On the Sandman

After picking up our gear at Baja Expeditions, we headed down to the Sandman, our private boat and home for the next couple of days, located in La Paz harbor. We were warmly welcomed by Captain Ron and his charming wife Rosalinda.

The boat headed out of the harbor, bathed in glorious sunshine. Perfect weather for such an expedition one could say, well warm but not too hot either (there was always a refreshing breeze keeping us cool). The boat itself is very comfortable indeed, with a cozy social quarter with a big wide-screen telly and an impressive collection of movies. The cabins are small, but comfortable, more than adequate. And the boat is well equipped for diving, has a RIB for quick access to islands, and two sea kayaks for those feeling sporty. And Ron’s wife is a rather excellent cook, as we found out during the trip!

Our first stop on the boat trip was Espiritu Santo, a lovely island located not far from La Paz. The place is a real haven for ecotourism, with gorgeous landscapes, beautiful beaches and loads of possibilities for all sorts of sporting opportunities. We decided to some traditional hiking, up through a canyon of lunar landscapes and cacti. Great landscapes and great fun, all in all.

From Espiritu Santo we headed on to Los Islotes, located not too far from Espiritu Santo. Los Islotes are a couple of guano-covered rocks, dramatically rising out of the Cortez Sea. The reason to come out here are the sea lions. Loads of them. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many in one place – joined by the odd pelican. Great fun watching these playful creatures dive into the water and have fun around us. The original plan was to have a swim with these lovely creatures, but unfortunately it was getting a bit late, so we decided to postpone that activity until a bit later.

After this we headed out to sea for a bit of whale hunting – whale watching is the main reasons people come to this part of the world, this time of the year (they come to Baja California this time of the year to breed). After cruising around for a good while, we finally made contact. According to JayJay, the couple we spotted was of the Bryde’s whale variety. So was it a special experience then, as people say, I hear you asking? Yes, it was. There’s something quite special about following the water vapor produced by their breathing, and seeing that grey shape of its body briefly break the surface as it takes a dive. Then the anticipation as the whale emerges back to the surface to breath again. It has to be said that a bit of imagination is required, since normally one only sees a bit of the whales back and maybe the tail, but for me at least, my first sight of a whale was still a very special moment. These whales were rather shy, and didn’t let us very close…

Then it was time to take a few pictures of the gorgeous sunset, and finish off with some delicious dinner. A great end to a great day!

We got up the next day to a gorgeous dawn, After a filling breakfast, we headed off whale hunting again. This time we struck big, as we spotted some blue whales in the distance. It was fantastic again, although these peaceful leviathan were again too shy to approach our vessel. A real pity, but even the tail and back of these giants is a sight I will not soon forget…

After our whale hunt, we headed back to Los Islotes. The sea lions were still there in numbers. Me and JayJay decided on a spot of scuba diving, whilst the others went snorkeling with the sea lions. My dive was pretty good, even though the viz was quite bad (that was to be expected, due to the ongoing plankton boom). The currents were pretty strong as well, so my air consumption was even more abysmal than normal, no doubt ;-). The highlight of the dive was, not surprisingly, the sea lions. They are so graceful underwater, compared to their rather lazy and clumsy behavior on land. And they really are very playful, coming up nearly to touching distance. I truly had some memorable moments there with the sea lions. Apart from the sea lions, there was plenty of other sea life, with some big groupers and a stone fish being the highlights of the dive. Eventually we got back to the boat, happy after a successful dive. Speaking to the others, it seems that they also had a pretty fantastic time with the sea lions!

We then headed towards the destination for this evening, the Balandra beach, where we were supposed to moor for the night. On the way, we ran into a couple of humpback whales. These guys were less shy than the whales we’d previously spotted, and got closer to the boat than before. Not quite within touching distance, but enough to get some good-ish shots of the whales tails with my 300mm lens ;-).

Finally, we arrived at Balandra beach, which is kind of the very definition of a paradise beach. Beautiful sand, clear water, and not a soul in sight, apart from us. Not quite the same ambiance as the Cote d’Azur, that’s for sure ;-). Me and Mathilde stated by doing a bit of snorkeling in the shallow part of the cove, spotting a fair amount of colorful fishies (the highlight for me was a puffer fish). I then decided to try my hand at a bit of sea kayaking, heading out to explore some mangroves with Marie and JayJay. Just fantastic, paddling along through the clear waters, with no noise other than the birds singing, and the gentle sound of the sea. I raced Marie and JayJay on the way back to the Sandman, and lost “honorably” (hey, ‘twas two against one).

After another very tasty dinner indeed, I crashed out, having watched True Grit by the Coen brothers on the big screen of the Sandman…. The next day started pretty much like the previous, with a bit of snorkeling/swimming with JayJay, to warm up those muscles. I finished the session with a bit of more sea kayaking with Mathilde – a very nice way to end our brief but fruitful visit to this beautiful beach.

Then it was sadly time to head back towards La Paz. But we did get to enjoy a rather delicious pancake brunch during the journey back. And, to finish our trip, one more magic moment – some dolphins swam by the bow of the ship. Just a perfect way to end our trip.

After some emotional farewells to the Sandman crew (I will miss Rosalinda’s enchiladas, that’s for sure…), it was time to hit the road and continue our exploration of Baja California by land!