Isla Espiritu Santo
The Mexicans call it the Holy Spirit. Sitting on the beach, my eyes fixed a few miles offshore on a group of humpbacks jumping, their tails and flukes slapping the water, much like a baby would do in a bath, I start to understand the sacred spirit of this location. Cliffs made of thick layers of black lava and volcanic ash surround a series of protected bays with crystal blue water and sandy beaches. Its waters are rich with nutrients and host year round pelagic species – gray whales, humpbacks, whale sharks, dolphins, hammerhead sharks, and many more.
I am here with Alaska Mountain Guides (AMG), an adventure guide service that provides kayaking trips around the world. Our group has just been dropped on Coralito Bay. The plan for the next 5 days is to paddle north, on the east coast of the island, go up and around Isla Partida and back. We will then spend a night in LaPaz, drive across to the Pacific, to Bahia Magdalena and paddle for 2 days to the mouth of the bay, where gray whales are found by the dozen at this time of the year.
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As soon as we are settled into our camp, we get our snorkeling gear on and swim to a nearby little coral reef. I am amazed! For someone who scuba dives, I am used to see damaged snorkeling spots, either fished out, or trashed, big fish and big mollusks gone, an unhealthy and unbalanced ecosystem left behind. But this one has a strong coral growth, lots of nudibranchs, big snappers, clams, oysters, many little fish and millions of juveniles. That afternoon, I see three eels and two scorpion fish. Every where I look, I see life thriving, in all shapes and forms. So refreshing! But the most amazing moment of that afternoon was still to come. And it was not something that I saw, but something that I heard. As I took a deep breath and swam down, I heard a long whining sound. A sort of music. It is the humpbacks, singing, miles away in the channel. The sound was exactly what I had seen on Planet Earth when the whales are floating motionless fifty feet deep, their heads down, and producing this long whine. I picture them, perfectly still in the water, as I hold onto a rock to listen to their song. Simply magical!
Back on the beach, changing clothes, we put our hiking boots on and go for an afternoon hike. The place is spectacular. Red volcanic rock all around us, which millions of years ago trapped countless of air bubbles, now exposed by time make the landscape look like the inside of an Aero chocolate bar. A little bit of rain two weeks ago was enough to transform this arid terrain into a green miracle. A few drops of water suffice to bring the plants and trees out of their hibernating mode and sprout bright new leaves. Reaching the top, we are welcomed with another surprise. Down below, in the bay next to ours, a full bird feeding freezing is happening. Hundreds of birds are going crazy on a shoal of bait fish. Although the scene is happening a few miles from us, the sight is still incredible; countless black silhouettes flying and diving in the water, turning the surface into boiling water. Watching the sunset at the top of a high cliff was nothing short of everything else that day. Sitting just a few feet from cliff, two hundred feet above the sea, we watched a big orange sun disappear behind the mountains. If this day was any indicator for the coming 10 days, we were in for one amazing trip!
Our first destination the following day is the hidden lagoon in the bay south of us. Only accessible at high tide, the place is a little piece of bird paradise. A sense of stillness reigns. Brown pelicans, frigates, black crown heron, great egrets, little blue herons, all are holding refuge in the mangroves – the perfect spot!
As we exit through the shallow narrow passage and start paddling north, a small pod of bottlenose dolphins crosses our path and heads out. Later that day, we come to our second camping site, a secluded alcove, guarded by a group of brown pelicans, keeping a tight watch on the water, looking for their next target. After a nice lunch and putting our tents up, we get back in our kayaks and head across to Isla Ballenas for a quick paddle. Blue foot boobies are flying around, topped way above by a group of magnificent frigates, gliding the warm air.
That evening, after another incredible hike, which revealed, out on the water, a group of rays jumping so high it was hard to believe, I sat on the beach and photographed the brown pelicans in action. The light blue sky behind them was the perfect background. As they flew in circle before twisting and falling like an arrow in the water, their bodies created the most amazing abstract shapes. It was as if a calligraphy master had just decided to write in the sky. Later, during dinner, a ring tailed cat is seen sneaking around our camp, looking for any opportunity.
I wake up at dawn and notice a group of bats still flying around catching the last remnants of nocturnal insects. After breakfast, we pack our gear and paddle out once more. A single male sea lion passes as an eagle ray leaps out of the water, ten feet high before landing with a big splash. During lunch, on a beach, I see something purple floating nearby. I walk in the water, up to my knees and inspect it closely. It is a Portuguese Man O War with two weird little fish swimming in its tentacles, immune to its venom. I approach carefully, keeping an eye on those long blue strings, famous for their painful sting. What I didn’t see was another colorless jelly fish, that manages to hit me right on the knee. I let out a big scream and rushe to the shore. Damn this is painful! Within minutes, my skin turns red and swells. Isis, one of the guide, gives me some white vinegar and tells me to apply it on the wound. The vinegar destroys the proteins from the venom. Needless, to say, even after an hour, the pain is still sharp. As I write these lines, 8 days later, the sting is still visible, a red mark across my knee.
The stingingly jellyfish print on my skin was no concern by the next morning, as we set out for the sea lion colony. This was surely going to be one of the biggest highlights! Just barely out of the kayak and into the water, I had three pups pulling my fins and playing with me. Two females swam around, passing extremely fast, opening their mouths and releasing a big stream of bubbles while never letting me out of sight, those big giant inquiring black eyes following my every move. It felt like I was playing in the grass with a bunch of dogs. From time to time, a huge male would come by and insure that everything was under control. His massive and intimidating presence was a reminder to all, us and the sea lions pups, that we still needed to behave. It was so amazing! At some point, one leaped and landed on my back, grabbing my shoulder. I turned around, holding his flippers and the two of us proceeded in a series of rolls and twists. I was just a happy kid playing in the water with them. And like any kid, I was called back to reality when after twenty minutes, it was time to climb back into the kayaks and continue our paddle.
I navigated for the rest of the day with a big grin on my face. We went around to the west side of Isla Partida and through the channel. After having lunch in the pass, we paddled a little bit more to our last camping site, just a few hundred yards away from our pick up location for our ride back to LaPaz the next day. That afternoon, we did one last big hike, up through a fantastic Arroyo filled with big boulders. The sight must be absolutely incredible when the entire valley flash floods in this creek. On a rock, bathing under the sun was an eastern collared lizard and flying high, screeching, a red-tail hawk patrolled his domain. As I scroll down back to the camp, I could only marvel at the last 5 days. This place was really sacred and the trip was only halfway done. Tomorrow was the beginning of our second half, this time, on the Pacific side, with the gray whales.
