I met Phill Michael through my youngest son, Chris, when he invited me to join him on a two week Baja adventure that would include scuba diving in the Sea of Cortez and a mule trip into the mountains of Central Baja.   Of course, I said “yes”! But, since I knew nothing of Secret Spot Adventures or Phill at the time, I decided to check out Phill’s website and its various links in order to obtain a little bit of background on what I had just agreed to do.   Within minutes, I found myself intrigued by the various newsletter write-ups from Phill’s vast array of friends and clients who had their thoughts and adventures posted on the website.   I decided I had just made a great decision.

Marlboro Ron

I am NOT a writer.  I am, by nature and choice, a technical person…an engineer.  After reading excerpts from Phill’s previous clients and fellow adventurers, I find that there is no way that I can be as eloquent in my description of the two weeks spent with Chris on this adventure and the opportunities afforded to us by Phill to experience Baja, its people, and its beauty. 

I didn’t realize how inadequate my descriptions might be until we were about to board our flight back to the states and for a moment, there just were no words or thoughts to describe what the previous two weeks had meant…no time to adequately thank Phill for being our liaison, our guide, our friend and our “constant” through a journey filled with so much unspoiled, natural beauty and just good old ‘down to earth’ everyday living. 

Sunday 14 March 2004 

Chris and I arrived in La Paz and were met by Phill and Janet.  We loaded our bags into his Land Cruiser and headed off to downtown La Paz to a restaurant where we were treated to some of the finest scallops and sea bass that I’ve had in a long time.  The view from our table was outstanding, and the margaritas simply added to moment. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Good Food')

Monday 15 March 2004  

Morning found us in the hotel court yard with hot coffee, cereal, and fruit, and discussing the beauty of the area with a couple from Kansas who occupied two of the other hotel units.  After a brief walkabout and pictures, we once again headed south to Cabo with a brief stop at a beach that would be our bedroom for the night. Phill dropped us off in downtown Cabo about noon.   Chris and I took in some of the local sights…marina…shopping mall…a beer at a marina bar…lunch at Hard Rock Café…etc. 

We met Phill about 3:45pm, had a beer, and headed north to La Paz.  As dusk approached, we stopped at a riverbed along the highway to gather wood for our campfire that night. 

Loaded with scrub/wood piled and tied twice as high as the jeep, we arrived at the beach…set up our fire pit…laid out our sleeping bags…cooked up some turkey dogs, and prepared for the star show.  I’m not sure what time I fell asleep, but it was sometime while I was looking up at a completely black, star covered canopy with the ocean noise and night-time wetness just beginning to be felt in the air.

(Click here to see the movie 'Beach Fire')  

Tuesday 16 March 2004 

We were up with the sun and soon into our breakfast of cornflakes and fruit.  A short drive back to the riverbed where we had collected wood the evening before found us driving to the end of the flat area to a waterfall.  However, we didn’t stop there.  This is where I learned to do a little ‘real’ rock climbing…bare foot.  Once at the top (somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-90 feet high), we took off, up river to our next waterfall.  Each climb provided an improvement in my personal climbing skills.  Chris had no problems and Phill is probably part mountain goat, so this was a “no brainer” for him. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Climbing up the Waterfall')  

The hike was about four miles IN…of course it was the same distance OUT, but my 63 year old bare feet thought otherwise.  Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to make the trip back to our vehicle.   Phill provided some soothing foot therapy by way of Alfredo’s magic palapa…a real ‘secret spot’ eatery.  

We were provided with an array of fresh clam dishes and by far the best ‘homemade” margaritas around…except, maybe for my friend’s TJ beer Margaritas.  All the ingredients were unique, from the fresh squeezed fruit juices to the special tequila.  Servings were provided in a mini pitcher…not a 12-ounce glass…but probably closer to a 20-ounce pitcher.  We had two each, along with the Kansas City couple and their two teens, who just happened to stop by on their way south to Cabo.

(Click here to see the movie 'Loaded')  

Early evening found us pulling into La Paz. Again, it was an early bed down…probably with help from Alfredo’s margaritas and clam delights.

Wednesday 17 March 2004 

Dawn and egg burritos for breakfast…unpacking our scuba gear, doing safety checks on our compensators and regulators, and getting everything ready for loading on Phill’s boat…took up most of the morning. 

While Innocentio, Phill’s chief cook/bottle washer/handyman/et al (who would be going with us on the sea excursion), checked out the boat and equipment…we took a short driving tour of La Paz and some of the surrounding area.   The remainder of the afternoon was spent loading the boat and just “hanging out” Baja style. 

After supper (steak, various fixings and margaritas) at a local street restaurant, we went grocery shopping for the coming week.  This was an experience in itself.   The four of us managed to pack two grocery carts with enough fruits, vegetables, cereal, hot dogs, buns, drinks (pop, juices, milk and other items), and just about anything else that looked interesting Enough, I thought, for a month…not just a week.  Of course, I realized later, Phill has done this hundreds of times, so I probably shouldn’t have thought too much about it.  But it definitely seemed like a lot of food at the time.

(Click here to see the movie 'Enough Food')  

Our groceries were loaded in coolers, then onto the boat.  Phill planned on filling the portable gas tanks after midnight.   For Chris and me, it was bedtime.  We were supposed to be up early next morning.

Thursday 18 March 2004 

Up at 6am, breakfast…a last minute check of equipment and we were off!  After we launched the boat, (Click here to see the movie 'The Launching of the Boat')  Phill and Innocentio took the truck/boat trailer back to La Paz and Chris and I checked out the marina and got a quick snooze before the adventure really started.   Once back together, we headed out…a two hour ride north on a sea of glass.  On the way, we stopped to visit with sea lions basking in the afternoon sun and made a brief stop at picturesque island to drop off some of the portable gas tanks that we would pick up on our way back to La Paz. 

Eventually, we arrived at our dive site, a sunken Chinese transport, whose history said that it was transporting illegal immigrants when seized by the Mexican government and sunk.  The ship was resting in crystal clear water about 90-feet down.  Chris and I ‘buddy-dived’, while exploring the ship while Phill zipped around on his own.   

(Click here to see the movie 'First Sea of Cortez Dive')

(Click here to see the movie 'Thursday')

Friday 19 March 2004 

Wheaties for breakfast, and we’re off to Secret Spot # 2 to fill our tanks and so some more dives.

(Click here to see the movie 'Morning Departure')

The bay we anchored in was a typical ‘picture-post card’ experience as was the small fishing village located there.  

Baja, its people, and the land itself, are a combination of stark contrasts.  Twenty-five yards from the ocean is desert, complete with an abundance of cactus, sand and desert creatures.  The ocean seems to provide an almost endless supply of fish of all kinds.  The main source of income and mode of living in this village, as with most of the villages in the Sea of Cortez, is fishing.  And, yet, most of the houses (shacks by US Standards) had a solar panel for electricity and a dish antenna for TV.  This particular village even had a desalinization facility, so fresh water was readily available.  The mayor of the town, Patricia, was a beautiful young lady of Spanish descent, who could have beaten Bush, Kerry AND Arnold in any sort of election just based on pure personality and poise.  As far as I know, she couldn’t speak English…or, very little of it.  But then again, either can Bush, Kerry or Arnold. 

But, back to our activities… 

We began filling the tanks, anticipating another day on the ocean, diving. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Filling Tanks') 

To pass the time, Chris and Phill added a bit of Kendo fighting to their regime and a short game of Scrabble.   Some of the local kids from the village stopped by to share some watermelon with us.  Sunset found the four of us preparing for a supper of a great, Innocentio concocted, vegetable soup, hot dogs and fruit.  

Saturday 20 March 2004 

I was up at dawn, but the rest of the shore party slept till about 8am.  I forgot that we were operating on Baja time.  

After a small breakfast of fruits and floor tortilla chips, we headed to the village to check it out and say ‘Hi!’ to people Phill knew. We stopped by the mayor’s house for a short visit and met most of the family.  Patricia’s young son (about 8 or 9) was celebrating a birthday and Chris presented him with the set of Kendo sticks that the boys had been admiring the day before during their short visit. 

Next, we headed out for Phill’s Secret Spot Rancho located a couple hours further north.  Prior to leaving, we purchased some fresh Yellowtail from the locals that Phill promised would be a meal to remember at his Rancho. Dolphins gave us an escort to the Rancho.

We arrived at the rancho just before sunset, set up camp on the beach and took a short walk to the Rancho’s main building.  From there, it was a quarter-mile trek through unspoiled landscape to a natural, fresh water well, where we all took a well needed bath and soak.  

(Click here to see the movie 'The Stankos are here')

(Click here to see the movie 'Bathing in the Big Pila')

Once refreshed, we headed back to the rancho where we shared supper with the resident family and were treated to some incredible Yellowtail tacos complete with homemade tortillas and all the extras. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Outstanding Meal') 

Sunday 21 March 2004 

Slept on the beach…up with the sun…Wheaties and fruit for breakfast…Innocentio off to do some early fishing.  We eventually broke camp, performed our morning rituals, loaded the boat, picked up Innocentio at the other end of the cove, said goodbye to the Rancho, and headed out for our next dive.  

Early afternoon found us, once again, in the crystal clear waters of the Sea of Cortez anchored off a remote island.   The dive took us 72 feet deep among boulders and underwater caves.  Chris, using his dive light, spotted at least three very large eels under the various boulders and underwater rock overhangs.  I’ve seen eels, before, but none the size of these rascals.  Their heads were at least 12-18 inches long, body diameter in excess of 8-inches, and they appeared to be in the 6-8 foot length range. Of course, my mask was new and experiencing some fogging, so my dimensions may be a little off…but, not much.  We saw, and avoided, some good size Jellyfish as well as an array of various other sea creatures including multiple Puffer fish and a Man-of-War…neat! 

(Click here to see the movie 'The Spotted Guella Monster')

Phill went hunting for supper and ended up bagging two good sized sea bass.  After we were back on board, it was time for snacks and wine (what else?). 

With a few witty messages inserted in our empty wine bottles and sent into the world looking for companionship, Phil and Chris settled in to prepare supper.  Soon, the grill was sizzling with sea bass fillets, and the galley burner was smokin’ with Phill’s exclusive Secret Spot Baja potatoes.  Mucho good! 

The late afternoon and early evening provided some easy relaxing moments anchored within 100 feet of the rocky remote island. We watched the larger jellyfish rise to the surface to sun themselves, observing some unique cloud displays,  and just enjoyed the intoxication of the surroundings.  

(Click here to see the movie 'Sunset at Santa Cruz)

Monday 22 March 2004  

Morning provided some NE winds which stayed with us on our trip south to La Paz.  The trip would take us somewhere around 6 hours…with a stop to refuel and an early afternoon snack at our first fuel drop.   We left that beautiful cove about 3pm, and rode the pounding waves for the next three or so hours, arriving at La Paz around 6:30pm. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Pounding Waves')

After securing the boat to the trailer, we headed to Phill’s place to shower, clean up, sort our dirty clothes, etc.   Phill headed to La Paz airport to pick up Carol, another California friend, who would be joining us for the mule ride portion of our adventure. 

Tuesday 23 March 2004 

Today was, more or less, an R&R day.  However, there were things to be accomplished. Scuba gear had to be clean-water washed and dried and later packed prior to our departure for the mountains.  The boat had to be cleared / cleaned out from the last five days usage, dirty clothes had to be sorted, taken to the local Laundromat, and we had to pack our gear for the mule trip. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Ron Sings Along')

On completion of all that trivial stuff, we picked up Carol and went to brunch at an excellent little restaurant located just off the marina. 

The afternoon / late afternoon found us ‘hanging out’ at Phill’s place, visiting the local Internet café, paying a visit to the hardware store to obtain some essentials required for our mule trek, …and eating supper at an excellent Chinese restaurant. Then it was some minor ‘Blue Burro” (our Toyota Land Cruiser’s adopted name) packing in anticipation of an early morning departure for the mountains some 8-plus drive hours to central Baja.

Sleep came quickly that night.

Wednesday 24 March 2004 

Up at 6am…a storm front appeared to be moving through the area, but quickly gave way to clear blue skies and mucho sunshine.   Final packing completed, Chris, Phill and I pushed-started ‘Blue Burro’, picked up Carol, and began the 2^nd installment of our two week saga. 

 Before I go on, I feel that a few comments about ‘Blue Burro’ (BB for short), our trusty Toyota Land Cruiser, is necessary since it / he was an integral part of our next four day adventure.   

Prior to leaving La Paz, BB developed some minor indigestion problems… electrical in nature.   However, we were not going to allow the lack of an alternator delay our trip north.   So, BB and gang began our diesel-powered journey without this bit of minor hardware.   After all, we only needed the alternator to provide power to trivial things like the starter, lights, etc.   And, that really wasn’t a problem since we more than compensated for the situation by leaving BB running during the daylight hours, and push-starting him each morning.   This provided us with an early morning workout each day which got the old circulation system up and running, ready for whatever the day had to offer…a plus, no matter how you look at it. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Push Starting') 

Continuing… 

The drive to the mountains was a great land tour along Mexico Highway 1, through quaint little towns where we made stops for coffee and rolls and for baked goods from a world famous bakery. 

(Click here to see the movie 'World Famous Bakery')

Thursday 25 March 2004 

Another beautiful Baja sunrise found us breaking camp, enlisting the aid of an additional body sleeping at the beach to help with BB’s morning startup, and back onto highway 1.  

In order to view Mural Sites (cave paintings) in the Archaeological Zones of Baja mountains, it was necessary to register in 'civilization'.  This allowed a brief stop in this picture-postcard town to stretch, have a brief walkabout the town square and pay a brief visit to the historic mission.   

Once registered, we purchased a few more groceries (eggs, vegetables, soft drinks, etc.); picked up more ice for our coolers; diesel for BB, and continued on for our next three hour drive (2-hours of it, off-road) deep into the highlands. 

 (Click here to see the movie 'On the Way into the Mountains')

Early afternoon found us arriving at the mountain rancho, unpacking BB and preparing our mules and burros for the trek into the canyon.  

Actually, our wranglers, Juan and Christobal, performed ALL of the burro packing.  These two gentlemen, along with Phill, would be our guides, caretakers, you name it, for the next two or so days.   Once loaded, we were off to the next part of our journey, a very scenic, rugged ride into the canyons, some 3 ½ hours away. 

 (Click here to see the movie 'Descent into the Unknown')

Arrival in the canyon occurred just after sunset.  The stars were beginning to come out as we set up camp, unpacked the burros, gathered wood and began meal preparations.

 (Click here to see the movie 'Fabulous')

Friday 26 March 2004 

Dawn…a Wheaties breakfast…some tea for Carol…and we’re off on our three mile hike along the canyon riverbed on our way to the painted caves.  The scenery along the route was unique, unspoiled, and beautiful…from the boulder canyon trail, the variety of flora, the rising canyon walls…to the various creatures in the valley. Just an incredible three hour journey.   Once at the caves…we had to hike up to the platform viewing area. 

We spent another hour or so in the shade of the painted caves just taking in the beauty of the valley and its surrounding canyon. We sat contemplating the ancient inhabitants of this place…and what might have happened to them to make them leave such an oasis. 

(Click here to see the movie 'Checking it out')

Eventually, we had to leave the area and head back to camp.  Our original plan was to return to the rancho, however, we had spent more time than we anticipated trekking to and from the caves, that by the time we arrived at the campsite, it was agreed that darkness would be upon us before we reached the summit of the valley, and that an early morning start would be best all-around. 

So, after some campfire delights, it was time for bed in anticipation of an early sunrise and trip back to the rancho in the morning.

Saturday 27 March 2004 

After breakfast, breaking camp and getting the burros and mules rounded up and packed, we headed back up the canyon walls to the rancho and Blue Burro.

(Click here to see the movie 'Carol Saddles Up')

Once there, BB was reloaded, we said our goodbyes to our two great wranglers, and we were off to La Paz. 

We left the rancho a little later than anticipated…somewhere around noon.  The off-road trip back to Mexico Highway 1 took about 1 ½ hours.   The road to La Paz was still a good 6 to 8 hours drive.   And remember, Blue Burro had no alternator…therefore, no lights. 

As the sun set, we were just approaching a little town, about a good three hour drive from La Paz.  Darkness determined that we would have to stay at a hotel and drive the rest of the way in the early hours of the morning AFTER we had charged the batteries for 8-hours with Phill’s on-board generator. 

One minor item created a snag in that plan…no hotel in the small town. Undaunted, we decided to drive 30-miles further down the road to a larger town using our dive lights in place of headlights.  A perfect plan!  One that became a memorable addition to our BB saga. 

We arrived at the next larger town…safe and sound, checked into a great little hotel, showered and went off to find a nice restaurant.   After a very tasty dinner, some light entertainment, and very pleasant company, it was back to the hotel.  

(Click here to see the movie 'Mule Crew')

BB was being charged and we were ready for bed since we would all be up at 3am for the final leg of our journey south to La Paz.   Chris and I were scheduled to fly out of La Paz at 8:15am next morning, so the early morning rise was somewhat necessary.

Sunday 28 March 2004 

Three A.M., and we’re ready to go.   BB took some coaxing to get started, but with some local help, off we went.   The trip to La Paz was interesting since we encountered fog for ¾ of the trip down the coast.   But…we arrived at the ammo dump at 7am…unpacked the bare essentials from BB…changed clothes, repacked our suitcases and headed to the airport.  Luckily, there were only 8 passengers checking in, so Chris and I were ready to board by 7:40am.  

(Click here to see the movie 'Two More Weeks')

That was somewhat of a difficult thing to do.  Here, we had spent two outstanding weeks of our lives, doing things that I, for one, may not experience again for some time, if ever. And, there was so little time to bring it all into focus and express how we felt about the adventure…and, to thank Phill for the opportunity he had given us.   We did have time for a quick breakfast at the airport, and we did have a few comments about our time in Baja, but then it was a quick, heartfelt thank you for everything…and, we were off…back to the LA freeways and our jobs, etc.    

(Click here to see the movie 'No Clock')

Arrival at LAX was on schedule…baggage was no problem…Customs was a pain…and somehow we knew we would soon be drawn back into what, for us two weeks prior, would be considered ‘normal’.   However, we also knew…thanks to an overheard comment about a broken hotel elevator and having to walk a few flights of stairs to reach their room…that the word ‘vacation’ would NEVER have the same meaning for us as it did prior to our time in Baja with Phill.