12/2 40 min running 1 hour swimming
About 30 min of beach running with 10 minutes on a dirt road. The swimming was choppy but so much fun to be outside in very comfortable water. I saw my first sting rays, at least 8 of them. It seemed most of them were startled and would jet from their hiding places in the sand. A couple of the rays were just cruising, flying through the water there was also a mysterious stinging that both Hortense and I kept feeling. It took a while to figure out that it was this tiny sea weed looking stuff that packed a pretty good sting, nothing to keep you from swimming though. 12-3
Ran for 45 minutes. We went out of the Coral Baja and turned right for about 10 minutes of running in the sand. The plan was to then go up this dry river bed but there were two ominous looking signs that neither of us could translate. So we ran up some dirt roads that amounted to being an upscale neighborhood on the hill. We ran up and around here for around 20 minutes before heading back. We were back at Coral Baja after 37 minutes so I took off my running shoes and went for another 7 minutes of bare feet running. Why not, let the toes run free! But after a few minutes the considerable slant of the beach made for some stress on the higher ground striking foot. Some flatter beaches will need to be found for comfortable distances. The swim was fantastic, depending on whom you ask. Because we went left yesterday, today we decided to swim west along the beach. We started much earlier in an effort to catch the calm seas of Cortez, as they seem to rough up as the day warms. It was tremendous from the get-go. The water was clear and as we swam along it wasn’t long before I noticed marine life. Mostly Sting Rays, seeing at least 20 in the 1 hour and 15 minutes of swimming. But I also saw 3 schools of fish, the second one may have been the same school as the first one, but there were hundreds of them, all about 2 to 3 feet long and torpedo like. I also notice some flat yellow fin tipped fish, sometimes swimming right along and under the Sting Rays. It was so much fun to swim along and see the ocean so alive. Maybe too alive, there were also numerous, random stinging. It was hard to tell what it was stinging Hortie and I but it was frequent and varying in its power. I must admit some of the stings were uncomfortable and close to painful, however I was having too much fun swimming to stop. Hortie got out of the water after a few too many ‘random’ stings and walked along the beach while I kept swimming. For a short while as I headed east again I didn’t get stung, then a few hits as I came back to the Coral Baja. Oh well, sting or no stings, it was fantastic to be out in the sun and fresh air with a busy ocean underneath. 12/4
Headed east out of Coral Baja and ran in the sand for 30 minutes before turning around and heading back. It’s too bad I didn’t bring my camera because there was a nature preserve with jungles surrounding the marsh. The birds defiantly took well to this area. I saw two Herons and many Pelicans. One of the Herons was posing for me on top of a tall slender rock, it extended like a needle. The Pelicans were brilliantly combing the water in search of there next feast. Four or five of the Pelicans were repeatedly diving into the ocean, spearing the unlucky fish. The swimming was far away on a remote beach. We drove an hour and a half mostly on dirt roads, around the cape and up the Sea of Cortez side of Baja. The beaches were epic. The walks along the pristine sand and the feeling of complete seclusion were calming. The swimming was fun, no stinging today, but the water was rough which made the underwater sight seeing a bit difficult. Although, the water was a beautiful aqua green this made it so alluring. We played around in the water enjoying the entire scene to ourselves.
12-5 12-6
After driving for a long time Hortie and I were ready for a beach. Our curiosity to explore had taken us north from San Jose all the way to the Sea of Cortez coast. Much of the way was paved Mexican highway but the last part of the drive was gnarly dirt road. I spotted what looked like a good road for us to take to the beach, but Hortense said no way the sand is too deep. I said nah…c’mon lets try it. She drove about 100 meters down the road and as she suggested, we could go no further. She was right, and I had a difficult task of pushing the car back to the ‘main’ dirt road. Pushing the car through the deep sand was tough and required many short bursts of all the power I could muster. Fortunately a few minutes later we were back at the road and no worse for the ware.
Lucked out in La Borilles… After being in the middle of nowhere all day we came upon a small village and we decided it would be nice to have some coffee. I grabbed some pesos and my t-shirt. Then I locked the door and shut it. Hortense and I walked a few steps as I started looking for my keys. OH Damn! I don’t have my keys. I hastily walked back to the car and checked all the doors. As I feared, the doors were all locked. To put the icing on the cake, the keys were in the ignition and the car was still running! I was sure I was going to have to break a window to get back in our vehicle. I couldn’t believe I locked the keys in the car, with it still running, in some small village in the Baja Desert. We were in trouble and going to spend the next several hours trying to figure out a way to break into the car. Hortense, asked the local shop and she directed us to the orange house a block south. Well, how lucky am I…the orange house is a lock and key guy! Fred to the rescue. Fred had every tool needed to break into all kinds of cars. I truly believed I ‘picked’ one of the best spots in all of Baja to lock my keys in the car. After being in the middle of the desert and not seeing any cars, or people for long stretches at a time, I locked the keys in the car a block from a lock smith. Amazingly fortunate. We met a nice couple from Vancouver Island while waiting a few minutes for Fred to grab his tools and meet us the block or two from his shop. She lived there year round as a massage therapist at a hotel and he would live in Baja half the year. They said it took them a week to drive from Canada to La Borilles. When they found out we were staying in San Jose, they asked if we had tried Bahn Tia. They had driven all the way there the night before to celebrate their anniversary. 12-7 1 hour and 10 minute run. Only about 15 minutes of the running was on sand today, most of it was on sidewalks. I worked on getting a quick turnover and excellent form. My legs feel great considering the long run and all the pavement …my form must be improving. 12-8 Lots of Beach walking
We had a marvelous day in the most pleasant weather. We hung out on the beaches of the Sea of Cortez from 10 am until well past sunset and only saw a couple of people ride by on ATV’s. What a relaxing, serene, and peaceful day!
12-9
30 minutes running 30 minutes swimming lots of walking. We’ve been enjoying our own private beaches and are sad to be leaving their pleasant, peaceful, calming, and exhilarating environment. 12-10 Post a comment
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