Baja California wildlife
The highway down the east coast of Baja is little used but most of it is in great condition as it is being built now or over the last few years. Towards the end there is a stretch of about 35 miles of rough dirt road. As we were heading down this road one evening we picked a spot to camp that was right on the coast and a secluded area that would be hidden from the road. After dark we had two visitors, young coyotes they came very near us, the first one was only about 5 feet( 1 1/2meter) behind Claudia. Some of you might think this is scary but to Claudia and I we could hardly ask for more of a gift. Beautiful.
About an hour later we turned off the light in the back of the truck and we notice three flash lights on the beach about half kilometer away. We continued to watch as they got closer. Finally it was to close for Claudia and she became scared (I know no fear of swimming with sharks but she does have her limits) so I hopped out and threw some of our gear in the back with her and I drove off. When i got to the road I stopped and she hopped up front with me. We were in an area that was several miles from the nearest building but we drove back 15 minutes and found a little camp ground and stopped there. Although I do not believe we were in danger. We could not be seen from the road and the approaching people were probably just looking for something on the beach as they wouldn’t have know we were there and wouldn’t go out to the middle of no where to look for some one to rob, but it was probably prudent to leave as it is still Mexico. (Baja however is unlike the rest of Mexico in that there is little crime and many Americans drive down every year).
A few days later we were camping on the beach (at a camp ground) when many Bottle Nosed Dolphins swam by. It was great as we got to watch them circle around in a group which is how they hunt for fish. The next day we hired a boat to go out to sea and look for wildlife. No whales or dolphins but we saw lots of great birds and came up to a colony of sea lions sunning them selves on an island. Claudia and the guide put on wetsuits (non available for me) and went snorkling with them. Many of the sea lions immediately got in the water, not out of fear but to go play with the human visitors. When they would dive under or splash around the sea lions would come close and show off there skills under water. Dancing as they twirled and spun around. As Claudia got out as she was cold, even with the wetsuit, I decided I couldn’t resist and decided to go in with out a wetsuit for a while. (My canyoneering friends know how unlike me this is). I couldn’t go out in the deeper water and dive under (way to cold) but I could stay near the shore (warmer water) where a few came to check me out. After a while, I slowly got to within a meter of one that was laying on a rock. Face to face, watching it close its eyes for a few seconds of napping and then opening to watch me. Finally uncontrollable shivering sent me back to the boat.
Ok, here is one you don’t see everyday: a seagull sitting on a cactus, check out the picture.
We then took the chance of driving to the Sur Baja Californias border even though we probably would not be able to cross the border since we didn’t have a visa for the state (only place in Mexico that either of us needed one. No problem we got in, I don’t know if we got lucky or if most people get in without being asked. The reason we tried is this is where the Grey Whales go. The males where just arriving and no females yet. The curious infants are what allows you to get close, so for now we only saw them from a distance of about 30 yards or so. For me this was still great as I had only seen them closer then this three years ago in the Dominican Republic. Claudia on the other hand has swam with and touched whales many times.
On our way north we went back to a place we had camped before that was a secluded beach. We heard sea lions at night and saw 2 coyotes on the way into it. This was are favorite camping site as the weather seems better, great wildlife and nobody but us camping right on the beach.
And yet more pics….
