men and the sea
Aistė | Kitesurfing, Travel | January 07, 2010
New years’ day had some promisisng forecasts so we decided to make ourself a present and go kiting to nearby Isla Cerralvo. Since this island is always right before our eyes, for almost a month we were wondering what’s there. White sandy beach which can be seen from VentanaBay Resort always trigered our imagination.
This island has always been named Isla Cerralvo. However, about a month ago Mexican government decided to change the name into Jacques Cousteau honouring this explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea of Cortez and all forms of life in water. The island is eighteen miles long with a land area of 136.498 km² (52.702 sq mi), and is the ninth-largest island in Mexico. The peak of the island comes to 2,100 ft (640 m) and the ridgline runs north-south with many small streams draining east to the Sea of Cortez and west to the Cupalo Channel. There are many steep bluffs on the eastern sides and many sandy beaches and points on the west side.
Our trip plan consisted of going to the island by panga (small fishermen boat). Ride there for an hour or two in a sandy beach and then get back to Baja by kites. Motorboat following us, just in case.
The trip forward was a really great bumpy experience. I thought that I will be able to take pictures, however, after first few jumps in choppy water my eyes were so full of the water that I realised that the camera wouldn’t make it. However, the sandy beach at the island was really rewarding. If you can imagine long and wide white beach with blue/green flat water around it, just do it. Then multiply your imagination by five times and you’ll get the reall view. For entire two or three hours I was really enjoying it like a small child. However, the bigest adventure was still ahead.
The trip back to Baja. Now when I look at the pictures, I can definately state that they don’t reflect the real experience. That day Sea of Cortez was so chopy and the wind so gusty, that I had a realy hard time edging upwind. And then again this strange feeling that a man doesn’t belong in this habitat…there is abundant marine life surrounding the island due to the underwater topography and ocean currents. Virtually all local marine life must migrate past the island and water visibility goes up to thirty meters making it a fabulous view and experience. There are abundant Golden Grouper, Broadbill Swordfish, Marlin, Sailfish, and other game fish in the waters of Cerralvo Channel. Not that we managed to see one. Still there in the midlle of nowhere, in its full extent I understood how Hemingway’s old man should have felt during those two days that he chased after the giant marlin. Bearing the tension of the body. Every single part of you aching. And still experiencing the dignity and majesty of the sea.
That was my adventure.
I’m beggining to realise that no matter how long time you spend in the sea, it doesn’t stop to amaze you. And you yourself become something other. And you yourself don’t stop to amaze yourself.
