Riding the Coyote

After leaving our free camping just outside of Mulege, we had a few errands to run (refill water, gas, and fridge) before we could set off for the beach for the weekend. Unfortunately, the amount of time this took meant we could not make it to the beach we intended before the sun had set. With only a few rays of light left, we pulled into the trusted Playa Santispac, the northern-most camping area on the Bay of Conception. Here we simply rode out the darkness… although we did grab another mean-margarita and a meal at Armando’s on the beach. My meal consisted of an extremely well prepared concrete-quesadilla, at least if felt like concrete through out the night! Lesson learned.

By morning, early morning, we were coffee’d up and ready to roll out to the beach we intended to stay the weekend; Playa Coyote.  Playa Coyote and it’s waters, is where Kerri was hoping to spot some Whale Sharks. Unfortunately, with the additional crowds in Baja this winter, the camping areas were packed… and I mean packed! Big rig after big rig, with a few van sprinkled in to fill in every possible inch of the sand. We turned around, choosing to head back to our trusted Playa Escondida a few miles up the road. No big rigs there!

We arrived to a nearly empty beach – just how we like it – and pulled into a spot that looked to be just right for us… and promptly sank the rear tires into the sand, argh! This was the first time we got Big Blue stuck in Baja, and only my second time since he has been my stead (since 2010). The first time, way back at Slab City, taught me not to even *try* to get out. Applying any throttle only makes things worse, so this time around I put it in park right away and set out to build a ramp with our leveling blocks. Back in December Kerri sold me on bringing these blocks under the guise of their dual purpose of levelers and a way to get unstuck from sand. I’m happy I agreed, because it only took a few minutes of moving forward a couple feet, repositioning the blocks, moving another two feet, another reposition, and finally drive right out of the sand. It was all pretty uneventful in the end. We moved over a few van-widths and did not sink in this time, so we setup camp and paid up for the three nights we would be staying.

Saturday consisted of nothing more than relaxing, drinking, reading, and setting up the kayak in preparation for an early Sunday paddle for a return trip to Coyote Island. We had failed to step foot on the island when we snorkeled here last week, and that was about to change. The only real exercise we got was helping a VW bus get unstuck from the sand. I’m just happy I wasn’t the only one.

Once Kerri was sufficiently caffeinated on Sunday morning, we set out for the 1.5 mile paddle out to the island. In no time at all (actually a little over 20 minutes) we were pulling into Coyote Island’s tiny crescent shaped beach. We walked around, exploring the 100 yards of beach that was all our own. It was at this time that the concrete-quesadilla decided it wanted out of my body – at least from the proper end. That’s fine… this old bear has pooped in the woods many times. Problem was, we had no TP! Not even a single tissue for cleanup after the deed. I was reaching for some dry grass when Kerri mentioned the much softer appearing kelp here on the beach. I knew there was a good reason sea-weed existed! Thank you Kerri.

After defiling the island, we left. Returned to camp and spending the rest of Sunday – and all of Monday now that I think about it – just being lazy. Sitting around, reading, eating, throwing the ball around for the dogs, and occasionally having a Tecate or two was the name of the game. Not a bad weekend, except…

… except, we have done this before. A few times now, in fact. It was Kerri that brought it up, “I don’t think I can just sit around on a beach much longer”. I was thinking the same thing for the past 24 hours but didn’t want to bring it up. Baja, as awesome as it is (and it truly is) seems to have run it’s course with us already. The nomad in our blood is screaming out for something new, and it can not be ignored. Our plan has always been to come down to this part of Baja and hang around on beaches until we got bored, then head back up to the USA. I think we were both surprised when it appears that time is approaching.

The mountains are calling