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gringorio
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Registered: 4-10-2004
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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Bahia Gonzaga y El delta del Rio Colorado
With little planning we ended up spending two weeks in Baja and the Sea of Cortez. The first week we spent in Bahia San Luis Gonzaga and the second
week paddling the ‘crossing’ from San Felipe to El Golfo de Santa Clara.
The drive to Gonzaga was uneventful, but beautiful. We camped along the way and loved being on the beach and taking that requisite baptismal swim in
the Sea. Taking the recommendations from other Nomad’s we headed for Campo Beluga, about two or three miles down the bay from Alfonsina’s. It is a
great place to stay with fresh water, toilets, and very sturdy palapas. We based our over night kayaking from there.
The coves near Punta Final are largely unvisited, mostly because of access difficulty – the kayak is the perfect way to get there. We camped on
typical Baja beaches littered with trash and dead sea creatures like sea turtles, sea lions, pelicans as well as discarded bleach bottles, plastic
bags and rope.
We spent an afternoon swimming in a hyper-saline lagoon that featured brine shrimp and hyper-buoyancy. What a kick trying to snorkel to the bottom
but being left to pop to the top like a cork! This lagoon has clearly been here for a long long time…
One day we spent an hour watching a whale (a California Grey?) and a pod of dolphins feed in an isolated cove. Judging by the bubbles it appeared
that the whale was ‘bubble netting’ prey. Neither the whale or the dolphins minded our presence and the whale even swam right under my brothers and
our friend Ricks’ kayak.
In Baja I love how my senses become hyper-vigilant – my eyes are always searching for movement or patterns in the desert, the sea, the beach. It
could simply be a disruption in the pattern of waves that indicates dolphins surfacing in the distance. Or it could mean a coyote standing in the
rocky shadows on the shoreline watching us paddle by. As always, things for me feel new and there’s always a sense of anticipation about what lies
over the next sand dune, what bones we might find on the beach, what creature might appear at the bow of our kayaks.
We did eventually make it to El Golfo, but not without our share of pitch black night paddling and sketchy scenarios. We were very happy to stand on
the sandy shores of Sonora when all was said and done.
This was by far the best Baja trip I've had in years...
~ gringorio
 
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
[Edited on 8-24-2007 by gringorio]
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gringorio
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photos
Alfonsina's as seen from near Punta Final with a 400mm lens.
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
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gringorio
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photos
San Felipe to El Golfo tracks
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gringorio
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road to Puertecitos
road to Puertecitos (looking North)
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
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gringorio
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gringorio
gringorio approaching El Golfo
[Edited on 8-24-2007 by gringorio]
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gringorio
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sunrise
sunrise
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gringorio
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mud
As David K has pointed out, there are many shell 'islands', especially north of San Felipe. As it turns out, there's also a lot of mud.
[Edited on 8-24-2007 by gringorio]
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gringorio
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Location: Tucson, Arizona
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moth
moth pollinator
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gringorio
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dolphin
dolphin
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gringorio
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whale
whale
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by gringorio]
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Ken Bondy
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Greg - terrific report and photos, thanks. You guys are amazing!
++Ken++
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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Great report and photos - thanks
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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FANTASTIC GREG!!! This is what makes Baja Nomad the best darn Baja Internet site: Baja Nomads like Gringorio... Mil Gracias for sharing your trip with
us!
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ursidae69
Nomad
Posts: 275
Registered: 2-22-2004
Location: Youngsville, NM
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Holy cow Greg, that picture of the whale near the kayak is amazing!  I wish I
had been that lucky! My kayaking was much less adventurous as yours, I'm still pretty new with it. I hope to get my trip report online in a few
weeks.
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PabloS
Nomad
Posts: 187
Registered: 4-8-2003
Location: North central AZ
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Thanks for the great report Greg and photos. I was introduced to El Golfo back in the 70's and now that I live AZ I should get back down there and
enjoy some sand and shrimp.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Enjoyed your report and pictures very much. Also really appreciate your map---makes it much easier to follow where you were.
Thanks
Diane
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gringorio
Senior Nomad
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thanks!
thanks everyone! i've still a ton more photos to go through and will try and post some of them in the photo section.
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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Mood: Happy!
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Nice report--great adventure! Much more fun figuring it out on your own than going with a tour.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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gringorio, Thanks, Super pics.
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Von
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 10-1-2006
Location: Poway-Rosarito
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Mood: getting ready!
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------------------------------------------------! INTENSE!---------------------------
READY SET.....................
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