the next morning, 6am at a Holiday Inn, we met Meghann and Serena, the 2 women who would take care of us. Meghann’s father was a professor in the 1970s and wanted a place where he could teach field biology courses; and started the Field Station in Baja. Meghann grew up on the Sea of Cortez, listening to her father lecture his college students since she could crawl. She is a wonderful woman, and i immediately felt like i was in good hands. She said they had been tracking the impending Tropical Storm Lidia and would continue to make decisions along the way. If she became a problem, we would stop and spend the night before we got there :( …but so far, it looked like the area where we are going is just on the edge of the storm.
The group was made up of students, ranging from 21 to 30, and many of them knew each other from Miami University of Ohio’s Global Field Program. There were 2 sisters, a couple, a group from Phoenix, some had been involved in other programs together, and some had been to this Field Station for other projects, so they knew Meghann and Serena.
so besides being the only one there without a ‘past connection’, i was by far the oldest. that doesn’t usually bother me, but when everyone else is engaged in ‘catching up’ with old friends, it is a bit difficult at first. lots of chattering, and yes, i tried to be subtle as i put my ear plugs in :)
Immigration in Tijuana was clean, fast and easy. then, we headed through Tijuana and picked up 2 brothers who were also part of the ‘team’ that took care of us.
One of the reasons i was so excited about this trip, was the opportunity to see a new and different terrain. I'm used to lush green locations on my snorkeling adventures, so the idea of a desert and cactus, really enticed me! I took the Co-Pilot Seat so i could get a good view of this terrain, plus have a little less noise from the conversations. :)
We followed the coast, it was beautiful…. you can see how the mist was coming off the water and it traveled a long way inland as well.
we drove through dry mountains and hills that reminded me of Wyoming. It was hot and dry, but we did have AC in the vans :)
Finally, at 1pm, they said we were about half way and we stopped in San Quintin (not the prison), and i saw this map on a wall on the sidewalk, showing the route we were taking
In all the little towns along the way, there were places advertising Fish Tacos. Fish Tacos had been our motivation for the last 6 hours. Our staff said these were the ‘best’ and they absolutely were right. So many fish tacos have a few shredded pieces of fish, but not THIS place … they had entire fillets frying and they put an entire fillet on each taco.
Then back on the road, after El Rosario, we headed inland … into the desert ! It was awesome
i LOVED seeing all the different cactus. that is a Cholla in the forefront.
we made a short stop for some photos
this is a Cirrio cactus, spiky and very tall. it actually is not a cactus, but a tree. it has root-like fibers on the top so i can take advantage of any moisture in the air … pretty cool ! It's real name is the Boojum Tree. They can grow to a height of 60 feet, and is nearly endemic to the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the slowest growing plants in the world, at a rate of 1 foot every 10 years.
as you can see from this photo, you wouldn't want to give it a big hug !
we had a bit of trouble with the van, which was worry-some; but the ‘guys’ knew how to fix it and we were on our way again.
we traveled through more cactus in a huge boulder field that stretched miles and miles. it was dramatic. i read that the cactus here can grow larger because any rain that hits the rocks, falls to the ground, giving the cactus more water than if there were no boulders.
we arrived in Bahia de los Angeles at 7:30pm, just after dark…… it only took us a little over 12 hours :) obviously we couldn’t see much, but we got a short tour and orientation on how to use the ‘bucket-flush-toilets’ in the small building out back.
and also how to take a 3-cup fresh-water shower, i.e., you take a cup of water out of a 5 gallon bucket and pour it over your head and body; only 3 of these cups was recommended :( ...we have running water, but it is a precious commodity.
and also how to take a 3-cup fresh-water shower, i.e., you take a cup of water out of a 5 gallon bucket and pour it over your head and body; only 3 of these cups was recommended :( ...we have running water, but it is a precious commodity.
we were also introduced to our canvas cots that we could take outdoors, which everyone decided to do because it was very very hot in the building, especially since it had been closed up for several days.
there was still a chance of rain, so i chose a spot close to the overhang of the ‘garage’ so if it rained i could duck inside. by the time i got settled and laid down, i felt sprinkles on my feet. i decided to move inside the garage. i feel asleep to waves breaking on the shore. awesome !
sometime during the night, i vaguely remembered people moving indoors, and realized i could no longer hear the waves … that was because all i could hear was the raging wind and rain .... Tropical Storm Lidia had arrived :(
about 5am i decided to see if i could find where they told us the toilets were … i put my headlamp on and noticed that my sandals were FLOATING in water. was i in TEXAS ????????????
people and cots were everywhere because everyone had moved indoors. i went into another room and it too was flooded. i went back to my cot and realized that part of my sheet had draped to the floor and had been wicking water, and the spray from the wind and rain was inside the garage…time to move. i found a spot on the hard wooden table and tried to go back to sleep to no avail.
about that time some people were waking up and i was up too. i found some other girls and we started mopping and squeegy-ing the floors, but the water was just coming right back in. Time for my problem-solving 'maintenance' skills to kick in.
i got a shovel and started digging a trench and found some tiles to divert the water that was dripping from the roof-line and causing the water to come in the door. Everyone was quite impressed at my 'engineering' skills :)
Several hours later, Natalie and i had it under control and the fans running to dry the floor.
We had a briefing of our activities and a tutorial of the routine, should the seas clear and be calm enough for us to get out there tomorrow.
The rest of the day was devoted to puzzles and games ... you can also see in this photo that the walls have been 'decorated' over the years by the many groups that have enjoyed this Research Station.
The sea was extremely rough and it continued to rain. Finally clearing up around noon, we now could see the islands in the distance.
we took a walk along the shore
found this poor little, 2 foot, Mobula Ray, ....apparently stranded after being tossed onto the rocks by the raging sea :(
....and a trip to Guerillmo’s for Margaritas occupied the rest of the day. Plus i am learning new things on my iPhone from the young folks ... like Pano photos :)
today was definitely NOT what anyone had expected, but everyone remained positive and enthusiastic.
Meghann said she has NEVER seen the seas like this in all the time she grew up here! it is usually like bath water :)
we all looked forward to a better day in the morning !
