From the helm of Ocean Quest, I looked toward shore to a tidy row of shite tents on the beach and a cluster of kayaks pulled up on the sand. They were part of a guided kayak tour. It looked like a good way to see the islands.
In late 2007 I joined the final legs of the FUBAR rally, a flotilla of about 50 powerboats (the smalles of wich was 30 feet) that cruised from San Diego to La Paz. The second FUBAR rally is scheduled for this November, and if the sign-up list hasn't closed, it would be a great way to make a first trip to Mexico.
Sailors hold similar cruising rallies; the 2008 Baja Ha-Ha, with about 180 boats, was winding up in Cabo San Lucas as we ended our island-hopping adventure. Some of the sailors were expected to move into the Sea of Cortez for a winter of cruising.
Our skippers took us into Bahia San Gabriel, near the south tip of Isla Espiritu Santo, and Ocean Quest dropped her anchor and Ursa Major came alonside. Ursa is a big boat - more than 100 tons - and she has only a single engine. Bringing her within touching distance of another large, gloating target that's moving with wind and current takes real talent. And Josh has it. The maneuver looked easy.
To celebrate our last full day at sea, four of us filled the 8-foot inflatable from Ocean Quest and headed for shore.
Bill and Angie went ceachcombing, and John and I hiked 2-plus miles across a low section of the island to the east shore and Playa Bonanza, a curving, white sand beach that sweeps between rocky points a couple of mmiles apart. The low area, or arroyo, looked like a desert from a distance, except for a few scattered, splashes of green, and I expected to find a dead zone there.
The arroyo was laced with shallow, dry stream channels that fill when rain falls over the adjoining hills, refreshing the desert floor and bringing plants to life. It was not dead.
Piles of dirt surrounding small holes suggested burrowing critters. Heaps of brown pellets were proof of rabbits, and I saw one fleeing as we neared.
Every flower bud and leaf was surrounded by sharp spines, and I wondered how rabbits manage to grab a bite.
Birds fluttered among the thorny bushes, and lizards scrambled from the sound of our marching feet. With rabbits to spare, there had to be predators somewhere. But we saw none. We did see hoof prints, but not the goats or sheep that had left them. |
Above: Ocean Quest leaves her moorings in La Paz.
Below: Ursa Major is under way in the Sea of Cortez.
Many spiny plants seemed dead, their branches gray and brittle. But occasionally we saw yellow and red blossoms on those "dead" plants and looked closely to
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