Sunny days in Mulege.

(Written Thursday, January 15)

If you had asked us a month ago what we would be doing in Baja, we would have answered that we’d be on the beach, playing in the surf. Sure, we got sidetracked by whales, cute towns, and taco stands (oh, the taco stands!), but today we finally achieved our dream!

Twice in the past week we’ve been driven past the white sand beaches of Bahia Concepcion, which lie tantalizingly close to sleepy Mulege. The first time was well after dark on the bus from Guerrero Negro. Bahia Concepcion’s coastline is primarily rocky shores, but its many curves shelter just over a half-dozen white sand oases. ¬Through the bus window the sand glittered in the light of the full moon—not a single human light shone in the entire bay, although we could make out the rows of RVs and palm-thatched bungalows.

There are only the slimmest of housing options on the beaches of Bahia Concepcion for people without an RV or tent, so we opted for a daytrip after setting up camp in Mulege. We were able to catch a taxi to Playa Coyote, where we had heard we could rent a kayak. It turned out that the sign that read “KAYAKS FOR RENT, 15$ A DAY” fell into that category of Mexican signs that may have once been correct but certainly were no longer troubled by that state.

Disheartened, we decided to strike out for Playa Santispac, where we heard from a Playa Coyote resident that we could rent kayaks. Even if they were mistaken, we reasoned, (and they were), we could at least get lunch at the bar we had seen from the road.

People we meet have been continuously surprised to find that we don’t have a car—apparently we’re the only backpackers in all of Baja. How do we get around? they ask.

Here’s one way:



We had just watched a boatload of fishermen returning to shore, and by the time we reached the main road they had loaded up their trucks and were off to town. We got one of the guys to take us to Playa Santispac in the back of their pickup, and I spent the entire time watching an army of scallops sloshing in their open bucket, certain that we would both be soaked with scallop juice by the time we got to our destination.

Playa Santispac also does not have kayak rentals, but it does have much more room than Playa Coyote, and we lay out Rob’s new Mexican blanket under a palapa and sat watching the little waves, reading and soaking up rays. Exactly everything we hoped would elicit the highest feelings of jealousy in our snow-bound friends. So look at some of these pictures—yes, we are smirking. Just a little bit.