Sea
Kayak Adventure story by Sea
Kayak Adventures Inc.
Ahhhh!
Relaxing in the Baja
By Laura Rance / Phil Hossack
Isla Danzante, Baja Ñ "There's a whale!"
The shout from our Mexican guide Antonio set off a excited
scramble for
binoculars as people strained for a glimpse of the Blue
whale cavorting
through the whitecaps rolling along the Sea of Cortez.
The sight was fleeting, a brief moment in time that defied
any attempt at
photographic record. But framed as it was against the dramatic
Sierra de la
Giganta mountains rising from the distant Baja Peninsula
coastline, it left
a lasting imprint on the mind.
Seeing a Blue whale on the first afternoon of a six-day
kayaking expedition
touring islands off the Baja was like an omen, a sign that
this was indeed
the right place to be and the right time to be in it. Truth
be told, I'd had my doubts on more than one occasion as
we planned and prepared for this trip, my first foray into
sea kayaking. Casual paddles down the placid La Salle River
and the occasional lake crossing in Whiteshell
Provincial Park hardly seemed enough preparation for a desert
wilderness in
a foreign country, saltwater swells and uncomfortably distant
shores.
The narrow Baja California Peninsula that juts 1,300 kilometres
south from
the California coastline is a rugged land of desert extremes
lined by the
Sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
Although the blue-green waters of the inland sea are the
friendlier of the
two, they have a history of showing no mercy to the foolish
or ignorant.
As it turned out, I was one of the more experienced of the
13 paddlers who
set off in early March accompanied by three guides with
Sea Kayak Adventures
Inc.
When trip leader, Martha Garfield, surveyed the group during
a pool-side
briefing at Villas De Loreto the evening before, we revealed
mixed bunch of
skills. The assembled doctors, stockbrokers, and assorted
executive-types
ranged from those who had never been in a kayak before to
a kayaking
instructor.
But sea kayaking is a sport even novice paddlers who are
moderately fit can
enjoy, which is why it is rapidly gaining in popularity
in the burgeoning
adventure tourism industry. It's a holiday that caters to
adults who aren't
content with sitting on a beach. But it isn't as physically
onerous as some
other adventures, such as backpacking. The only caveats
seem to be health conditions which require access to supervision
or physical disabilities which make it difficult to get
in and
out of a kayak. And there is one primary safety rule to
be followed. If conditions aren't
right Ñ too much wind, too much swell Ñ stay
ashore. Martha, a seasoned kayaker with experience guiding
on both U.S. coasts and in Mexico made that point exceedingly
clear as she outlined the agenda for the next few days.
She could guarantee we'd be paddling, snorkeling, camping
on
beaches and eating deliciously prepared meals. She could
not guarantee where
we would be on which night. Schedules are for the office.
Out here, plans
can change with the wind.
Sea Kayak Adventures Inc. is among a dozen or so kayak-tour
companies
operating out of Loreto, a pretty coastal city of about
8,000. The
Idaho-based company operated by husband and wife team Terry
Prichard and
Nancy Mertz also provides kayak adventures off Canada's
West Coast.
Different companies offer different levels of service ranging
from providing
guiding services and kayaks only ( participants bring their
own food and
camping gear) to full-service, complete with a motorized
panga (boat) to
carry much of the gear and tow tuckered-out paddlers.
SKA tours are at the top end of the range for cost. But
they provide a
full-service tour and have a reputation for not cutting
corners on the
basics. It's not uncommon to meet repeat customers on their
tours.
SKA emphasizes experienced guides, quality equipment and
excellent food as
part of a wilderness experience that leaves a minimal lasting
impact on this
fragile environment. There is no motorized support boat
with their tours.
Paddlers ferry in everything they'll need for the week and
just about
everything out Ñ although it is packaged somewhat
differently. The
environmental potty rules are pretty straightforward for
this coastal
desert, where a general lack of rain means garbage and human
waste takes a long time
to break down. Pee below the high-tide line, but not in
the water. Poop in
the porta-potty, which was well-sealed and carried in one
of the boats from
campsite to campsite.
As the taxivan arrived at the launch site the morning we
set out, the task
of loading the small mountain of food, camping gear and
personal effects into
the two-person kayaks seemed an impossible dream.
But within an hour, the boats were loaded and Martha was
briefing the group
on paddling technique and safety protocol. There was time
for one last dab
of sun block before climbing in and attaching our spray
skirts in preparation
for the open sea.
Originally developed by Inuit as a hunting vehicle, kayaks
are
perhaps. We travelled in pairs using "doubles",touring
boats perhaps the
most stable small-water craft ever invented. When loaded,
they take ten
adults to move them down the beach. But once into the
water, they become one with the waves sleek, fast and easily
maneuverable Ñ
and quiet. The four-mile crossing amidst modest two-foot
swells was completed within an
hour and a half. We arrived at our first beach campsite
on Isla Danzante
just in time for a lunch of avocado and cheese sandwiches,
fresh vegetables,
fruit and cookies. Then it was time to don the wetsuits
and go snorkeling, another first for
me. Though this part of the world is said to suffer from
serious overfishing,
there was no shortage of strange and beautiful sea life
to observe Ñ once I
stopped hyperventilating. Suddenly Lino, a 17-year-old Mexican
youth training to be a guide whooped gleefully and dove
down amongst the rocks, only to emerge a few moments
later with an octopus. Within minutes, he'd caught another.
Both were promptly
dispatched, cleaned and cooked in lime juice as part of
the evening meal.
The salty, rubbery texture wasn't for everyone. And for
those who get no
closer to the source of their food than a supermarket meat
counter, it's
"freshness" was a little unsettling Ñ especially
those worried about further
depleting the local fishery. Freshly caught sea life are
not a usual part of
the SKA menu however.
Overall, the six-day menu was a treat, and not just because
it was cooked by
someone else. Dishes such as Fish Veracruz, Spicy chicken,
Chile Rellenos,
Mexican lasagna, Quesadillas, Burritos along with a huge
selection of fresh
salads, fruit and vegetables Ñ even a cocktail hour
featuring Margeuritas
made with freshly squeezed limes Ñ are a welcome
surprise for campers
accustomed to the freeze-dried fare that often accompanies
wilderness
excursions. Unlike on the Canadian tours where bears and
other unwelcome wildlife
visitors can be attracted by the cooking odors, the most
likely visitor to
wander into these camps are hermit crabs, scurrying about
their business. On
the mainland, the occasional coyote sniffs around.
But the wildlife on these islands is mostly sea creatures
and a multitude of
birds who nest and fish along these rocky shores. We did
however discover
one solitary rattlesnake, curled up under a bush and snoozing
on our fifth day.
As the week progressed the days blurred into a soul-soothing
cycle of land
and sea. Each beach we visited seemed memorable in its own
right, some
because of the delicious feel of soft white sand beneath
your toes, others
because of the long walks into the sunset, listening to
the scampering of
bashful red and purple Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttling into
the crevices.
Or rising with the sun and watching as the soft pastel shades
of rose and
blue on the mountainous horizon sharpened into the coppery
shades of
volcanic rock by daylight. And hours spent soaking up the
sun under a cloudless sky
while shooting the breeze with like-minded companions.
It soon becomes evident that while this place graciously
tolerates visitors,
we humans really don't belong here. As rugged as this environment
appears,
in reality, it no match for humans.
The people who first inhabited the mainland Peninsula lived
a similar
lifestyle to today's adventure kayakers Ñ nomadic
and heavily dependent on
the sea. But as civilization encroached the landscape and
its local inhabitants
suffered. Over the centuries, marauding humans have taken
just about
everything out of here but the view. Pirates are said to
have once roamed these waters, using them as a haven between
raids on the Spanish galleons hauling gold back to Europe.
The region is also an attracting fishing haunt, but the
local stocks are
largely depleted. The Jesuits, sanctioned by the Spanish
Crown, arrived in Loreto in 1697,
establishing the first mission in the region in 1697. Loreto
became the
launching point for the missionaries which spread out across
the peninsula.
But bringing religion to the native inhabitants meant "civilizing"
them,
forcing them into an agrarian existence heavily reliant
on imports due to
repeated crop failures. The Europeans also brought disease,
which ultimately
wiped out most of the original population, and eliminated
the need for the
missions by the mid-1800s. Although nearly destroyed by
a hurricane in 1829, the mission has been
restored and still exists as the town's major tourist attraction
today.
It seems only fitting that it still stands, quaintly chiming
as it oversees
a new breed of zealot Ñ local inhabitants trying
to salvage and preserve this
region's natural beauty. Until a few years ago, it was endangered
too by uncontrolled and poorly
planned development. The vast stores of sea shells which
once lined the beaches were being
decimated, picked over and replaced by garbage after years
of unregulated
human use. The delicate succulent vegetation which once
lined the beaches
were facing the same fate, killed by repeated trampling
under human feet.
In the early 1990s, a group of local volunteers began to
lobby the Mexican
government to declare the region a national marine park.
It was a tough
battle with an administration which was in the process of
parceling off some
of the islands to private investors with questionable motives.
But they succeeded. In 1996, the Marina Park Bahia de Loreto
was formed.
Efforts have continued to work with tour operators and other
users of the
region to respect the natural environment by leaving what
shells remain on
the beaches intact (similar to not picking the flowers in
Canada's national
parks) and to practice good stewardship.
For the most part, the tour operators have co-operated,
knowing their future
is at stake as well. They voluntarily reserve beach campsites,
so tour
groups generally only cross paths at a distance. They also
spend a lot of time
briefing their guests on the merits of impact-free camping.
Because when all is said and done, this raw, desolate land
littered with
cacti and surrounded by ocean waters in varying shades of
blue and green is
truly a place of awe-inspiring beauty.
As places where the body can reunite with the soul under
a wilderness
blanket become fewer and farther between on this planet,
it may prove to be its most
valuable attribute.
