MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 04

Blue Horizon

The next morning was cool once again, but the wind had dropped. When the sun rose above the horizon, it was difficult to tell where the sea ended and the sky began. We packed up on the sloping beach and set out into a calm sea with a very light breeze rippling the water from the southwest. I had to paddle well out to sea to deliver my morning package to Neptune as this beach had a sloping sand bottom with visibility down to at least 60 feet.

El Pulpito

This big chunk of rock sits out by itself, connected only by a narrow spit of low lying land. It does look like a pulpit. Just north of the big rock is a shallow bay with two nice sand beaches in it. It would make a nice camp spot. There is also an open bay south of El Pulpito that would provide shelter from a northerly blow. As we passed the point just before El Pulpito, we saw several sea lions basking on the shore and a blue footed boobie among the cormorants on the rocks. We rafted up to get a close up look at El Pulpito. It looked like a congregation listening to the sermon at El Pulpito.

Black and white

Next to the dark rock of El Pulpito is a starkly contrasted section of almost white sedimentary rock. This rock is wind worn with many ledges used by sea birds. Pelicans soar past the lofty formation. The steep face of the rock tumbles right down to the sea. Large boulders have fallen off of the face and lie at the foot of the massif, providing an interesting display of fish. This would be a good spot to snorkel although there is no place to land nearby. At the very tip of El Pulpito is a small arch which one can paddle through. On the south side of El Pulpito is an amazing fault line between two different types of rock showing a nearly 45 degree difference in the direction of the layers.

From the south

To the immediate south of Pulpito is a nice long white sand beach. We stopped here and had lunch on the boulders just above the high tide line. The close up view of Pulpito from the north is much more impressive. In fact it puts some to sleep. But after paddling down the coast a few miles, it still resembles its namesake.

Calm before San Juanico

The paddle down from El Pulpito to San Juanico seemed to take forever. The breeze died and the temperature came up. I think we also had an adverse current. The sun was behind the high cliff just north of the bay as we struggled into the very protected cove. We paddled past the American houses stuck high on the cliff over the harbor and headed for the first beach south of the very protected anchorage where several yachts were anchored. The sun made looking into the harbor difficult. It glowed yellow off of the sea stacks on the south end of the bay. Julio and Bob were well ahead and reached the beach five minutes before the rest of us pulled up on the wide sand beach. It was just one of several stretching down the coast. We could have chosen any of them, but we had selected the first one. The sun had already gone down behind the cliff on the edge of the beach as we pulled up. I for one was glad to be done for this day.

Bull on the Beach

We set up our tents on the soft sand, but we were soon confronted by an unusual problem. A herd of curious steers wandered into camp and kept approaching the boats and our tents. A mix of curiosity and hunger seemed to drive their constant interest in our equipment. After a while we decided to herd them through camp. They left only reluctantly and were soon back. They stayed until dark when our efforts finally convinced them to move up into the wash at the back of the beach. We expected to have problems with them all night, but fortunately they never came back. They left a few piles on the beach that made getting up in the middle of the night a dangerous walk to the sea. Little did we know that herding skills would be required on a kayak trip in Baja!

On to Day 5.............

MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Loreto - Day 08	The Sierra Giganta of the Baja peninsula form a spectacular backdrop to the azure Sea of Cortez from Danzante Island. We continue our trip with a day paddle for Julio and Bob and the start of the second part of our Mexican adventure for Rick and Hank.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 04	Our kayak trip continues from San Nicolas, past El Pulpito to the beautiful bay at San Juanico.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Loreto - Day 10	Another calm day for our paddle back to Isla Danzante and then down to Candelero Chico where we spend the afternoon relaxing with snorkeling and playing in the shore rocks.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 06	Leaving our wind refuge at Boca San Bruno, a strong west wind keeps us tight against the shore as we paddle back to Loreto.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Loreto - Day 09	From Isla Danzante, a short crossing brings us to Isla Carmen where we play tag with fin whales, 80 foot monsters of the Canal de Ballenas.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 01 - 18 miles	Launching from Playa Freson, we paddle up Bahia Conception, stopping at Isla Blanca. We arrive just short of our intended destination, Punta Conception.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Loreto - Day 07	A rest day between trip legs allows a land trip to Mission San Xavier in the mountains west of Loreto.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 02	Leaving the shallow waters of Bahia Conception, we round Punta Conception, paddle into the Sea of Cortez and head south along the coast .
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 03	Fair winds provide and opportunity to try out my sail. We end the windy day high atop a sand dune.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Loreto - Day 11	From Candelero Chico we paddled 24 miles back to Loreto. The first half of the trip was flat calm. In the second half, a little tail wind makes the long mileage bearable.
MX - Sea of Cortez - 2006/03/15 to 2006/03/30 - Bahia Conception to Loreto - Day 05	Leaving San Juanico, the wind picks up to 20 to 25 knots ( Force 5) and we have a roller coaster ride down to San Bruno where problems with our chart leads to some interesting developments.