An Amazing Day in the Sea of Cortez

The day started out in the Bahia Grande on Isle Partida. Fynn woke up at 6 am and I was amazed to hear… nothing. For the first time in the last 5 day the winds, which had been blowing steady at 20 knots, had shut off. I was so happy to hear this silence that I didn’t mind that I was sleepy from Fynn’s 2am party, so when she curled back in  bed with Kolby for a sleep-in I took my coffee outside and did my morning yoga on deck. Bliss.

We then headed to shore to check out the ‘maintained’ trail to the other side of the island. The trail follows a natural ravine and is well marked with signposts, instructing the hiker to continue straight, or bear left or right. The scenery is deceptive. On first glance you see red rock and big boulders that have tumbled free from their beds over the millennia. The scale of things is tricky – small things may appear bigger than they are and a rock that appeared small from a distance towers over you as you approach. But then as you settle into the scene the color shifts from red to green, and suddenly the desert started to look more green then red, then like a mirage it shifts back to red. Is the scene red or green? Like one of those mind tricks the question is impossible to answer. Look at it one way and it’s green, shift your gaze and it’s red.

 While the birds circled overhead we made our way up the ravine, scampering over rocks and boulders, enjoying the coolness of the shady slopes. Kyber would race up the embankments, chasing after a hare that was gone long before he even saw it. We made it about 1.8 km before Fynn was done being carried in the backpack and ready to do some walking of her own. So we turned around and she climbed, walked and was carried back to the beach.

The sun was shining so we jumped into the water from the transom. Fynn has started to like swimming with her lifejacket by herself and was paddling around with me. Kolby went off in search for the fillet knife that was dropped overboard last night, which he could quickly find in the calm waters. After cleaning the barnacles that had grown along the hull from our week in La Paz, we were off to visit the sea lions on Los Islotes.

Los Islotes is a slab of rock off the top of Isla Partida which is home to a sea lion rookery. Visitors have been coming here for ages to swim with the curious pups and snorkel along the reef. The rock is almost completely white from too much bird shit and too little rain, so you can imagine the smell. Anyway. luckily you get used to this as the sea lion pups were incredible. Fynn and I headed over on the paddle board, and the pups certainly found this interesting, as they were more accustomed to seeing swimmers. Right away we had 10 pups poking their hears out to take a look, and diving under the board to investigate. Some of the braver ones chomped on the paddle, just so check it out. The pups were about 4 feet long, so biggish, but not scary like the bulls. When the 2,000 lb daddy gets in the water, then you want to give it a wide berth. In the water the pups would show off to you, diving under and spinning all around you, sometime leaping clear out of the water. They clearly enjoyed the human intrusion to their underwater world. Eventually the pups tired of us and headed out for a shore break and Kolby headed out to snorkel the reef. Fynn and I paddled around for a bit when I had the idea that the pups might like to play with the line tied to the paddle board, so I dumped it into the water. But how to get them into the water again? By chance we ended up drifting quite close to shore and boy did that do the trick. Suddenly the sea was full of pups and it didn’t take them long before they found the rope. Next thing I new I was getting towed around the bay by a team of sea lions! Not that we made excellent progress as they didn’t always agree on the direction of travel, but when they did we would whizz across the water. It was fantastically fun and the highlight of my time with the pups. Fynn’s favourite though was when one bold little guy came right up to us. First he nuzzled my leg and foot, and finding this to his liking, he chomped a bit on the paddle board. Also approving of this, he lept out of the water and landed on the board right in front of Fynn! He paused just a moment before plunging into the sea. Fynn thought this was just the greatest and wanted more pups to join her on the board, but none did. Shivering but happy we headed home.

Our destination for the night was Isla San Fransisco, and between here and there was El Bajo, 3 sea mounds where divers can see hammerhead sharks and giant manta. Well write that down and there is no way Kolby will pass that up. But this post is getting long and it is well past cruisers midnight, so that adventure will have to wait to be recorded another day.