Baja Cruise-IV.

1-1-08 ENSENADA GRANDE: The long hike to top of island was the morning activity through a boulder-filled arroyo. Val, Lily, Maggie, in crocs, and I made it to the top. These rocks and boulders were mostly embedded and rock hopping was fun and easy. They were mostly volcanic, andesite and basalt, with some conglomerate. As usual the views from the top were of the volcano and water. On each island the desert vegetation was a little different, a different variety of thorny shrubs or cacti.


Hiking Trail.


At the Top.


On the Way Down.

I did another hike in the afternoon in a different arroyo, this one was more rugged with a mix of boulders and several walls that required climbing out of the arroyo to get around the wall or climbing the wall. We started down, from about halfway up, at 5:15 and got to the beach at dusk for a gorgeous sunset and then the farewell dinner.


Afternoon Trail.


Sunset.

1-2-08 LA PAZ: We left the ship after breakfast for the three-hour bus ride back tot he airport in Cabo. We took the eastern route this time through a huge arroyo and over mountain passes of plutonic granites.

The weather on the trip was quite uniform. We had sun all day, every day with only an occasional cloud. The wind was fairly strong and from the northeast all the time. The temps were about 70° for a daily high, but the wind always made it feel cooler, especially when wet. The wind made the kayaking harder.

Because the air was so clear and weather mostly cloudless, the stargazing was great, even better than Vermont. Mars was quite bright. The big dipper was mostly below the horizon and Polaris was strangely low in the sky, for us.