Hiking the sand dunes

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  Puerto Lopez Mateos, Mexico
Saturday, January 27, 2007

This morning we decided to get up with the rising sun to make sure we hit the pier at Puerto Lopez Mateos before the whale watching tours got underway. We were bent on getting a cheap boat ride over to the sand dunes on Magdalena Island. We quickly made breakfast, tossed aside the dishes and traversed the bumpy dirt road back to town. We gassed up at the outskirts of town and were approached by a local who runs a whale watching tour. He passed us his business card and we thought maybe this was a sign of good fortune to come. When we arrived at the pier, the only place with boats that was open happened to be the same joint that was on the business card we possessed. Again, with broken Spanish, we started our negotiations. The boatmen were quite cooperative and agreed to provide us with a return boat trip to the island for $20 USD. We tried to haggle for $10, but he would have none of it. $20 return is better than $20 one-way.

For some odd reason the boatmen did not provide us with salvavidas (lifejackets) and Geraldine was none too impressed. Again, Michael promised he would save her if we happened to capsize, so off we went. El Capitan dropped us off at the sand dunes and we made an agreement to return to the same spot for a ride back to the pier at 1pm. The sand dunes were incredibly fun. This was the most exercise we have received since we left Calgary (and honestly, since well before we left Calgary). At one point we came across a rather large sand dune and it was obvious we were both thinking the same thing when we stopped in unison and both looked at each other with sly grins. The tri-pod was set up, the backpack was set down, jackets were removed and pockets were emptied. It was go-time! On Ger's count we raced towards the face of the sand dune and scrambled our way up. Ger was in the lead the entire time, until Mike had a last minute burst of engery to beat her to the top.  After the race, the real fun began. Mike laid himself sideways and log rolled down the sand dune. Ger tried to slide down on her backside, but when that failed, she too log rolled her way to the bottom. As fun as it was, we were not prepared for all the sand we would find in unexpected places....for the rest of the day.

We trekked three kilometres across the sand dunes and arrived at the Pacific Ocean on the other side. At the tail end of the sand dunes there were massive deposits of sea shells and sand dollars. At some point the water must have crossed the coastal dunes. We were intrigued and explored the small depressions around the dunes to collect a few keepsake shells. At the Pacific Ocean, there was a slight breeze and some of the waves were between fifteen and twenty feet tall. The waves crashing on shore made a thunderous noise. After the long walk we just completed it was time to sit on the beach and fuel up with some snacks. We gazed in awe at the ocean the entire time. From the Pacific side, we planned to walk the beach around the northern tip of the island through Boca de la Soledad (entry from the Pacific to the inlet). The hike was most peaceful as the beach was untouched by man and seemed never ending. It was surreal!

Around the other side we noticed massive colourful structures and had to check them out. As we got nearer, we noticed that they were cantina tents....what a treat to have a beer after four hours of hiking. This just so happened to be Marcos' whale observatory. What a great place he has set up. You can actually see the whales in the inlet from the comfort of a patio chair. For those that want to be out on the water, he did offer boat tours, and fishing. Ecological day hikes to examine the local vegetation and wildlife are also offered. And for those that want to camp and do not have the supplies required, fear not as Marcos has tents for rent set up all around his property. We're sure his place will be a massive tourist attraction in the near future. In fact we were advised that it is 99% of the visitors are Canadian. Mike walked down to the shore and hung out with a young local that was fishing speckled trout from the banks of the inlet. Apparently, it is very easy to catch fish along the banks in the early morning. We guessed that the menu at the cantina would be trout for the next while.

Not wanting to miss our boat, we again piled on our gear and headed back toward where our return boat would be. We hiked for another hour or so and reached the actual agreed boat pick up site, however there was no boat in site. Initially, we were not bothered as we decided to finish our snacks and enjoy the early afternoon sun, however after waiting for 30 minutes, it was becoming clear that either the boat was not coming or something about the arrangements was lost in translation. With gear back on again, we continued down the shore toward the pier. It was not long before a boat passed and offered us a ride across the inlet. Let's be clear here...this was still not the boat we were waiting for. Safely back across, we went to speak with the lead boatman. Thankfully he was good about it and agreed to only charge us for a one-way fare. Yeah us!

Deciding that it was now definitely time to have a shower, we drove the 50km to Ciudad Constitucion and found a great RV place that offered hot showers. We attempted to take advantage of the hot showers before retiring for the night, however were disappointed to find that the showers were barely lukewarm. We'll try again in the morning.

Photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=16xvaj2z.73ykch8v&Uy=z04ec2&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

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