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KELLY'S SECRET SPOTS

by Kelly T

The secret  is not to tell too many people about it or you will find everyone going there!  The spot itself  may not be so secret, but the experiences you choose become your own. They will forever be imprinted on you mind as yours alone!

I had never been on a plane in my life - except to jump from one - so the plane ride alone was a thrill. I had never been outside the Great Canadian border; this was my first opportunity to experience Baja  and, of course, The Sea of Cortez.

The first day was amazing even before I had touched the water. The small town of Loreto, with its tiny shops, offered food fresh from the ocean plus great tasting margaritas and beer. Both the culture of the small town and the local people were accommodating. There is even interesting history there. The hotel offered all that you could want in any fancy resort. To be viewed right from the beach were the most amazing sun rises - the pictures do not do it justice. However, you had to get up really early to catch this at the perfect light.

Perfect Light

The ocean itself holds a lot of secrets and fabulous spots. I have never before experienced the same feeling of awe for anything. It was a mixture of fear and respect for everything around me. This was all caught in moments of  reaching for something as innocent as a shell that moves at your presence and exposes nothing of itself; looking at the bottom of the ocean and realizing  that all you see is living; watching as the sting ray that hide under the sand and move as your shadow falls across its back  lifting and scattering the sand as he moves a few feet and then reburies himself; and the grinning of the moray eel -  like a Cheshire cat with fangs - from a coral reef. All around were other wonderful sights! The star fish have more than 6 arms as we so often see in the story books, and the colors are not just red , but different shades of pink, orange, red and white. The stone fish lives up to his name and looks as a stone but, there could be a painful consequence if you touch it. The parrot fish move with the waves in a rainbow of colors.

Kayak Camp

Trying to find the names of all the creatures that occupy one tiny cove would leave the mind exhausted, but just to admire the beauty leaves an indelible impression. Dolphins dive and feed in circles around your kayak and large sea turtles feed on squid as your kayak hovers inches above their massive bodies. So close to are you that you can see the battles won and lost as they nibbled on the giant squid. To experience the appearance of a whale fin off the bow of your boat a hundred meters away is an awakening to the power that the ocean, or at least its inhabitants hold. 

Waking up on the beach

My personal fascination was the hermit crabs (Click here to view movie of "Tasty Breakfast") that occupy the left over shells of another species. To see a shell of any size slide only a few inches and stop, then skitter sideways was as much of  a surprise as the tiny occupant of the shell. As they become upset with you for even thinking that you can handle them, their tiny well-shaped claws reach out and attempt to pinch you. The amazing thing that I learned was the ways of survival inherent in all things and I found a new respect for the vast world below the water once ventured into and not just traveled on. I truly hope to return again to my secret spot.