Over the top of Isla Espiritu Santo, April 23rd 2009.


I got up early and packed up my kayak by breakfast time. I left an hour or so before everyone else and paddled off to circumnavigate a few nearby islotes. Like the shores of the main island, these little islands had beautiful red sandstone cliffs and a few caves to poke into. When I came back to Isla Espiritu Santo I could see the sails of the other three kayakers.

With sails the three stragglers would gain on me, then drop behind again. I figured I was far enough ahead to land and dig some new camera batteries deep out of my kayak. Doug Hamilton stopped to see what I was doing but Herb Howe and Andrea Wolf skipped the cove and passed us by.

There are two large islands out here, Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. There is a channel between the two islands that is not always navigable at low tide. Herb and Andrea charged through the narrowest section of this to make sure they made it with the tide and I didn’t catch up with them until they stopped for lunch.

After lunch we started down the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo. An incredibly beautiful and craggy shore with several big caves. When the cliffs and caves ended we could see our destination for the evening. The first gravel beach we had camped on in some time! The Mexican government had printed up an expensive looking brochure for kayakers on this island. It had a pop-up map with the recommended campsites on it. The place we chose for this evening was mentioned as a possibility but not recommended because of the gravel. Apparently they think kayakers prefer sandy beaches! I thought this was the best camping beach on the whole island!


All text and images Copyright © 2009 by Mike Higgins / contact