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Dive trip to Baja.
Estero Beach/Punta Banda then to Bahia de los Angeles.
WHEN:
August 4 to August 11, 2001.
WHERE:
At Estero Beach, we stayed at Dennis' place in the resort area. With the camp ground not far away, the restrooms and showers were right nearby.
At Bahia de los Angeles, we stayed at
Larry & Raquel's On the beach.<==Email linkTo see my maps of these areas Click here.
To see pictures of my boat Click here.
WHO:
Rich, Dennis, Tonya & Rick. Although Dennis did not make it to BOLA this year.
Rick's Story:
My condolences to anyone who missed the trip last week to the Bay of LA in Baja. We had a small group this time, made smaller, as Dennis couldn't fly down to join us, he had to work at the last minute. He did let us spend the first night at his place in Estero Beach. It was a nice stopover, and it really breaks up that long drive. The remaining trio was Rich Parker, his coworker Tonya, and myself.Dennis took us to a place in Ensenada called "Haliotis" (I think that's the Latin name for the halibut family of fish, nothing to do with bad breath - oh, grow up!). Nice restaurant, contrasting many of the eateries in the Ensenada area. The margaritas were so good, it was almost as though I had never really had one before; big, strong pups, too. The food was also great, and priced very reasonably. Much lively conversation and a few margaritas later, we returned to Estero Beach resort, where they had a lounge with a live band, and we started the beer & tequila shots. We really should have stopped at the margaritas, I guess. Afterward, we staggered back to Dennis' place, & tried to get ready for bed. I was the first to wobble, and headed out to the street for some "air". I found a nice warm stretch of sidewalk that sort of resembled a king sized bed, & passed out there.
After our night of howling at the moon in Ensenada, we prepared for the trip south to the Bay of LA. It isn't really that long of a drive, distance wise, but it was very slow going with that big Wellcraft in tow, and the speed limits are pretty low in some stretches. We observed a real life version of "Survivor", starring the pedestrians and the loose dogs that dashed back & forth in the freeway traffic. The losers don't exactly get voted off the island.
Larry & Raquel's place is a little hotel and restaurant nestled on the beach next to the Sea of Cortez. They have comfortable, clean rooms, and Raquel makes some of the best fish tacos you will ever eat. All the food she makes is tasty and comes in generous portions, no dieting allowed here. You will be hard pressed to find a more reasonably priced place to stay; for my week of lodging, with my own air conditioned room, maid service daily, two big meals a day, a few beers a day, occasional margaritas and the good company of Larry & Raquel, the cost was only $260! Some of the other guests staying there hailed from some pretty far flung locations, like Italy and Greece, so their reputation is growing fast.
The first dive of the trip was at Pt. Pescador, to the south of the Bay. Three or four rocky reefs branch out from shore, to tumble down into serious depths in excess of 200 ft. With the visibility of at least 40 ft, we couldn't resist just jumping in with snorkels for a quick look around. Trigger fish, gulf opaleye, puffers, angelfish, grouper and cabrilla are the dominant species, all very numerous, and actively prowling the reefs. The temperatures here flip flopped between 75 to 87 F, apparently due to a cool upwelling current from the depths colliding with the sun heated water from the shallows of nearby Las Animas. The dun color of the rocks was punctuated by brilliant yellow and scarlet soft corals, and by a small, iridescent, azure colored plant that grows on the rocks in the shallowest areas, close to shore.
When it became imperative that we get deeper, we strapped on our life support and jumped back in. At 35 ft., swimming along the backbone of a reef, I located a spot where congested freeways of fish converged, passing by with the same crazy aimlessness of the traffic in Tijuana. Belly to the bottom, scarcely moving air, I watched the parade passing by. When you are still, the life around you sneaks a peek back, and a big ochre colored octopus watched me from a crevice nearby. I slowly extended a finger to him, and he responded by tentatively settling a large sucker onto the end of my finger. Without gloves, the contact made me flinch, and he also recoiled into the recesses of the rocks. Rounding a corner, I spotted a large black "rock spider" with bright yellow spines. Knowing full well the consequences, I grabbed it, and the powerful bug kicked out of my grip, lacerating my ungloved hand. Another grab and it is captive, but I quickly released it when I saw the fluffy orange eggs hanging under the tail.
Somber moments are part of life, and our trip wasn't to be spared. Rich received the sad news that his friend, Pat Reynolds, had passed after a battle with cancer. Rich shared some memories with us, seeming to add flesh to the name of a man we would never get the chance to know, and we raised our glasses in a poignant salutation of those memories, and to bid Pat farewell.
Our next dive was made on the reef immediately to the south of Ventana Island. Seven rocky tips rise from the water at low tide, but nothing shows at all during high tide. About 100 yards of rocky reef lie just below the surface and creates a serious hazard to navigation, but also an ideal dive site. A raft of seals floated at the other end, with flippers held high in the air to cool themselves. The same fish traffic was here as on the other reefs, but they were larger. Scallops with yellow and black vertical striped mantles adhere to the rocks, some scallops were as large as dinner plates. The reef dropped to a sandy bottom at 90 feet, where shy jawfish peered suspiciously from holes in the sand. As I navigated to the other end of the reef, the seals spooked, and began to dive bomb the intruder, barking threateningly in my face. I stayed as low as I could, and as I slowly retreated over the edge on the other side of the reef, I stumbled onto the wreck that Raquel had said was here somewhere. There was little resembling a boat remaining, but many of the parts were recognizable: two long metal masts, many clumps of old netting, plates of rusting metal, chunks of rotting black wood. The size of the gas tank and the large pulleys on a rusting motor show that this wasn't a small boat. Pieces were scattered from 29 to 70 ft depths, telling evidence of the destructive capabilities of these otherwise quiet waters.
 Ilsa La Ventana |
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Back in the boat, we searched the south end of the Bay for whale sharks, but came up empty. We spotted a fin whale, and watched it as it travelled for awhile. It noticed us following, and changed direction, leaving a light brown slick in the water to make sure that we knew just how it felt about our intrusion.The next day, weather kept us off the water, with strong north and easterly winds. We spent the next day and a half lounging, eating Raquel's good cooking, listening to Larry's funny stories, and telling some of our own. We walked to the turtle recovery center a few hundred yards down the beach from the hotel, to check out the loggerheads rescued from fishing nets.
Thursday morning dawned flat and calm. We planned a full day of diving to make up for the past couple of wind whipped days. At the north end of Smith island, we found a rocky islet with a sheltered bay to anchor in. The bottom here drops from 20 to 85 feet fairly quickly. Gorgonians in various shades of yellow, pink, and brown reached up from the rocky bottom. A large angelfish had attached itself to Rich's side, and followed us around like a pet dog. As we changed direction and headed to the opposite end, we found a large green moray. The angelfish that had tagged along at Rich's side fearlessly slid in next to the moray, and the eel actually appeared to briefly nuzzle the side of the angelfish.
Unknown to us, the wind had changed direction, and our anchorage was no longer protected. When we got to shallower water, I happened to raise up to look at the boat, and saw Tonya waving and yelling that the boat was hitting rocks. We cut the dive short, hauled anchor and left this spot. The second dive of the day was done in the protection of one of the small bays on the west side of Smith Island. It was a shallower dive, less than 39 ft., but still entertaining, with sizeable schools of fish, and we also found a large, free swimming scallop. Its orange frill was sensitive, and when tickled, the scallop slowly filled its reddish brown mottled mantle and "sneezed" a jet of water at us.
As we packed to leave, we met one of the more ubiquitous land creatures of this desert area. Tonya lifted a box, and beneath it was a large, pale scorpion, a reminder that anything left on the ground here may have one of these nasty bugs hiding underneath or inside. We settled up with Raquel, and reluctantly left the Bay of LA.
After several hours on the road, we stopped in El Rosario for gas and food. Mama Espinoza's restaurant is a landmark, for good reason. The specialty of the house is the lobster burrito, which turned out to be another culinary epiphany, simple and delicious.
If you didn't go, YOU MISSED OUT!!
Rick B.
So what about the next trip down there? Take a look at the Dive Trips page, I'm already thinking about another one, Wanna go make some more memories??
If YOU would like more info & want to go with us, respond via Email to Rich@southcoastdivers.com.CLICK here to return to MAIN PAGE
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