111° 59.010'
Distance: 9.2 miles

I paddled 9.2 miles today - all in the last couple of hours. It is now 10:30 in the morning. The combination of a perfect and restful night with a lazy morning has done wonders to restore me. I have done nothing this morning except read, nap, and have a breakfast of avocado, tomato, and cheese on fresh tortillas. The tortillas here are wonderful. I bought two dozen in Santa Rosalia. The cheese is great, too. I am contemplating packing up in a few more hours and doing some distance. Perhaps to Punta Chivato or perhaps just close enough that I can easily paddle there tomorrow morning. In everyday life I am protected quite a bit from the variation of experience that I find here. The weather makes very little difference to a person living in a house, driving a car, and working in an office. Here it can be the difference between luxury and misery. At home I can easily get cold water or juice when I am hot and thirsty. I can turn on the heat when I am cold. The walls stop the wind. When I am tired I can easily shut myself in the house and relax. I know where I will be sleeping every night and can easily get food 24 hours a day. Here I need to constantly monitor my water storage. Food doesn't last long. I get cold drinks at night and warm drinks in the day. Every evening I have to search out a new camping place with no knowledge of the local geography and with limited mobility. The result is that some days are very bad and some days are very good. Much more day to day difference than I am used to. Jay said that one of the problems of a trip like this is that you forget the bad times and remember the good times. This causes you to repeat the mistake. Amusing, but maybe true. I often forget how miserable my first year at UCSD was. I had many hard days there, but only remember the fun. Business is like that, too. Victory and defeat. But I think the good of the good days overwhelms the bad of the bad days. Keep playing the game as best you can and the good will happen. As the day goes on, the wind is picking up. I read and rested till about 1:30 in the afternoon. With the hot sun there isn't much else to do in the middle of the day besides sit in the shade. After a morning of kayaking that can be very welcome, but today I have done nothing. I am bored and lonely. As usual in that state I am eating and feeling sorry for myself. This is the first time I have really felt like quitting.

I got up and took a walk and felt a bit better, but it was still a hard afternoon. I wondered how sitting doing nothing could ever possibly be of any value to my life. About 3:30 the wind settled down a bit and I decided to get up and go. I took a little time to get two bottles of water from the bowels of my boat into a more convenient place. Then I packed and got going by 4:30. The sea was rough but manageable. I immediately felt better and started having fun. When the sun started going down about 7:00 pm I hit the beach. I am still three miles from Punta Chivato, but am happy about where I am for the night. I made progress, I got exercise, and I am on a nice beach. I guess the American Culture is just too imbedded in me to like just sitting. I want to feel progress toward some goal. Just getting out there working made me happy. This was the first day I have really felt lonely since I have been alone. As long as I am doing something I am OK. If I had my geeky head light I would be fine. As it is I am using my candle trick again and I don't much like it. I sure hope I can fix it. I think it is time for me to get a room tomorrow. Time now to sit back and watch the stars.

Monday, May 13

2002-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

North 27° 09.093'
West 112° 07.238'
Distance: 22.2 miles

I paddled 22.2 miles today in three runs. This has turned out to be a very hard day and not just because of the lack of coffee. I got up at 5:00 am to get out of the hole I was camped in last night. I paddled a half hour before I remembered the plug was out of the boat. Oops! I landed, emptied my boat, dried my things with a fire, and got going again. I wanted to make Santa Rosalia and find a phone before 10:00 am so I could talk to Heidi before she went to work. Santa Rosalia isn't especially friendly to kayakers. There isn't a really good beach to pull up to. I went just south of the marina and got a poor spot in the back yard of a restaurant. It was closed, so I moved on. All the public phones in the area use phone cards. I finally found a place to sell them, but they only come in 50 peso denominations. Calls to the US are 10 pesos per minute, so that means a card is only good for calls up to 5 minutes. I bought three. It was wonderful to talk to Heidi. She will be in Loreto in three weeks and a couple of days. I can't wait to see her. Then I went and got a meal and a couple of beers. Then I went shopping for food and got some ice cream. Yum! I tried to call Mike but he wasn't home. I called Gail and she was there. It was good to talk to her, but she had some very bad news for me. Mark Smitter, a friend from Blue Sky days, died a couple weeks ago alone in his house. He was only 43, but he had some health problems none of us knew about. I got back into my boat and started South looking for a camp. I heard from a guy I met in Santa Rosalia that San Bruno has everything, so I paddled thinking I might be able to make it. After a mile or so, lost in thought, I wandered close to the shore in heavy seas. A wave caught me sideways and flipped me over. I saw my shoes floating away and my boat upside down with the fishing pole in the pole holder running up on the rocks. I stood up and stepped right on a spiked something. I dropped back into the water. I again saw a wave taking my gear away, so I stood up again. Again I stepped on the spikes. I threw myself back down. A third time I stood up and stepped on it harder than ever. Again I splashed back into the water. This time I swam a ways in before I stood up. My feet hurt as I walked and each wave knocked me down, but in a couple minutes I was on shore. I caught my shoes and threw them up on the rocks and righted my kayak. Then I started hauling it up to shore. It was full of water, so I had to drain it to make it light enough to pull up. I had also lost my good fillet knife. This was a big loss and is probably not totally replaceable on this trip. Each step hurt, but I had to ignore that for a while. Once I got it up I dug out my medical kit and looked at my feet. The shore was a gravel bar just over the level of the low tide. The rocks were covered with pelican guano, so it was no place to stay. I used a scalpel blade, the needle from the sewing kit, and a pair of tweezers to clean the pieces out of my foot. It was a sea urchin I had stepped on and I had maybe 30 pieces buried in my feet. Most of them were in my right foot. Some were smaller, but there were at least 10 pieces over a quarter inch long to dig out. I would get leg cramps working on the bottoms of my feet, so I would cut one piece out and then rest for a few minutes. After a couple hours I had all or most of it out and I cleaned my wounds and started looking at my situation. The waves were rougher than ever, but the place I was in was no place to camp, so I gathered my courage and went back out at about 2:00 pm. About 4:30 I got to San Bruno after passing some nice beaches. No camp. No showers. No palapas. No restaurant. They had a tienda, so I bought water, cheese, and a cheap knife. The knife will do to cook with, but it is really garbage. I decided not to spend another night in a Mexican hovel. Too many trigger fish heads on the ground in the last few days. I want something clean and relaxing. Better to be on my own. At 6:00 pm - too late, really, I got back in the boat one more time. This area has seaweed everywhere and it collects in big buggy piles on the shore. It is not at all nice to land on or to camp near. A couple miles to the south I decided that with the sunset being over I needed to get to shore and camp. I picked a place with a dirt ramp up to a higher level. With much work I got my stuff up there. Most of my clothes are wet. My flashlight got wet and doesn't work now. I wish I had fresh AAA batteries for it! I hope Punta Chivato sells them. I am writing this with a citronella candle reflecting off the bottom of my stainless steel cooking pot. My mind and body are beaten from the past week and from today. I really hope I can get some comfort and relaxation in Punta Chivato which is at least two days away. I may stay here most of tomorrow to heal a little.

It is now morning. After I stopped writing last night I watched stars for an hour then went to sleep. The night was great. No wind, no bugs, no problems. I woke up a couple of times and just enjoyed the night wishing it could go on longer. This morning I woke up a little sick, but not too bad. I looked carefully at the map and I think I am no more than 15 miles from Punta Chivato. The wind is starting to come up and would be in my face if I were to try to go now. I will stay here till at least afternoon and maybe stay another night. I have five liters of water and can walk back to the store in San Bruno if I need more. I think it is about 3 miles and if I do I can get more flashlight batteries at the same time.

Sunday, May 12

2002-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

North 27° 25.416'
West 112° 18.863'
Distance: 18.8 miles

I paddled 18.8 miles today. I am now 75.6 miles form San Francisquito, 299 miles from Pete's Camp, and 470 miles from home. Yet another interesting day on the Sea of Cortez! I woke up my usual lethargic self, had a little breakfast and found some shade to read and think in. It is certainly true that shade here is the difference between super comfort and miserable heat. About 9:30 I started packing up and by 10:15 I hit the water. I had some difficulty getting in the water because the waves were larger than usual and were breaking on large rocks. The good news is that my kayak is now much lighter! I have consumed 14 of my 20 liters of water and much of my food. Once I got going I made fair progress until about noon. The waves were big for no reason I could understand. I saw what looked like a house with a jeep next to it and decided to go investigate. As I got closer I realized it was just another abandoned fish camp. The power of wishful thinking! I stopped for an hour to rest, stretch my legs, and look around. It looks like it has been empty for a long time. To the Northwest there were several stone walls. They were each open on one side. If the open side were away from the water I would think they were foundations for wood structures that no longer exist. I can't imagine what they were. To the Southeast there was another hut with four tin walls. Just trash inside. When I got back in the water the waves beat me pretty hard. I lost the small deck bottle - 24 oz. - and had to jump out and find it in the surf. After another couple miles the wind picked up out of the North Northwest. Perfect for pushing me. I made good speed till just after 4:00 pm. Just sitting in the kayak I sometimes went at a slow walking speed and with modest effort I made a medium jogging speed. The waves got bigger and started swamping me from time to time. The scuppers were kept busy today. I made the mistake of passing too close to a sheer cliff wall which reflected the waves back and made some quite rough and confused water for a while. All the time I was passing lots of pelicans. They really stink! Finally I made a corner and saw a quarry in the next bay. I kayaked passed some nice beaches to get there, then to the other side. I wanted to take as much advantage as possible of the North wind, so I skipped some nice places to camp. This was a mistake. Just passed the quarry the land juts East for the next punta. I took the last beach before I would have had to go against the current, the waves, and the wind. This beach is a row of huts which I guess the quarry workers use. Those at the end were empty, obviously for a while. I pulled up, emptied a lot of water out of my boat, and made camp. This was just like a typical fish camp with fish bodies and trash strewn everywhere. I need to learn to stay away from these places because they are depressing. I made dinner and went to sleep as soon as possible. I found a place behind one of the huts which wasn't too dirty and was protected from the wind.

Saturday, May 11

2002-05-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

North 27° 37.756'
West 112° 30.976'
Distance: 19.5 miles

I paddled 19.5 miles today. I am now 57.7 miles form San Francisquito and 281 miles from Pete's Camp. I am now on the other side of the AAA map. I started at 7:30 this morning and paddled till almost 11:00 am. Within a mile an a half the wind died down and has been calm since. That might have been a local wind. I should have pushed on last night instead of going to shore. At about 11:00 am I found a fish camp. I pulled in to see it. There were several structures including one with a small aluminum boat. The boat was registered in California with a 1967 - 1971 sticker. It looked pretty beat up, but was tied like someone was coming back for it. It was nice and cool under the shade of the structures, so I read, ate lunch, and slept for about 3 ½ hours. It was pretty obvious that the woman's touch was missing from this camp. The guys were pigs! Egg shells on the floor inside, fish skins on the floor just outside the door. Trash was everywhere. There was a piece of cardboard with the date February 2002 on it, so someone has been here pretty recently. There was also the carcass of a filleted trigger fish in the water. I would guess only a few days old. I packed up around 2:30 and was back in the water by 3:00 pm. Shortly after I left I rounded the next point and saw a pretty tattered looking and probably abandoned house and five palm trees. It's getting pretty lush out here - three palm trees yesterday and five today. That's 8 palm trees in just under 30 miles. I paddled past Punta Santa Ana and a couple more points, then found the typical rock beach with a canyon behind it. It is a pretty steep beach and in my tired state it took me a while to pull the boat up the rocks. There is a little firewood here but I am too tired to bother with a fire tonight. I think I will go to sleep in a few more minutes. After setting up a simple camp I took a bath. It feels great to be even a little clean. All day today I paddled through patches of seaweed. More that I have seen down here before. The water is very clear and I can often see the fish below while I paddle. I could have caught some today but with the seaweed it is a lot of work to fish. Every few hundred yards I have to pull in the jig and clean the grass off of it. I had no intention of cooking fish tonight, so it would have been just for fun. The sunset now is wonderful. I just took a picture of it, but I doubt it will turn out to be even close to what I see. All blue and orange with the mountains and sea hazy in the background and the foreground a silver red color blending into blue. Birds flying silhouetted against it. It is a pretty nice way to end a long, exhausting day. I think that after four days straight of paddling I am just tired and need a break. If I find a great spot tomorrow, maybe I will make it a short day. Otherwise, two more and I will be in Santa Rosalia.

Friday, May 10

2002-05-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

North 27° 49.864'
West 112° 44.414'
Distance: 10.7 miles

I paddled 10.7 miles today. Between the late tide and just plain laziness, I didn't launch till almost noon. While I was sitting watching the ocean this morning I watched a pod of dolphins go by. Since I wasn't in the water with them they played for some time. Then a coyote decided I was in his space and barked at me for a half hour. Then I saw a solitary dolphin go by in the opposite direction of the earlier pod. I think he forgot his keys or something and decided to go back for them. The morning was cool and nice with a slight cloud cover and was perfect for just sitting and watching the world. Almost immediately after I took off I caught a sand bass. It wasn't nearly as large as the one I caught yesterday, so I tried to catch a second. The bottom kept hooking my jig and the seaweed continually snared it, so I made slow progress for an hour. Finally I decided to land and clean it. When I pulled to shore the sun was just at it's peak and was hot. When I finished I started trolling again and after a while I caught a cabrilla. I started for a sandy shore and on the way I hooked another bass. This one was bigger than either of the others and was quite a fighter. Just as I got him up to the boat he shook his jig and got away. That is OK since I turned out to have all I needed. Then I got a bite which shook off. I decided to reel it in and put it away. When I got it to the boat I saw that a large trigger was following it. I had no use for the trigger, so I pulled it out of the water so he couldn't get to it. The I cleaned my second fish and made ceviche out of my last tomato and the rest of my limes. I noticed today that I was talking to the coyote, talking to my jig, talking to the fish while there were on the stringer and while I filleted them, I was talking to the pelicans and to the seagulls. But, and I think this is important, at no time was I talking to myself. That means to me that my sanity is intact. After I made my ceviche I got back into the boat for one more paddle. About half way across Bahia San Carlos the wind suddenly came up strongly. I was less than a mile off shore, but the wind was from land. I decided to beat it for land. The wind got worse and a little chop came up. I was worried about the ceviche on deck, but it saw fine for the ride. I beat into the wind for about 20 minutes then since I was within the arms of a little sub-bay I turned left and took the wind from starboard for a while. I was then able to turn to where the wind was quartered from behind and as the land turned to the east I was eventually about to, with the wind at my back, make about 1.5 miles per hour without paddling. I needed it since I had worked so hard the previous hour. About a mile from the point I saw a nice sandy spot and landed. The water at this point comes up a long way and since the tides are pretty large right now I pulled the boat about 75 feet inland. This is pretty hard to do. I get about 2 feet per pull, and can do about 7 to 10 pulls before I need a rest. This is a much easier thing to do with two people! I set up a little shelter with two ponchos. One end I tied under the boat and the other went to poles and then to sticks buried in the sand. I then ate my ceviche without the beans because there was plenty to fill me up and because I didn't want to cook with all the blowing sand. I secured all my gear and crawled into my shelter. Today I learned a few things: First, stick close to shore unless there is a really good reason not to. If cutting a bay saves miles of paddling, maybe, but for a shallow bay it isn't worth it. If the wind is blowing, keep paddling till I find a gravel beach. A blow isn't as bad if the sand isn't in my face. In fact it can be nice. A shelter doesn't prevent sand from blowing in my face. It makes it worse because it causes vortices. Cover up and take it as it comes. Finally, if I am near shore, I can still make progress in wind unless it is right in my face and even then I can often make some progress. Being close to shore makes it easy to tell if I am making progress or not. The wind is settling down a bit and there is some hope of a good night. The country here has been a wonder all day. I saw rocky outcroppings in the water, red and green cliffs, rocks completely white with pelican droppings, flood plains, sand dunes, hills, mountains, a couple small islands, and rocks and fish through the clear water. The beauty is wonderful. Just before I stopped today I saw a bunch of palm trees. Jay had told me that I would see some and that they led to a ranch in case I needed water. He said it is quite a walk up to the ranch house. Shortly after I thought I saw a bunch of cattle. I hope they leave me alone out here. Mexican cattle are tougher and meaner than those in the US and they have real horns. I have certainly slept outside with them before but only in California or Texas. I expect them to keep to themselves, but I may sleep a little lightly tonight. I expect to get up and out early tomorrow and see if I can outrun this wind. I hope it keeps out of the West or maybe Northwest. With today's progress I am now about half way to Santa Rosalia from San Francisquito. The hardest part of my solo trip is now about half done. This area doesn't seem as empty as some earlier parts. I haven't seen any people since the first day, but I have seen signs of life like signboards and a cove with a whale bone marking it which held a deserted fish camp.

Thursday, May 9

2002-05-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

North 27° 59.082'
West 112° 45.726'
Distance: 16.2 miles

I paddled 16.2 miles today and am now 29.8 miles form San Francisquito and 252 miles form Pete's Camp. Also 423 miles from home in Ocean Beach. This puts me below the 28th parallel of latitude, into Baja California Sur and onto Mountain Time. This was quite an interesting day. After a short paddle around Cabo San Miguel I crossed the little semi-bay between Cabo San Miguel and Punta San Juan Bautista. This was some of the prettiest land I have seen in Mexico. There must be a source of water because the valleys are green with thousands cordon cactuses. There are several valleys well set back from the mountains leading to white sand beaches. I saw one truck on shore. It looked like it might be stuck in the sand, but since I was already a couple miles passed them and at least a mile from shore, I decided to let them also saw a whale surface a couple times. About ¾ of the way to the other shore I caught a spotted sand bass big enough for dinner. I put him on the stringer and once I got around the corner of Punta San Juan Bautista I pulled in and cleaned him. I cut up the filets, put them in a ziploc bag and added a cut up tomato and 1/3 of an onion. Then I added the juice of four limes and some Habanero sauce and closed the bag and set it on the deck. Then I cleaned up, packed up, and crossed Bahia San Juan Bautista. There is supposed to be (according to the AAA map) a fish camp on the punta, but I saw no sign of it. Bahia San Juan Bautista isn't as nice as the previous bay. Just passed the point after the bahia I found a nice sandy beach and decided to camp. I set up for the night then took some pictures to remember this as a typical solo camp. There is a rocky beach with softball sized rocks for maybe 15 feet. Then there is nice sand going back into the desert. The mountains are a mile or two back at this point and the cordon cactus is king here. Some of the m are huge with many branches. They must be very old. A half hour before I landed a large sea lion was floating in the water in my path. I saw him swim down then come up with a fish in his mouth. He gave me the evil eye so I quickly changed course and gave him some room. Today while I was doing dishes I cleaned out the empty honey jar to use for food storage. I want to be able to eat a half can of beans and save the other half. I drink coffee from a mason jar which came with pasta sauce a couple weeks ago. At home I would just throw them away and buy more beans when I wanted. Or if I were to save food I would just buy containers. It is an interesting application of economics: People tend to conserve what is costly or difficult to obtain and waste what is in abundance. At home I would throw food away and jealously guard my time spent looking at the ocean. Here I conserve cans of beans which I cannot replace before Santa Rosalia, but I will sit and read ignoring the beautiful view which I can and do see all day. The weather now couldn't be better. Cool in the mornings and evenings. Perfect in the middle of the day if you can find shade. The water is cool but no longer cold like it was near the islands. The fishing is good. Without much effort I can catch one every day. This is such a nice area that I am such a nice area that I am surprised and pleased that it has not been developed. It is now 6:24 pm or 7:24 pm if I start going by Mountain time. I took the ceviche and drained it. Then I squeezed two more limes onto it. Two because the first had no juice. I heated up a half a can of beans to go with it. Then habanero sauce liberally over the whole. What a feast! That may have been the best meal I have ever made. If only I'd had some avocados and tortillas and maybe una cervesa bien fria to go with it. If I hook up another good fish tomorrow I know what I will do with it. It is interesting to me how much time it took to catch, clean, and prepare that meal. And the beans were canned. The women cooking in the fish camps must spend their lives making food.

Wednesday, May 8

2002-05-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

North 28° 12.976'
West 112° 48.718'
Distance: 13.6 miles

I paddled 13.6 miles on my first solo day. We woke up at first light and Jay packed up and headed North to make the best of the tide. I had breakfast at the kitchen and spent some more time talking to Chary. I think she wants to set me up with her daughter Dori. She spent a lot of time telling me about her and that she can't find a guy who likes to do outside things with her like fishing. It was really cute. She forgot to pick up the apples and bananas she had told me she was going to give me. I told her not to worry about it since I could go to the tienda in El Barril. I also spent some time talking to Curt and Sybil - a retired couple who live in San Felipe. They said the live in Campo Ocotillo a couple miles from Pete's Camp. I had also met Sam and Wally - two guys from Denver who quit their jobs and are touring on motorcycles. I hope to see them again since they will be around the peninsula a couple more months. About 11:30 I pushed the boat down into the water and started going. I almost missed El Barril since 7 miles passed so fast. There was a really nice place a mile or so North of it which looked like real money. El Barril was interesting but the store was a bust. All I got was four cans of beans and a couple candy bars. Not even any beer. The people there were very nice, though. It was a short stop, then on the water again. I started trolling along the rocks after a couple miles. There was nothing to see in the rocks and nothing bit. Near the point I started seeing just a few fish and finally hooked a large trigger fish. I had him hooked by the bottom fin. I don't much like trigger fish, but it was better than nothing. I pulled into the first beach which was a nice cove with rocks followed by sand and a nice canyon. A few cordon cactuses. I cleaned Mr. Trigger after setting up the camp. When I finished a ponga drove by and they stopped to see if I needed any help. They were from El Barril, too. Nice people. Then I cooked up some beans and the fish. After cleanup the sun was going down. The days sure go quickly! With nobody else here I wasn't as interested in the food. It seemed more like a chore than a fun thing to do. Maybe I will stop getting so fat! It is fun and interesting being alone out here. I imagine I will be tired of it soon since it has only been a half a day so far. I am sure I will be writing more on this topic in the next week. The last glow of sunset is lighting the sky. I intend to watch that, read a little, then go to sleep so I can get an early start tomorrow.

Monday and Tuesday, May 6/7

2002-05-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

We have been here two days. The beach here is the nicest I have seen. White sand, clean and nice. Camping is $5 per day and that includes a palapa and hot showers. They have little cabins to rent, but they don't seem like such a great deal since they use the same showers and bathrooms as the campers use and all you get is a room with a canvas door and cot beds. On the beach we have the palapas which are just about as nice. I would like to come back in my truck this fall maybe for a week. I'm sure Heidi would love it. Note to self: Bring lots of supplies. The food here is great and they have good beer. Other than camping things are expensive. We have had thirty beers and three meals since Sunday. Chary, the cook, is a nice lady from San Diego. She hooked us up with eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, water, and limes. She also spent a lot of time talking to us about camping in Baja and about her kids. She has 5 - 3 boys and 2 girls who live in San Diego. She also has a house in Gonzaga at Punta Final which her kids are working on now. We have had our breakfast late and in our camp, but have dinner from Chary every night. A couple more meals and we are going to leave. We had hoped that Mike would be able to meet us here, but he was not able to do so. At least it looks like that. He should have been here by now if he were going to make it. There is no phone available here or I would try to call home and ask what his situation is. If he does not arrive by tomorrow morning I will leave and call him from Santa Rosalia. Chary says there is a tienda in El Barril, so I will stop there and see what I can buy. A few avocados, some tortillas, and some cans of beans would be great. If not, I will still eat pretty well the next week or so it takes me to get to Santa Rosalia. In the morning Jay will head North and I will head South. I will miss having Jay around, and it will be strange to be by myself. I haven't camped alone in recent years, so I guess it will be good for me. I have now had a month of experience living in a kayak in Baja, so it will probably be a great next step. I really feel I have learned a lot living here. My Spanish has improved some, but I wish I had my Spanglish dictionary with me. I also wish I had brought a Spanish grammar book. That would have been a big help. I will have to deal alone with talking to people in stores and bars and whatever. Tomorrow the next phase of the adventure begins!

Sunday, May 5

2002-05-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

North 28° 24.595'
West 112° 51.472'
Distance: 14.1 miles

We paddled 14.1 miles today. Last night around 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning the wind died down. As soon as that happened the bugs came back. I got my sheet out and covered up. Jay got bit on the butt by a bunch of no-see-ems. It also got cloudy, damp, and warm. This morning I got up, got packed and got into the water as quickly as I could. Jay stayed for about 20 more minutes while I drifted with the tide and waited for him. He said that after I left the wind picked back up a little and the bugs were OK after that. We paddled uneventfully to Punta Ballena. Jay predicted two and a half hours to make the crossing and I guessed three and a half to four hours. Jay was closest at two hours and forty five minutes. When we got to land Jay packed as much as he wanted of the stash and we re-hid the rest of it. I took a GPS position at 28° 26.055' North and 112° 50.861' West. The position is just southeast of the lighthouse on a very landable beach by a very old and large Cordon cactus. It is about 10' toward the ocean from the cactus base. We saw some whales from land once we had done that and before we took off for San Francisquito. San Francisquito is a nice place. I would hardly call it a resort, but it has food, showers - hot ones!, Beer, and little semi-cabins for rent. We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, bathing, reading, and just sitting in the shade. There is a bit of wind which is good for chasing the little flies away. I kinda miss the cockroaches!

Saturday, May 4

2002-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

North 28° 35.560'
West 112° 45.241'
Distance: 29 miles

Big day today - 29 miles. We are now 217 miles from Pete's Camp in a straight line. This morning we got up earlier than normal and headed east by 8:00 in the morning. I paddled about 30 strokes and caught a good sized Cabrilla. We took it ashore and gutted it, then put it in the boat near the water to keep it cool. By 8:24 we started again - this time with the precaution of not dragging a lure. We headed straight to Isla Las Animas which was about a fifteen mile crossing. When we got to the beach at about 1:00 pm we sat down to rest a little. Not for long! The little flies were everywhere. They seem to be thick on the islands because of the bird poop. We think the birds live there because of the lack of predators. We got back in the boats and paddled Southeast to look for an escape. We went through the narrow channel between Las Animas and San Lorenzo to the east side of the islands. We tried a few more landings with the same result. At about 5:15 pm we got to the end of San Lorenzo. We had determined to cover up with sheets and wait for night to chase the flies away. Luck was with us, though. As soon as we got to the rock spit on the southeast end of the island and were past the mountain we got a nice little wind which got rid of the flies. Thank God for the wind. When Jay and Kurt were here two and a half years ago they found a package of marijuana which had floated up onto the shore of the island. Maybe a couple of kilograms. They had buried a couple jars of it in an arroyo near the rock spit. Jay and I went up and found them and took a little for after dinner. In the afternoon while paddling Jay and I decided to switch boats for a little while. Jay's boat is fast! It takes almost no energy to do 4 miles per hour. It is a little tippy and not as comfortable. The lack of a rudder would take some time to get used to. While I was in the Mariner a pod of dolphins came by. They got to within 15 feet of me which is the closest I been to one in a kayak. There was an empty seagull nest near our camp with an egg in it. Large, brown, and spotted. After dinner the seagull came back to sit on it. I don't think they much liked us being there, but after almost 30 miles in a kayak I was in no mood to move. Dinner was pasta with sauce and the fish. A great end to an interesting day. In the morning we cross again to Punta Ballena and San Francisquito.

Friday, May 3

2002-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

North 28° 45.512'
West 113° 11.556'
Distance: 6.8 miles

We paddled a grand total of 6.8 miles today. We are now 193 miles from Pete's Camp. We made a short day today because Jay suggested we go out to the islands tomorrow and the land falls away after this point. By paddling another 6 miles today we could save ourselves maybe 1 mile of paddling tomorrow. The sea was flat and calm with no wind at all today and we expect similar tomorrow. We plan to kayak to Isla Las Animas, camp there, go to the southern tip of San Lorenzo the next day, then come back to the mainland and San Francisquito. We hope Mile will be there to meet us with the truck. It was a perfect day and is now a perfect night with all the planets in view.

Thursday, May 2

2002-05-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

North 28° 49.832'
West 113° 16.248'
Distance: 10.5 miles

We paddled 10.5 miles today in rough water with a medium to fast wind. Lucky for me it was out of the Northwest most of the time and we were going mostly Southeast. I have only made about 7 or 8 miles to the South the last two days while I have gone about 17 miles East. 120° seems to be the most important heading on this trip. Last night we had a great meal of avocado, tomato, onion, garlic, beans, and cheese in fresh tortillas. Wonderful! Then we opened our jug of wine and it was a disaster. It turns out to be something other than wine. 38 proof and it tastes like something that will make my children have three heads. The night was nice but cool and the wind started to blow in the early hours. I think today we have paddled our way out of the cool weather. Around 12:45 we found a nice beach, had lunch and went for a walk. We saw a coyote head on the beach. The head was mostly in good condition but there was a hole in it and the body was gone. I don't know what could have happened to the rest of the coyote. We found another beach up the cove a bit and I bet Jay we couldn't walk along the beach all the way back to camp. I won, but just in the last hundred yards. We walked at least a mile along the beach before we were stumped. We are now just about at the end of Guardian Angel Island. Technically we are south of it a few miles but it is still across the channel from us - just the Southern tip. Last night I had a dream that my cat Johnny really missed me and that she hardly knew me. She has been dead for over 14 years now and I still had a dream about her. I was pretty sad when I woke up and that thought has been haunting me all day. It makes me think about getting a new cat. I didn't use sunscreen again today. I am a little burnt on my nose and legs but I think my rash is getting better. Tomorrow I will try putting a shirt over my legs while I paddle. The hat helps but I dislike wearing it. My skin gets pretty dry from the constant salt and I have been using lotion every day. By the end of the day my arms and legs are white with salt. Cortaid on everything seems to help but I will run out of it eventually. Thanks to Gail for giving it to me.

Wednesday, May 1

2002-05-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

North 28° 56.250'
West 113° 23.651'
Distance: 9.96 miles

We paddled 9.96 miles today mostly east. We were going north for a while which was kinda aggravating. It was nice sleeping in a bed last night. I have developed a new theory about the itchy bumps all over my body. I had thought they were bug bites but now think they may be an allergic reaction to something. Maybe sunscreen. I didn't use any today and wore a shirt and hat instead. I noticed that there are no bumps on the parts of my body where I don't use sunscreen. If this is the case I will have to figure out a different brand or maybe just wear it for the hot part of the day and wash carefully when I get out of the sun. I started using the sunshade again today. It is much better with more pole sections. Thanks, Greg! We got up today about 8:00 am, took advantage of the shower. I washed the fishing pole well. Then we packed and ordered breakfast. I took advantage of the time to call Heidi. She was home and we talked for 10 minutes. I think she will be able to meet me in Loreto! She also said that Mike is in Sacramento and that is why he isn't answering his phone. She will call him and get the information to him that we will be in San Francisquito next Wednesday at the latest. As of last night I have finished/survived/enjoyed my first month down here. There have been quite a few setbacks and I have gone only 176 miles in a month. That puts me a bit behind schedule! Still, I have gone and done and enjoyed quite a trip so far. I have high hopes that Mike will be able to join me at least within the next 4 weeks and I hope in the next two or three. It seems like I am making friends wherever I go here, so if I have to do it on my own it won't be too bad. I will certainly have plenty of time to read! It has been great to have Jay along and I wish he could do the entire trip with me, but by the time he leaves next week or in 10 days I feel I will have had enough experience to handle things on my own for the week or so it will take to get to Santa Rosalia. After that I am pretty sure Mike will be ready to go. If not then at least I won't be far from help any time. The shade and the breeze are making this a nice time and place for a nap. I wasn't too happy about the wind whipping the waves up and throwing them into my face this morning, but now it feels great!

Tuesday, April 30

2002-04-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2002-04-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

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.