Cala Mujeres to Isla Salsipuedes, April 4th 2006.

The sky was not the clear blue I had come to expect most of the time in Baja. Instead there was a high thick overcast that blocked out the sun. This actually made the desert a more pleasant place to hang out, like working under a very large tarp. The water was calm and flat and we had ideal conditions for paddling. We started across to Isla San Lorenzo and immediately heard whales blowing. This channel almost always seems to have fin whales working it. From the depth charts we know that the water is very deep and the point we were launching near is called Punta Ballena, “Whale Point” in English. We heard and saw the whales at a distance but never got very close to any of them. However, we were close enough that we often heard the whistle of inrushing air after the explosive blow of exhaling. The crossing took under 4 hours and soon we were only hearing whales blow behind us.

We finished crossing over and landed at the closest point on Isla san Lorenzo near a cardone forest for a break. Then we continued paddling up the west shore of this island, Islas Animas and Salsipuedes. John and I had discovered that Isla San Lorenzo had crumbling cliffs and no sea caves that you can paddle into. But just across a short gap Isla Los Animas is made of harder material and has lots of caves. I stopped in one or two of these caves but did not have much time to play. I had scheduled a long day of paddling 26 miles to get us to a good campsite and a good place to do the crossing the following day. There was some grumbling about going so far and about the long crossing the next day without a break. We discussed the possibility of taking a layover day on Salsipuedes. But we talked about it and everyone agreed that we should take advantage of the calm conditions and keep going while we could. Including doing the long crossing the next morning to Isla Angel de la Guarda