Baja The aquarium of the world
I’ve often heard it said that some of the worlds better known celebrities, like Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney, return to Baja year after year to enjoy the wonders of the peninsula. I prefer to look at how this arid land once attracted those that travelled before us. Jaques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez, “the Aquarium of the World”, and John Steinbeck, wrote:
“Trying to remember the Gulf is like trying to re-create a dream…There is always in the back of our minds the positive drive to go back again. If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we must go back if we live, and we don’t know why.”
Perhaps this is why I have been twice and feel its captivating magnetic pull calling me back again. I’ve been vexed by the question of what a third visit would look like. Perhaps a road trip from the Tijuana in the North to Cabo San Lucas in the south, all 1675kms of it! Perhaps I’d spend a few days hiking and mountain biking at Rancho Cacachilas, where you can learn about sustainable travel, regenerative farming practices and indulge in delicious meals grown organically on the ranch. There’s also the option to sea kayak through the sea of Cortez, snorkelling in aquamarine waters…. Just too much choice!
Whale Watching in Baja California
If all this sounds like too much excitement, then fear not as Baja also offers some of the best marine watching experiences in the world. Wildlife experiences which flow at a slower pace, where you’ll spend a few hours, each day looking for grey, blue, fin and humpback whales. The greys come along side your boats and almost crave human contact, whereas humpbacks rise from the ocean, crashing down like a violent storm. Whilst on the horizon you might see a first glimpse of the majestic blue and fin whales as the feed in the nutrient rich waters of the Sea of Cortez.
The skies were alive with Pelicans and Osprey
Overhead, we saw Frigatebirds, Royal terns and Yellow-footed gulls, searching for their next morsel. Squadrons of Pelicans skimmed the surface with apparent ease and Osprey swooped down, talons extended to expertly pluck fish from just below the surface.
Whenever we headed inland, I found that the Baja peninsula was no less rewarding for having such an arid environment, and I was impressed by how life has found a way to flourish there. I didn’t expect the colour and diversity of the flora; from the roadside we came across areas of dense cactus, acacia chinchweed, sweet bush, yucca and mimosa…just to name a few.
It really was worthwhile heading inland because there are so many animals scurrying about; mammals with familiar names like the Bobcat, and others with names that piqued our curiosity, like the Pronghorn (a type of deer), the Botta’s Pocket Gopher and, one of my favourites, the Dalquest Pocket Mouse (very cute)!
Though Baja California is not an island, it’s so very different from the rest of Mexico and, to me, it felt very much like an island archipelago, with rocky outcrops dotted throughout the expanses of blue sea. It really is such a beautiful place.
To find out more visit: www.archipelagochoice.com/baja-california/