Friday, February 24, 2006

San Diego

Last night we arrived in San Diego. I enjoyed what seemed the hottest and longest shower in ages! Today we will check out the Institute of Oceanography to get some scientific back up info on the Sea of Cortez experience of the last months.

Baja has been fun and it was a great journey - externally as well as internally. You have a lot of time to ponder when you paddle slowly along the coast - day after day! On my last day in Baja I injured myself and wasn't able to move my neck and shoulder for a few days. This experience showed me how easily I forget to value my health and just take it for granted. It confirmed that I made the right decision to take the winter off now that I am relatively young and healthy and not postpone things I really want to experience in my life to retirement. Carpe Diem.

THANK YOU!

Many people helped us out on our trip and we would like to give special thanks to the following people:
Isabel at the National Park Bureau in Bahia de los Angeles for looking after the truck for 6 weeks.
Parvin and Klaus in Tripui for storing our cache, burning CDs with our photos, and many hours of great company.
Pancho in Playa San Rafael for tea and coffee.
Brad and Carolyne in Punto Chivato for helping us out with charging batteries, driving us to town and sharing wine and beer.
Mike and Lizette for a wonderful day on Mike's 1959 wooden sail boat
Everyone on the San Juanico Beach Camp Fire - especially Sam - for sharing Tequila so generously (Our plan was to get up 2am the next morning to enjoy a full moon paddle, but after I had too much Tequila, at 3am Vik decided to postpone our departure to 4am. When we got up at 5am to paddle, we still got one hour of full moon paddling which was a great experience. However, there were a few moments when i regretted the amount of Tequila i drank ;-)
Antonio - head of a fish camp - for offering fire wood, fresh veggies,...

MUCHAS GRACIAS!

Canyon Hiking




Vik hitchhiking

Baja Yoga


Magic Agaves

Baja Flora



Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Re-entry into Civilization

After five weeks of living in the wilderness, it was not easy to get back into stressful city life.

Heron near Santa Rosalia

Vik´s Surf Shorts

Mighty Anna!

Explorer

DeadBobcat

Pelicano

Resting after a long day of paddling

Cheerful Vik

Morning cont d


while Anna needed her fix first.

Morning

Vik was usually in an inexplicable good mood in the morning,...

photographing

In the Arroyo

when it was too windy to kayak we explored the area on foot.

Stranded.

Ar our first camp

Packing

Vik is excited about all the good food we are bringing!

Bahia de Los Angeles - Getting ready


all this stuff has to fit in the boats!

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Tripui - End of Expedition

A few days ago we landed in Tripui - about 500km south of our starting point Bahia Los Angeles. We didn´t quite make it to La Paz, instead we will go hiking in California for a couple of weeks! However, photos of the expedition will follow soon!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Santa Rosalia

We just arrived in Santa Rosalia. Our first big stop of our expedition. It´s a lot of fun. Our camps are very remote - and every campsite so far looks magical - especially at sunset.

Life as a savage

yep ' we are definitely savages at the moment - that´s why there are no photos this time :-) ... j-k.
Several days we didn´t see any sign of civilization. Being from Europe, i found that stupendous - and now I enjoy the little city with its taquerias, friendly people and little shops even more!

WHALES!

January 28 2006

We saw whales! Big ones! What kind? Still to be determined...

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Vik and Dinner

On the Lighthouse Tower

El Tento y Los Kayakos


Anna - Pelican Whisperer

Dolphins

Vik watching Baja Wide Screen TV - Canale Uno

Vulture

Trigger Fish and Two Whale Vertibrae Pictures



Dolphin Skeleton


Anna - Paddling at Sunrise

January 8 2006 - Isla del Carmen

Last week we did our first little kayak expedition. We left our base camp just north of Playa Ligui where we had – what seems now luxurious – a 3 man tent, camping chairs, a table and a cooler full of delicious food and bebidas.


Now, everything what we wanted on our weeklong trip around Isla del Carmen had to fit in the two sea kayaks. First you have to really think what you want/need during this week, but if you make the right decision, bringing very little stuff certainly simplifies life. The crossing to the island went well and the first three days the Sea of Cortez was calm like a bath tub. Along the shore there are lots of coral reefs, rocks with colourful fish – perfect for snorkeling. One of the highlights was that we encountered dolphins almost every day. Traveling by kayak is non invasive, hence perfect for watching wildlife animals in the sea and on land. We also saw other cetaceans, pilot whales – they are fairly small whales (slightly bigger than dolphins), but extremely playful – and performed a fantastic jump show for us in the air! On the north tip of the Island is a small seal colony – we could hear their barking from afar and some of them slid into the water and swam towards us to remind us (well, mainly Vik) to keep a respectful distance.

On day 4 the wind picked up - we landed on the most beautiful sand beach – white sand, turquoise water, like from a Club Med pamphlet. However a sandy beach is not a great place in a storm. The sand felt like needles on the skin. We tried to leave the sand blasting lagoon the next morning, but the wind and the current were just too strong so we turned back. Especially after hearing about the death of a Canadian kayaker which happened in a storm in the area 4 weeks ago, we didn’t want to underestimate “El Norte” the infamous North wind. The Sea of Cortez taught us patience and surrendering. We tried again the next morning, but the gusts were still too strong, sometimes I had to lean with my full body weight against the wind just to not capsize. We decided to land on a small beach, waited for a few hours and finally left this beautiful looking, but devilish turbulent lagoon in calmer, but still windy conditions. Around the corner El Norte was in our back and we could “surf” the waves, which was sometimes challenging, but most of the time a lot of fun.

This trip was a great preparation for our longer expedition, which will be from Bahia de Los Angeles to La Paz (about 800km):
We got to try out our gear and feel comfortable with fully loaded kayaks.
No problem to live minimalistic!
The Sea of Cortez confirmed that it is crucial to bring extra food and water, in case you get stuck in a storm for 3 days.
Some windy weather kayaking experience.

So – all set for the big expedition! Baja Wide Screen TV – Canale Uno (no channel hopping- there is only one channel!) for about 4-6 weeks. Oh yes, and thank you for your comments so far – they are highly appreciated! Big hugs!

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Cactus

Coconut

Hammerhead Sharks

Heads of scalopped hammerhead sharks, we found on an island.

Starie - the Starfish

Baja Annie

Exploring the Islands around our Camp