4X4 adventure

4X4 adventure
Magazine: August 2008

Kingdom of cacti
The Sonora desert is speckled with “cardóns”, the world’s biggest cactus, which lives up to 300 years, reaches up to 20 metres in height and 25 tons in weight. Sculptured by nature as huge candlesticks, the cardóns are close “cousins” of the “saguaros”, which grow further north and achieved fame through western films. They are found up to 950 metres in altitude and are common between El Rosario (in the north) and Los Cabos (extreme south of the peninsula). Other cacti varieties are: “ocotillo”, which recalls Medusa’s mane, and “nopal” (similar to the Indian Fig Opuntia) - also used in cosmetics and gastronomy.

On the Mex 1, the asphalt “carretera” (road) covering the Baja (lower) California peninsula with its 1,700 km, for a “circular” journey from San José del Cabo to San Ignácio and back. The trip starts at the San José airport, renting a jeep, since most roads in Baja California Sur are unpaved. 359 kilometres is the distance on the Mex 1 to Loreto, the first capital of the Californias, built in 1697. The descent to the San Isidro oasis is breath taking: black mountaintops appear amongst the leafage of a thick palm grove, which rises along the water path. It is two a.m. when the tyres of the Wrangler touch the Mex 1 asphalt approaching Loreto: eight hours for about 120 km. Bottom line: crossing the Sierra is superb during the day, but… “not at night!” We stop for 24 hours to rest and to enjoy Loreto. The 80 km of Mex 1 up to Aguajito cut a rocky landscape, speckled with thousands of bright green “cardónes”. The local motorway services version is a thatched roof hut advertising Tecate “cerveza” (beer). And here are the first inlets of the huge U-shaped bay that is carved out in the Mar de Cortés and closed by a promontory parallel to the coast.

Baja Camp nights
Set in a crystal blue sea, Espiritu Santo is an uninhabited island on the Mar de Cortés, a protected marine reserve, two hours away from La Paz by boat. It is a paradise of red cliffs, cacti, silence, white beaches and waters full of life. Baja Camp is where we stay, a deluxe tent camp, managed by Andrea Tamagnini - formerly submarine cameraman of Folco Quilici - who brought the southern African safari camp style to this wild and fascinating oasis. The vacation goes by between boat tours discovering lonely bays, trips on kayaks, scuba diving (amongst manta rays, hammerhead sharks and whale sharks), thrilling killer whale sighting, snorkelling and trekking. The profusion of fish allows the chef to prepare tasty “ceviches” (marinated fish salads), Mexican dishes and marine specialties. Baja Camp (bajacamp.com) is open from May through October and hosts a maximum of 10 people, at a cost of 390 Euro per night for two, minimum stay of three days.

Whale watching
Between mid-December and mid-April, one can have “close encounters” with the big gray whales that swim along the 9,700 kilometres separating the Bering Straight from the warm waters of the Baja, in order to mate and give birth to the offspring. Baja California has become famous for whale sighting and all coastal resorts offer boat or kayak excursions. The Cetaceans prefer the shallow, warm, protected and very salty waters of the lagoons to give birth to the offspring (almost four and a half metres long at birth). Thus, the best places turn out to be the Laguna de San Ignacio, Bahia Magdalena and Laguna Ojo de Liebre.