Our cruise was on board the 120-foot Safari Quest with just 13 other guests. Gourmet food and attentive service gave us a taste of luxury cruising but the small cabins and lack of entertainment reminded us that this was a safari, not a love boat. This ship’s luxuries were of a different stripe. A professional naturalist accompanied us everywhere. The chef met with us daily at lunch to talk about dinner choices. The captain was happy for us to hang out on the bridge and, if we wanted to offload a kayak or take a spin on water skis, the crew made it happen on the spot.
Let’s sort out the geography. The Sea of Cortez, Mar de Cortés in Spanish and labeled the Gulf of California on some maps, lies between the Mexican mainland and the long, narrow strip of land known as Baja California Sur. A Mexican state, it’s called BCS for short. The sea is so long and narrow, early Spanish explorers didn’t sail its entire length for years, believing that BSC was an island.
With miles of shoreline, a sprinkling of islands, zesty tourist centres that earn Baja a reputation as “San Diego South” and 400-year-old mission towns to explore, it’s a place to savour slowly and often. Canadians invest in homes in smart subdivisions here, taking advantage of toasty winters and a favourable exchange rate.
The sea itself is the star of the show, so let’s start there. It’s so rich in fish and plankton it’s one of the world’s major breeding grounds for toothed and baleen whales. Safari’s skipper knew the right times and places to see them, so whale watching became not just a sometime thrill, but a daily drill.
Porpoise were everywhere, grinning up at us as we idled through waters thick with whales and dolphin. We never tired of their pleasant company, darting and weaving around and under the bow as if to shepherd our boat to some spiritual Valhalla. In a speedy inflatable boat we circled one island that is a sea lion sanctuary. Furry blobs as big as Buicks put on a hilarious show, flopping about and honking like freight trains. Then we donned wet suits, masks and flippers and slipped into the water to observe the rascally creatures as they fished and showed off
for us.
Beaches and shores always tell an eloquent story to the patient observer. Watching quietly from the shade of a giant cactus, we see a bird dive out of nowhere, pluck a hapless fish from the sea and struggle skyward with dinner in its talons. Along the water line, carcasses of dead crabs describe a daily drama of kill or be killed. Just above the high tide line, cacti and desert shrubs flourish in desert heat. In shallow water, peacock-blue fish swoop around our splashing feet. A parched starfish sprawls on a hot rock, sun-dried for eternity. As beach turns to upland bush, we step carefully, spooked by stories of rattlers and scorpions.
Most of the beaches here are rocky, not the satin sands one finds in the Caribbean, but we manage by wearing sturdy sandals and walking carefully where rocks are slick with moss. Closed shoes are best for venturing inland, where cactus and other spiky plants tear at ankles and knees. When we see wranglers wearing boots and chaps, we know why.
The Sea of Cortez is so popular with kayakers that several outfitters provide everything paddlers need for a week or two in the outback. Safari Quest carries its own fleets of kayaks and sailboats plus peppy inflatable boats for high-speed exploring and for towing skis and kneeboards. Although some cruises ships call now at Loreto, the Sea is clearly a domain for small vessels like ours.
Our ship calls at an island where the same family has been earning a living from the sea for three generations. We admire the catch of giant rays the men brought in that morning and are salting down for sale in the cities. Then we shop for jewellery made by the women. A climb to the highest point on the island takes us to the simple chapel where one of the children is buried. There’s also a one-room school and a couple of homes, one of them built by a “nortamericano” who spends part of the year here.
On another day we land on a lonely Baja shore where a local vaquero has rounded up his free-roaming herd for us. Mules and horses have been saddled for the adults and burros for the children. In single file, the sure-footed beasts stream into the steep hills along inches-wide paths that we never could have traversed on foot.
The natural history of the Sea of Cortez, with its 800 specifies of fish, is unique. So is Baja’s deep cultural heritage. The capital city of La Paz was founded in 1535 by Hernando Cortez. Spanish missions were established starting with Nuestra Senora de Loreto in 1697. Other missions followed, each a one-day ride from the next, throughout Baja Sur and up the California coast of the U.S.
Safari Quest guests spend a day in Loreto to see the church, shops and a superb museum housed in what was once a Spanish barracks, and to dine on hand-made tortillas and cold cervezas. Other shore excursions took us to a crude “factory” where weavers still dye fabrics by hand and create rugs and draperies on hand-operated looms. At a pottery we saw patterns that have been hand made by the same family for generations. A shore excursion in La Paz visits the attractive seafront, an anthropological museum and a cathedral built in 1861 on the site of an ancient mission.
Forget verandas, stage shows and wi-fi in every cabin. This is cruising with substance and soul, a true safari in a lost sea where nature’s wonders rule supreme.
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July-August
Safari at Sea: Sailing Mexico’s Sea of Cortez
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