Experience an ultimate eco-adventure
Written: Jan 04 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: friendly people, good food, great exercise, sealife incredible
Cons: weather can be unpredictable
The Bottom Line: My ultimate vacation is one where I feel good after it. This trip did it for me.
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| doglover's Full Review: Baja Expeditions |
Overview
I have gotten considerably addicted to kayaking, so I have been trying to get in some kind of kayak experience once a month. As part of my facination with the sport, I decided to book a one week kayak trip to Espiritu Santo Island in La Paz, Baja California during the last week of December. What can I tell you? It is cold up here in San Francisco, and the thought of a nice warm climate during winter is very appealing! There are a couple of excursion groups
that do this trip but I decided to go through Baja Expeditions, http://www.bajaex.com , who are the original group that originated this tour, they have a nice web site, and they are based out of San Diego, where I was going for Christmas.
Itinerary
Day 1:
Arrived in La Paz, and checked into the Los Arcos Hotel. The day is left for you to browse the La Paz area. The hotel is right on the water, across the street from the Malecon ("the boardwalk"), and a very nice area to walk along.
Day 2:
Met in the lobby at 8am and transfered to boat for the 2 1/2 boat ride to Espiritu Santo island. Lunched when got there and the crew set up our tents with our sleep kits(sleeping bag, inflatable pad, and pillow).
Day 3-5:
Depending on the weather conditions, we alternated days with kayaking to various beaches along the north-end of the coastline and hiking to various "HIGH" locations on the island. I do emphasize the word high here because you cannot have a fear of heights to do this. You will be climbing up steep, rocky areas. One of the days was a trip to snorkel to Los Islotes to swim with sea lions. What an incredible experience that was! I have never seen so many sea lions in one place and to swim right next to them was an experience I will never forget.
Day 6:
Half-day kayak trip south of the island, hike to an excavation site of the indigenous people of the area, eat of course and pack up everything. We got a little side-tracked and we all procrastinated leaving, so we actually did not leave the island until 3pm. Then back for the
last night at Los Arcos Hotel. That shower sure felt good after a week of camping!
Day 7:
Fly back to your original destination.
How to get there
This is tricky to explain. We had quite a varied group of people there: 4 from Boston, 2 from Las Vegas, 3 from the Bay area, and 2 from La Paz. I will just explain how I got there. I flew in and out of Tijuana since I was leaving from the San Diego area using Aero California. Note that if I had come from LA, I would have had to pay $200 more. I used a taxi service called Baja Taxi and Transfer to get from San Diego to the Tijuana airport. They were a little pricey ($60) but worth getting through the border expediently. The flight back was more tramatic because the Aero California flight I was taking got delayed from 2pm to 6:30pm. I was a nervous wreck wondering what I was going to do since my shuttle
service would not be there at that time to pick me up and night-time in Tijuana is not the best time to be walking around, but I was lucky enough to meet someone who was also in the same predicament that I was and we traveled together taking a taxi from the Tijuana airport to the border, walked through customs, and then took a taxi from the border to the San Diego airport.
Weather Conditions
Weather conditions in La Paz are unpredictable this time of year (end of December) so you have to bring all different layers of clothing. Days are warm and night are very cool. Note that the first two days were very windy and it is hard to sleep with your tent blowing uncontrollably in the wind. I was lucky that my tent was situated in a prime spot against the cliff and down buried low into the sand and still had a perfect view of the water all night. Others, were not so fortunate and their tents came down during the first night. Then their tents were moved against the cliff and they stayed up the rest of the days.
Favorites of the Trip
1. Baja expeditions provides taxi vouchers from the La Paz airport to the hotel and back. I add this one as my first item since after my Italy trip, there is nothing worse than being stranded in a country you have never been to and cannot find a taxi or relay to a taxi driver
where you are trying to get to.
2. Baja Expeditions is very organized and they send you a checklist of what to bring for the trip. Believe me, you will need every single one of those items and it will take a couple of large duffle bags to get it all in.
3. Happy Hours were great. Not only all the beer and tequila you can drink but a special fresh-made drink every night (margaritas, hot toddies, pina coladas, and tequila sunrises- one special drink every night).
4. The crew leads are very knowledgeable about the area, all 3 living in the area at various times and have a good knowledge about the history of the indigenous people of La Paz and have extensive knowledge of marine biology so any question we had was answered promptly and accurately.
5. The nature and conservation efforts of the area. The people of La Paz have done a wonderful job in protecting the environment down there. You are not allowed to take shells or artifacts off the island and you have to leave the island the way you came to it. You can tell that people have adhered to the rules because the water is amazing clear and pristine.
Warnings
This trip is not for the weak at heart or for people that are used to traveling in comfort. You will be camping right on the beach, with all the sand that is outside of your tent eventually getting into your tent. ;-) And you will be without washing hair, etc for a week so do not forget your hat! Also, you have to be extremely physically fit, where the hikes up steep rock inclines will test your balance, endurance and fortitude and the sea kayaking requires good endurance skills. Note though that of the 11 people on the excursion, I was the
only one that have ever done sea kayaking and they all were able to keep up with the two hour trips along the coastline in double kayaks. Single kayaks are also available but the double kayaks are more fun and my kayak partner is a good singer so it added to the fun of the
paddle.
Summary
This review is dedicated to James, Carlos, and Daniela, who were the absolute best, sweetest, and enjoyable crew leads that I have experienced and to the best cooks I have experienced (Antonio, Juan Carlos, and Tony), who we all decided spoiled us so badly that we will never go
camping again without these cooks. They had our meals ready for us wherever we paddled to and all their meals were fabulous. Can you imagination having a fresh-made bundt cake with rum on a camping trip? Well, we had it, plus flan and various other desserts each night. Also, I
should not forget to mention the great breakfasts of home-made oatmeal, the lunches with fresh soups, and the meals of grilled carne asada, fresh fish, and fresh steamed vegetables every night. Hugs to everyone at Baja Expeditions! You really know how to put together a great
time.
Recommended:
Yes
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doglover
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