Wednesday, May 2, 2018

New Faces, New Places

Earlier this spring, my 71 year old Aunt and I set out to paddle 
more than 100 miles from Loreto to La Paz.  
Here's what happened.


March 27, Loreto y Agua Verde, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 0 miles paddled 

It's Go Day! I just took my last shower until April 6. Count them- that's ten days until my next bout with soap and water. Ten days! My Aunt, fiddling with gear and last minute details, stood by her bed. Her hair still dripped from her own last shower and I wondered if she was thinking what I was: Thank goodness for my own tent. Ten days with no showers times two people in a 4x7 space would quickly make for rough living. If any doubts existed about refusing to share a tent, those showers promptly cured them.

As we packed to check out, nerves and excitement fluttered about our stomachs. That afternoon we were scheduled to meet the kayaking group at a cafe for introductions and orientation. Naturally, we hoped for fun, friendly people, but we also hoped for average folks, like us. Please, no world class, long-distance paddlers that we'd worry about holding back... or keeping up with! As the meeting time neared, my Aunt and I hauled our bags of gear to the hotel lobby hoping we had everything packed correctly. "Town clothes," passports, and most of our money were in one bag that would remain in Loreto until we returned; "paddle clothes," a few pesos, snorkel gear, and provisions were stuffed in other bags to go with us. We also carried our travel insurance documents. Travel insurance was mandatory for this trip because of the emergency evacuation piece. If you were to be evacuated, you were to be evacuated by someone else. Once we were underway, there would be no way out except by power boat or by helicopter. A kayak, I guess, wasn't going to cut it. 



But evacuation was far from thought. We wanted to meet the group and start paddling. It was time to go. After introductions and a bit of small talk, Ryan, our guide, presented us with our first decision. Do we set off for our planned location, Ligui Beach, or do we bus further down the coast to Agua Verde and try to beat the wind? El Norte was still raging. Whitecaps bounced across the water's surface and we could imagine our kayaks doing the same. Forecasts called for better conditions, but not for a couple of days yet. Our dilemma was this: if we went to Ligui, our originally planned spot, we would have to paddle around two major headlands the following day and with El Norte blowing like it was, we might not make it. In other words, we would be stuck on the beach using our "rest day" on day one. And we still had a hundred miles of paddling and 10+ days of camping staring us in the face. A rest day further into the trip might be nice. Necessary, even. We had no idea what lay ahead. We opted to bus further. 

Were we disappointed? Of course, everyone was. We just cut 20 miles off our trip. But we understood it was the best decision, not only for practical purposes, but pleasurable ones too. Choosing to bus further down the coast today meant a rest day in the future. A rest day to recuperate and explore. It also meant the potential for normal, 4-6 hour paddling days instead of longer ones because we wouldn't be starting out behind schedule, and as our guide pointed out, "This trip wasn't just about paddling." 

As we pulled into Agua Verde hours later, I began to understand what he meant. 




Would we get off the beach and into our kayaks in the morning? Would El Norte ever stop blowing? And would the question be asked: Do you need to be evacuated? Stay tuned! Loreto to La Paz is just getting started. 



1 comment:

  1. Oh geez! I'm sorry, but in speaking with Pat tonite over the phone I was reminderd of this... Chapter 2, that I had intened on reading days ago and didn't get to do it yet! So.... I'm impatiently awaiting Chapter 3!! Thanks for the great story!! Love it. Patty will be here next week for a few day...can't wait!! XOXO

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