We woke up to see dolphins out in the bay!! And some earlier rising kayakers already out among them. We took photos (too far away to show up well) and watched. Obero came during the dolphins, and since we needed water, I made arrangements for him to return in “about an hour” with barrels of water and a pump to fill our 75 gallon tank which was very low. The dolphins left while we were talking, so no kayaking with dolphins today.
We made coffee and breakfast and said goodbye to Bernardo and Alethea, and about 3 hours later, Obero finally showed up! I think "Baja Time" is a lot like "Indian Time" and "Maggie Time," everything is "mas o menos"! It took a while to fill our tanks with what Obero said was rainwater (!) and our new friends left while we were filling up. But first they got some water from Obero for their neat pressurized solar shower – it was like a black balloon of heavy rubber material, so when it was full, it was round, and gave a nice hot high pressure shower for camping - I've never seen one like it.
After our tank was finally full, we got in the kayak and began to paddle out to the island – the kayak was an Islander sit-on-top tandem, and quite short, even for a regular kayak, so it had horrible tracking across flat water – we zig-zagged across the bay trying to figure out who should do what and when to keep it going in a straight line. It was quite maneuverable when we got to the island, though, and we wove in and out of rocky outcrops and mini-islets all around the shore. We didn't take our camera because we were afraid of dunking it - but wow do I wish we had!
Looking down in the clear water, we could easily see large sting rays gliding along the bottom, and schools of bright yellow and black striped “Sergeant Major” fish that I called “bumblebee fish” along with various others – some dark black or green fish with yellow eyes, a large parrotfish with blue fins and lips, a couple of what looked like dolphinfish, some Jacks, a big Angelfish type thing – and interesting seaweed and rocks they would all dart into and out of.
The most exciting part of the island, however, was the bird life. Brown Pelicans were nesting on ledges and at the top of the island among the giant Cardon cactus – we saw baby pelicans in their nests! They are all white and fluffy, with little pouches under their bills that flutter in and out. Parent Pelicans came back and fed them while we watched! Great armies of Pelicans stood out on the rock shelf at the waterline around the island, and on the little islets, and we guided the kayak quietly between them, passing right next to these huge and strange sentries! It was like being on the Discovery Channel, with 3D surround 360 vision, sound and smell-o-vision! Ha. The smell of guano as we would drift in close was almost overpowering, but worth the views! Overhead Pelicans, Frigatebirds and Turkey Vultures made interesting dance partners as they soared an aerial ballet, joined by an Osprey that landed on a Giant Cardon cactus atop the rim of the island and watched us as we circumnavigated their fortress. We saw American Oystercatchers on the far side, and as we paddled close there, the rocks came alive with hundreds of large, prehistoric looking insects or crustaceans – they looked like giant pill bugs! Like something you’d see in a horror movie!
As we finished circling the island, we encountered two young boys in a kayak who landed and began to fish with a spearfishing device – they were from San Bernardino, and said that they were out of food and their parents didn’t want to do anything, so they had to catch dinner! What an adventure for the mighty hunters that must have been. We zig-zagged our way back as the wind started to pick up, and set to another round of serious relaxing. Sorry, no photos of our island cruise – we were afraid to bring the camera in case of dunking!
That afternoon, Marquita and another sailor, Caleb, came by after a trip to town, and Marquita told us Tony would come and pick us up in the dinghy at 4pm and she was making lasagna for dinner! Right on schedule, Tony picked us up and we motored back out to their sailboat, the “Seaclusion” and they showed us around. She is a beautiful 34 foot Catalina – sailboats are just so much nicer than RVs – solid teak trim and fittings, very neat living area, and of course, the deck! They had an old cranky Siamese cat that lived onboard with them, who I convinced to let me scratch his head for a bit. I took some photos then joined the group on deck and we were entertained by all sorts of sailing stories from them and their friend Caleb from a neighboring boat. Dinner was delicious, we brought Trader Joe’s wine, stories flowed – we stayed out till sunset then Tony brought us home.
That night, as predicted by the ham radio weather forecast we listened to out on the boat, the wind picked up in the middle of the night. We were glad we had put in our “sail” (our awning) and “battened our hatches” in preparation for leaving the next day so we didn’t have to worry about wind blowing anything away. I had dreams that the RV was a sailboat, as it was rocked gently by the wind… I woke up smiling.
It was definitely another “Life is Good” day!
Go back to Day One of Baja Trip
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