We have arrived at our Goal--Cabo San Lucas Arches!!!!!

Sometimes you do things in life that you want to undertake, but aren't sure you can accomplish.  This trip was one of those things, and today we made it a reality by actually paddling up to the end of the point of Cabo San Lucas, paddled through the arch, and then pulled into the beach at Cabo and loaded the kayaks up onto the explorer!

We left Los Barriles on December 19th and paddled through familiar territory to Buena Vista where we were greeted by Rod and Barb on the beach in front of their beautiful home.  We said hello and visited for a few minutes, then we were off to Cabo Pulmo for the evening.  The day started off flat calm and beautiful, but little did we know that by the day's end we would be struggling against a stiff head wind that slowed progress down to a crawl.

From Cabo Pulmo on, we found that we were essentially out of the Sea of Cortez and into the Pacific Ocean as we had swells from the south which translated to surf on the beach which translated into tricky beach landings and takeoffs.   We both experienced our first total roll overs on the beach and got to experience what they call "garage sale" landings- where you scatter your stuff all over the neighborhood!  No damages or injuries, and the only lost item was one ball cap!

However, after experiencing that last crash landing, we pushed ahead for a 30 mile paddle and didn't stop until we came to the boat harbor at San Jose at 8 pm in the dark.  It is a good thing that it was winter solstice, and we had a full moon to boot!  It was an odd day however, as we crossed the Tropic of Cancer on Winter Solstice day, saw 2 Blue Whales, got close to a turtle, and both crashed that day as well!  Our fun filled day wasn't over until 12:10 the next morning when we were rudely awakened by three security guards at the marina that told us that we couldn't camp on the dock and had to pack up all of our stuff and leave- so we packed up, put all of our wet gear on, and moved 1/4 of a mile around the breakwater and crashed on the beach until we woke up to joggers and horseback riders!    We would have included a picture of our camp at the harbor, but unfortunately the only pictures were taken by the security guards, and they don't want to share them with us!  They weren't employed by Mexican people- this was a high end US corporation venture, so we don't want to blame the Mexican people that were just following the big US orders.  We are now in civilization!

The next morning as we got up and started paddling towards Cabo, you could tell that we were in the land of mass development and people.  What's up with all of these paddle boarders now a days- they are everywhere!  Anyway, we stopped at a nice beach without a big swell on the way to Cabo and tried to get a can of coke, but they wanted 13 bucks for two of them, so we decided that water out of a Nalgene Bottle was OK!  We camped for the night right on the beach in front of a 5  star hotel- but we were in a tent just on the beach in front of it with security guards watching us all night!  Mexican law allows us to camp within 20 meters of the HIgh Tide mark- Zofomat is the legal term, and we proved that it is still possible to accomplish a trip like this in today's age even though it might not seem that possible!  It seems weird that we have had no issues with camping at all during this entire trip even though at times we were camping in front of people's homes and they were welcoming us to do so!

Today we got up and headed for Cabo San Lucas- the actual Cabo and the arches that are associated with it.  We arrived there about 10 am and paddled in and out and around all of the small arches and rocks at the end of the cape.  We took a turn up the Pacific side for a few hundred yards, and then decided that we had come far enough and didn't need to go any further!  Cheryl rented a Panga and came our and took our pictures and brought us a cold beer!

We then came on into the harbor at Cabo San Lucas, hit the beach and took a dip in the ocean!  The locals were impressed with us as well as the tourists that were there as well, and we might add that we are also impressed!

We loaded up the kayaks and headed for Cabo Wabo to finish off the trip in grand fashion- a shot of tequila followed by a few more Cabo Wabo drinks!  It was a great day to end a great trip, and now the only paddling we need to do is in our minds for a while.  It was an awesome experience and one that we will never forget and hope that you all have enjoyed sharing in our journey as much as we have enjoyed sharing our experiences with you!

We would like to thank all of the people that helped us in our endeavor, and provided assistance and encouragement along the way.  We would especially like to thank all of the Mexican people along the way that were as friendly and helpful and considerate as you could ever imagine.  We have experienced nothing but great friendly people and encourage anyone to undertake a similar journey if they desire, as it  is a trip that you will never forget!

We have arrived in Los Barriles!!!

We pulled into Los Barriles this afternoon after paddlin south from La Paz, around Tecolote Beach, down the coast to La Ventana, and finally into Los Barriles.  We are now in familiar country with both of us having been here before.  Some of the area has changed and other areas have not changed that much.

Our next stop is Cabo Pulmo, and then we will essentially be at the bottom of the peninsula and will finally turn west and begin our final turn into Cabo San Lucas.  We are on a computer at a guy's trailer in  Martin Verdugo's campground so we need to write this  quick!  We will update as soon as we get down somewhere where we can get internet access!  If all goes well, we will be pulling into the arch at Cabo before Christmas!

Arrived in La Paz!

Wow - what a stretch!  We made it in about an hour ago.  Showered up and off to find a bite to eat (other than fish).  Stay tuned, more to come later.  Just thought we would update you on our arrival.  Stories and pictures to follow later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thank you Rita for the great hospitality shown to us in Loreto!  You have a beautiful home and you really treated us well during our brief stay at your home.  Rita played an integral part in making this trip happen, between opening her home to us as well as arranging car transportation for us during our trip in Mexico.  Rita Westfall knew Mark and Sheila and their families back in Hood River, Oregon, and now she lives full time down in Loreto.  We would also like to thank Rita for the fantastic home grown grapefruit that was the start of many of our days on this leg of the journey.

Along the way between Loreto and La Paz we visited many interesting sights and small communities.  One of the most interesting places we visited was a natural hot tub that was basically in the middle of nowhere.  But....lo and behold we found some other kayakers from the Paddle South Kayak Company guided by Antonio.  We thought they had found the hot tub, but they were just as lost as we were.... but between us and them, we actually did find the hot tub.  We had a great time visiting with them and we made them listen to way too many stories as we hadn´t talked to other people for a long time!  Thanks to Antonio, Kerry, Inger-lise, and Mara-lisa for the great time!

Now for the fish stories....  Doug managed to catch and hang on to a Dorado that was caught in front of the tiny village of Timbabichi.  It may not have been the biggest Dorado, but it was sure tasty and made a great meal for the two of us!

Mark was able to find our first lobster, but although we know it was a lobster, some could mistake it for a crawdad.  It may not have made a complete meal, but we did eat it with a splash of lime right out of the shell.  Hopefully we now know what we are looking for and may do better on the last leg of the trip!

Mark also was able to catch our first Rooster Fish of the trip!  He caught it yesterday along the shoreline coming into La Paz bay and it was just too beautiful to kill, so he released it.  We don´t even know if they are good eating or not, but if we are hungry when the next one is caught..... we may find out!

Coming into La Paz was a little bit of a grind, as we cranked off two 30 mile days, and it didn´t look like we would see much more than sand beaches and sunshine- I know, real rough life!  But we were really rewarded well with a viewing of about 20 Whale Sharks and Manta Rays scattered in with them!  It made the trip into the bay so worthwhile, and we got tons of photographs.  Unfortunately most of them are blurry and not the best because we were blown away with just looking at them right beside our kayaks.  We will try and pick through them and find the best ones to post tomorrow.

We are very happy to be here in La Paz and to be staying at the Hotel La Perla where we have stayed with Cheryl and Sheila before.  The difference this time is that we dragged our two loaded down kayaks up the stairs and through the lobby for the night, and had to explain to the manager that we had come from San Felipe!  We are headed back out on the town to get things that we can´t get enough of on the water- ice drinks and ice cream!

 



We made it to Loreto- 3/4 of the way to Cabo!

We enjoyed our stay in the beautiful town of Mulege' but as the weather (wind) subsided we needed to continue on our expedition.  Many thanks go out to our unexpected hosts Mike & Rosalyn for taking us in and providing us with all kinds of information, opportunities, meals and outstanding hospitality!  Our early morning departure was once again greated with Rosalyn's generosity.  She was up early and prepared an unexpected bon voyage breakfast for us, coffee, breakfast sandwich and snacks!  Wow - you two have completely outdone yourselves!  We hope the see you again soon and hope we can repay your generosity toward two strangers from your river.

We found the run down the coast from Bahia Conception to Loreto to be one of the most beautiful and enjoyable stretches of the Sea of Cortez coastline.  There were many nice coves and beaches to pull into, the incredible paddle thru arches were a highlight for both of us, and our experience with Chico, who one pangaro described him as the owner of the "fruit of the soul".  Chico has an orchard up from the coast about 1 kilometer that was a private little oasis.  He had banana, orange, grapefruit, lime, avocado and other trees.  It was an undescribable and unforgetable experience we thoroughly enjoyed.  We believe Chico enjoyed the experience just as much as we did and an instant bond was created amongst amigos.

Our four day paddle to Loreto included fishing as ususual, but our catch never seems to be usual at all.  Every time we hook a fish, we never know what the fish will be as there is such a variety of species down here.  Doug caught a very interesting fish we have yet to figure out what it is.  It was in the billfish family, 3 feet long, 3 pounds and Doug's first billfish ever.  It was not a Blue or Striped Marlin but definately had a bill on it.  It was a small one, which was a good thing, given we are doing our fishing out of 17 foot kayaks and they become quite tippy when fighting a fish.   If anyone knows what it is please let us know.

Punta el Pulpito was an incredible point to not only paddle around but also to explore and enjoy the absolute enormity of the massive rock which was shear cliffs 400-500 feet tall and included two arches we were able to paddle through!

Our paddle yesterday brought us into Loreto.  We started out under calm seas and ended up surfing into the pass between Punta Bajo and Isla Coronado.  After crossing the shallow bar by Punta Bajo, things calmed down and we were able to utilize our WindPaddles to sail on into Loreto. 

After a few phone call back to John in Craig, Alaska where he could use Google Earth to direct us to our friend Rita's house, we were able to locate her magnificent place and Doug's car parked out back.  Rita treated us to a Super Burro Burrito, and we mean SUPER!  The tortilla alone was at least 2 feet in diameter and loaded with meat and cheese.  Another incredible experience of hospitality and generosity, thank you Rita.