Click on a photo to enlarge it.
After taking ages to get everything sorted out and do the hoovering, we finally left Abba Ranch and went to check out
the internet, get petrol and do some shopping. So it was already late in the afternoon by the time we took Highway 1
North. The road wasn't very good as parts of it had been washed away and there are always huge pot holes to avoid.
We took the turn off for Cabo Pulmo and the 15 miles took us 1.5 hours to drive. The last 6 miles were along a rough
dirt track and took an hour!. But we finally made it to Cabo Pulmo only to find that the entrance to the beach was
blocked off by a padlocked chain. So we drove into the village and a very helpful Mexican drew us a map in the sand
and told us we needed to speak to Daniel. We found him and paid him for 2 nights to stay on the beach and he showed
us where the key to the padlock is kept. Unfortunately, there are no toilets or showers here.
Once on the beach we promptly got ourselves stuck in the sand!! Kirsten got out some planks of wood we have in the
back and a nice Canadian came out and helped push Winnie! It took us 15 minutes but we managed to get ourselves out
and find a better spot to park. Unfortunately, the beach is now a pebble beach - it used to be an idyllic sand beach
until the hurricanes destroyed it! But it's still a popular spot because of Mexico's only coral reef virtually next
to the shore line. We could see Manta Rays jumping high out of the water through the binoculars - something we haven't
seen before. (The photo is from a brochure because we were too far away to take one).
That evening, Kirsten was ready for bed at 8pm but Helen got chatting to our neighbours, Frank and Janet from Canada
and ended up sitting in their motor home when Kirsten came to find our where Helen had disappeared to! We ended up
chatting and drinking hot chocolate until 1 am!! So much for an early night!
On the next day, we went for a walk in the village and when we got back Brian and Lily were sitting on the pebbles
by Winnie. They had driven out in their 4 wheel drive and we chatted with them for over 2 hours. Frank and Janet were
out in their sea kayaks. We were going to take our canoe down and go out in it but Frank told us that because of the
waves, we might take too much water on board and sink!! So he said we could borrow their sea kayaks because they're
unsinkable. (Isn't that what they said about the Titanic!)
So, the next day we took the sea kayaks out and went to have a look at the coral reef. It wasn't easy carrying the
kayaks down the steep slope and, as for getting in, Frank told us to sit in the kayak and wait for a wave. Then just
start paddling! Easier said than done. Kirsten had a glass bowl with her so we could use it to look at the coral and
the fish, (the glass-bottom boat principle), but she couldn't keep hold of the bowl, the paddle and the kayak whilst
she was trying to get into the water. The bowl got smashed when a wave came along and flung it against the side of
the kayak! So we had to pick up the pieces and gave them to Frank to dispose of!
Finally we managed to get paddling. Unfortunately, the Manta rays weren't out jumping when we were there and we didn't
see any fish or much coral either!! But we had fun in the kayaks and at least we didn't have to get our canoe off the
roof and back on! But Kirsten did make it a lot harder for us because she decided to come back on land half a mile away
from Winnie so we had to carry her kayak a very long way!! Helen says it was a serious navigational error on her part,
Kirsten's excuse is that she was looking for a place on the beach with a gentler slope!
Kayaking in Cabo Pulmo.
We put the kayaks back and decided to move on to Los Barriles, to a campground with toilets and showers. We left Frank
and Janet a thank you note with a couple of cans of beer and some home made carrot cake and set off along the bad road
back to the highway. We saw a bobcat on the way, and vultures on a very smelly carcass! As we got onto the main highway,
the road had disappeared and a temporary bridge had been set up which consisted of 4 metal ladders. Helen doesn't know
how she did it, but somehow, she managed to centre the wheels on the ladders and get across safely!!
Los Barriles is only about 30 miles away from Cabo Pulmo and is a Mecca for wind surfers. We found a nice campground to
spend a relaxing 4 nights, do some bread and cake baking, and walk along the sandy beach that stretches off for miles
into the distance. We sat on a terrace and watched all the wind and kite surfers who come here because there always seems
to be wind and waves here. It was so windy that we really struggled to go for a walk along the beach!
