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globe-trotters.chDana & Mathias on Tour |
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globe-trotters.chDana & Mathias on Tour |
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The month of February created only few opportunities for the windsurfers and kiters in La Ventana, usually one of the best sites for the wind sports in Baja. Apparently, there were only five good days for windsurfing during the whole month! Luckily enough, as we arrive, El Norte starts blowing. We have six days of consistent wind in a row!
We meet a lot of nice people in La Ventana. Special thanks to Nancy and Steve for the 'fish and wine' afternoon and for helping us with finding a satellite radio for our car!
One morning, some five whales come close to the shore and make the fish jump out of the water. We consult some of Nancy's books and conclude that these were the false killer whales.
We leave La Ventana, eat some tasty seafood tacos in La Paz and drive in the direction of San Evaristo. The first bit is a paved road boarded by vegetation of unusual colors and shapes.
South of La Paz, we take a side gravel road along the shore.
Behind the curve, the desert blossoms.
The road turns for a while to the interior and we witness the first geological pecularities of the world's fourth largest peninsula.
The geology of this young peninsula is quite fascinating. Some hundred million years ago, when the long chain of Rocky mountains was formed, the peninsula was part of mainland Mexico. As a result of the shifting of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, Baja started to diverge. Around thrity million years ago, a large piece of the coast of the mainland was carried towards the northwest. Magma pushed upwards, creating the volcanic ranges of South and Central Baja. The Pacific rushed into the basins that formed in between, creating the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortes. At the Northern end of the Gulf, the legendary San Andreas fault, a gigantic fracture that runs all the way to San Francisco, is the boundary between the two tectonic plates. The Pacific Plate with California (both mainland and Baja) on it, still slips northwest at the rate of three to five centimeters per year. A major earthquake is overdue on the San Francisco side.
We feel small between the rocks that the minerals colored green, rosa, and red. We do not see a soul although bits of busted tires and rusty car ruins indicate that the road is frequented at times. The scavengers float in the hot air. Jim Morrisson plays the perfect music for the region. It almost feels like driving in a Dali's painting.
The ocean appears. According to our map, the road ends in the San Evaristo Bay.
But the fishers tell us that we can cross from there to San Pedro and further to the Pacific. We drive up a narrow gravel road and sleep in the mountains where the flowers' smell as intense as essential oils.
We enter the canyonland of Sierra Las Tarabillas. The road snakes up to the edge of a canyon. Behind every curve, a breathtaking view opens.
As the road drops off to a valley, we leave the desert landscape for a while and dive into an oasis where the cacti grow alongside the leave trees and the date palms.
Big granit boulders bath in an arroyo. The desert birds rest under the huge red rocks planted in the river. The oasis' waters slowly flow through the river bed carved in mineral-rich stones.
We leave the oasis behind and continue through the forbidding mountains. At some point, we spot the hillside church of San Pedro.
The villagers of the San Pedro's picturesque oasis live from the goat milk which is used to produce delicious goat cheese and goat milk caramel. The goats are very surprised to see visitors and quickly evacuate the road jumping to the rock on the sides.
In the evening, we arrive in the Lopez Mateos Bay.
Each year, gray whales migrate nearly ten thousand kilometers from the Bering Sea to the warmer Pacific lagoons of Baja California. There they stay from January to April to mate. Other species of whales and dolphins are also frequent in the waters on both sides of Baja, such as finback whale and humpback whale. In the Lagoon of Lopez Mateos, we spot gray whales, a pod of killer whales, false killer whales, and common dolphins. These big animals are full of grace. It is a magnificent sight.
The highly acrobatic killer whales and false killer whales are clearly chasing. The killer whales practice speed swimming, changing the direction abruptly, then breach head first. The dark, long, slim bodies of false killer whales fluke and lobtail often. Lobtailing, that is deep diving with the help of the tail that comes steep out of water, is a sign of attacking a bigger prey. We wish the dolphins and calves all the best.
Together with Germans, Canadians, and Americans, we watch the big marine mammals until the sun sets. Then the wind becomes bitterly cold. We make a fire (lit the deadwood carefully, the scorpions might come out, would'nt you?!), grill fish, listen to the guitar and wonder why of all dogs it is always that clever border collie who brings the stick back first.
We drive in all tranquility in the flower carpets spread between the extinct volcanos of the Sierra la Giganta, when armed men jump on the road. Their washed out uniforms somewhat scared us, but it turns out to be an ordinary military control.. The "bandits" check if we do not hide a cardon under our seats, then politely say "Adelante"! So we drive on in the colorful carpets of Sierra la Giganta..
The first Jesuits came to Baja California in 1683. They established a settlement at La Paz which was soon abandoned because of the hostile Cochimi Indians. Twelve years later, the Jesuits were able to establish the first permanent settlement at Loreto. In the following 70 years, 23 missions were founded in southern and central Baja. However, in the meantime, the microbes brought from Europe, together with continuing revolts of the Indians decimated the indigenous population from 48 000 originally to 8 000, putting into question the raison d'etre of the Jesuit missions. Additionally, the word spread that the Jesuits accumulated inordinate power and wealth. This led the King Carlos III of Spain to issue an order to arrest and expell all members of the Jesuit order from Baja. The Jesuits were replaced by Franciscans and later Dominicans, who saved and sometimes enlarged the churches and adjacent buildings left behind. Most of the churches are built of locally quarried lava blocks. Most of them enjoy an enticing setting. The mission San Javier we visit on our way is a prime example.
We continue through Sierra and drop to the sea town of Loreto.
From Loreto, we turn south to Puerto Escondido and find our way to the Rattlesnake Beach. With 4 800 kilometers of coastline, it is easy to find a fabulous beach in Baja. In the Southern Baja, the Rattlesnake Beach is certainly one of the most beautiful ones.
We have expected to hear explosive sizzling buzz of the rattlesnakes. Instead, we wake up with the dolpins splashing their bodies in the calm waters and a bird orchestra playing exotic songs.
The Peninsula of Baja hosts around 300 species of birds, most of which are coastal or pelagic birds. The Rattlesnake Beach is a protected area frequented by a multitude of bird species. There are brown pelicans, Heermans'gulls, yellow-footed gulls, mourning doves, mocking birds, cactus wrens, cardinals, orriols, hummingbirds, and many others.
The brown pelicans flying in a perfect formation are a delight to watch. These very large birds have quite an aggressive style of fishing. Spotting a fish while patrouilling in the air, they dive head first, sometimes from a height of 20 meters, and grab prey, often submerging completely. Brown pelicans are equipped with safety floatation devices, air sacs beneath the skin that bob the bird immediately to the surface after a dive, head first so that it can take off again.
A cardinal bird keeps crashing into his supposed adversary in the rear mirror of our car so that I have to cover the mirror. Sensing the victory, the bird perches on the highest bush and lets everyone know.
In the evening, we are invited to the San Patrick's party by an American-Irish couple. Fortunately we brought some green clothes! We taste Mexican food and seriously immerse in the American culture with highly satiric folks songs. Jerry claims to know enough of them to keep us awake until the morning. It looks like in Baja, we will party more than in all mainland Mexico. The mocking bird sings along, day and night..
We drive around the impressive Bahia Conception, buy a kilo of succulent dates in the oasis of Mulege, and continue all the way to Santa Rosalia, a city built by a French owned copper mining company, Compania del Boleo. Apart from the high incidence of arsenic poisoning among the miners and their families, Santa Rosalia is also famous for its Pre-fabricated, galvanized-iron church designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
After a good night sleep, we cross to San Ignacio where the Jesuits built a solid church with lava-block walls nearly 1.2 meters thick.
From San Ignacia town, a cruel washboarded road leads to the San Ignacio Lagoon. The sand trails along the main road are washboarded too, there is no escape. Arriving at the lagoon, we badly wish an osteopath.
In the lagoon, we chat with the fishers and divers about the art of shellfishing. The catch is rich in lobster and all sorts of scalopes, including the abalone. We try a sample. A diver offers us some pearls, just like that.
The community only has a camp base in the Laguna San Ignacio. The fishers and divers live on a permanent basis further south, in Datil. A fisher tells us about the many birds in the mangroves of the San Juan Estuary and we accept the invitation. Well, we did not realize that the way to Datil leads directly through the salt marshes. The improvised road in the marshes keeps splitting. The art is to pick the leg that is not as wet as to make you sunk! Fortunately, we have a guide and we trust he knows what he is doing. After all, he drives here every day..
After a while, the drive becomes real fun. From deep sand we come to straight stretches which are well hardened by the salt, offering no resistance to the fossil fuel sport fans. We see no speed limits signs on the road, so we go for it. It feels like driving on the ice (;))
Of course the fisher's garden fence is composed of whale bones, although he assures us that the bones are very old. The whale fishing has been forbidden here since 1935. The fisher families in Datil tend to be large. Our host has only four kids, but there is a family with thirteen little fishers! Estero San Juan is really nice and the birds are abundant.
We even find our way back through the salt desert..
Because Baja California was once attached to western Mexico, the Sonoran Desert is found of both sides of the Gulf of California and most of Baja except for the southern Cape region and northern Sierras is part of this desert. The Sonoran desert is considered to be the most diverse in the world from the flora and fauna standpoint. As the Baja's ecosystem developped separately from the mainland for millions of years, a number of endemic and near-endemic plants and mammals can also be found on the peninsula.
All in all, Baja's desert is alive with more than 3000 plants. Creosote bush and bur sage dominate the driest areas of the desert around San Felipe. Other common plants and trees include mesquite, paloverde, ocotillos, agaves, yuccas, acacia trees, Fan palms and Mexican blue palms. The unusual plants typical of Baja include the elephant trees and the endemic datilillo and near-endemic cirio trees. Some 110 species of cacti grow in the Baja's deserts, including the world's largest cactus, the cardon; chollas, nopals, saguaros, galloping cacti, pitahayas, and different species of barrel cacti.
The most widespread mammal on the peninsula is the coyote. The carnivores commonly found include kit fox, gray fox, ringtail, bobcat, lynx, and badger. Many rodents live in the Baja's harshlands such as squirrels, gophers, mice, rabbits, or the kangaroo rat that never needs to drink water. Bats are plentiful in the Sonoran Desert and play an important role as chief pollinators for flowering cacti and agaves. Lizards, geckos, chuckwallas, and iguanas are all commonly spotted. More rare is the desert bighorn sheep or the mountain lion. Endemic to Baja are the black jackrabbit, a species of mule deer, and the peninsular pronghorn. The desert birds include falcons, hawks, turkey vultures, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and roadrunners.
We have been travelling in this exciting world for some time, but the protected part called the Vizcaino desert has its particular charm. We arrive there in the evening, follow sandy tracks deep into the desert and camp for the night. A pair of coyotes run away when we arrive.
At 2am, something sniffs around the car and activates the Pre-alarm. Unfortunately, we cannot guess what it is but see real big cat traces all around the car in the morning. I start the day with a jog in the desert garden.
I stretch for a while near a pond, birdwatching, light gray lizard watching, hairy spider watching, and hoping for a mammal. The traces around are plenty, but I could have to wait for long as such rarities as the bighorn sheep only need to drink every three to five days.
We depart for the coast and tell a black jackrabbit to wait in the Mission San Borja for Easter (;)
Between El Arco and San Francisquito, we see the highest cardons.
The world's largest cactus is nearly endemic to Baja. The largest of these giant cacti have been measured at 21 meters high and weigh some 25 tons. Cardons grow very slowly but are also long-lived. Some specimens live well over 300 years.
The pale gray-green, waxy skinned cactus has adapted well to the arid conditions of the Sonoran Desert. It grows vertically to present a greater surface area to the morning and evening sunlight while presenting minimal surface to the burning midday sun. The cactus does not have leaves and performs photosynthesis through its skin. Woody vertical ribs allow the columnar cactus to expand and contract like an accordion, storing the water after the rain to survive the dry period. Cardons have developped a shallow root system to capture maximum water in the brief torrential rains during which the water never has the chance to penetrate the hard soil. Shallow roots have the disadvantage of decreased stability in winds etc. We were fortunate enough to have only one heavy cardon branch to roll away from the road (:)
From March through June, white flowers appear on the upper tips of stems. We are right in time.
Nectar feeding bats are the cardon's primary pollinator. The northern migration of the nectar feeding long nosed bat is timed to coincide with the flowering of columnar cacti and agaves in the Sonoran Desert. That's how the nature works! It is a pity we will not be there to taste the cardon's edible fruits size of a golf ball..
We arrive in the sparkling San Rafael Bay and immediately decide to stay for some days. Punta Ballena is one of those beaches. Kilometers of golden sand, flowers, glassy water, and perpetual sunshine just for you.
It is a nice place to read and write. I read "The Ageless Chinese" about Chinese history, the Goncourt prize winner "El Abisinio" by Jean-Christophe Rufin in Spanish, "Market-Neutral Investing" by Joseph Nicholas, and The Economist.
We soon realize that we are on the perfect spot to observe coastal wildlife. We observe playful dolphins surfing the break waves. They come so close to the shore that it is not clear who is watching whom. We see sea lions and elephant seals visiting from the nearby islands. We look at diving birds approaching. They swim in a strict formation and dive all at the same time, from distance reminding of a big crocodile.
Later, we spot huge whales' geysers against the sunset. In the evening, the sea turns pinkish.
That night, we hear the whales singing for the first time. It is a loud and insisting sound, presumably a mother calling the calf.
A group of hard core English bikers drives around. They tell us a secret: After having visited Baja for fifteen years, they discovered the most beautiful bay of the peninsula, the San Rafael Bay. Don't tell anyone!
Tonight, the sky offers fried eggs on a stylish pan.
Tomorrow, we depart for the Bahia de Los Angeles.
We drive through the white-green desert of Sierra Las Animas to the Gulf of California.
On both sides of the access road to the Bahia de Los Angeles grow respectable cardons, ocotillos and thousands of tiny white-red flowers.
We come to a sand bank that separates the bay in two. It is a good launch point and Mathias goes out kiting in a strongly gusty wind.
On the following day, Mathias gets up with the sun and brings me a hot coffee to bed. It is another nice although quite chilly morning.
A bunch of playful dolphins visit the bay.
The gulls feed on unfortunate octupus that high tide has left behind. The locals are busy with clamming and fishing. A Mexican family offers us two nice corvinas. After a while, it smells good and we are ready to have brunch. Mathias just wants to hide my eggs in the dunes. It is Easter time.
We depart for the mission San Borja which should be one of the best preserved in Baja California.
The mission San Borja was founded by the Jesuits in a valley of Sierra San Borja because of the area's abundant water supply. The Jesuits could thus cultivate olives, grapes, and crops. After the Jesuits' expulsion, the Dominicans built a nice church of pale volcanic stone full of friendly sunlight.
The valley offered the Jesuits not only plenty of water, but also an enticing setting to live in. The landscape beneath the volcanic mesas is overgrown by an unusual vegetation including the elephant trees with swollen trunks and tiny leaves, cardons, chollas, and forests of cirio trees that can be found only in a few regions of Baja and a small region in the Sonoran Desert of mainland Mexico.
The cirio or boojum tree is one of the strangest plants imaginable. For most of the year it is leafless and looks like a giant upturned parsnip. Thin, pencil-like branches arise along the length of the stem and rapidly produce leaves in response to rain. The wood of the trunks is not very strong, so the periodic hurricanes often twist the trunks of boojums into strange shapes, even bending them to touch the ground. Individual boojum trees can live for up to 300 years, reaching a height of 18 metres.
Our Easter Bunny waits in the bushes..
In Santo Dominguito, we turn left to the Pacific and explore the coastal desert. The place would look desolate if it was not for a few agaves, some of which just produced spectacular flowering stalks of bright yellow, a once in 30 years event!
The coast gets greener as we advance until we get to unending silver gray beaches.
In a fisher village of El Marron, we ask about the way through Sierra Colombia. We already learned in the salt marshes of San Ignacio that when a fisher asks if we have a 4WD, the drive has a great potential to be a funny, exciting, if not a hair raising experience. So, we deflate the tires a bit more, check the fuel and water tanks, and offroad we go. The trail begins with a dirt road with large, well hardened wash-outs, that leads through a soft savannah landscape dotted with datilillos.
The way continues through a narrow sandy river bed. Knive-sharp cacti and agaves tickle our tires on both sides. We arrive in gentle mountains overgrown with huge agave rosettes and barrel cacti. The barrels developped red hair and other adaptations to cope with the eternal sunlight.
Next, the road winds up through a fantastic boulder landscape.
It becomes very steep in places, with sideward inclinations, sharp turns, and a slippery ground. When the offroad driving technique hits the limits, Mathias uses force and the tires send the loose sharp stones flying. We meet some deep wash-outs and are happy to sit high.
We keep climbing and the flora keeps changing. The first plateau offers an awesome panorama view. We just climbed these mountains with a 3.3 tonnes heavy truck. Now, we understand perfectly why the fisher was asking about the 4WD..
The road keeps climbing up and seems to fall over the cliff in the distance.
But it only takes us to the second plateau where we take a small bite. Mathias feels the leg muscles from jumping from gas to brake.
The drive down is comparatively easy. It takes us through cardon valleys and oasis under the white rock hills. My favorite offroad trip.
