Bahia de los Angeles (October 16, 2010)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Yesterday I rounded about two-thirds of Isla Coronado and today I wanted to do the rest. I paddled north for a short distance until the shore turned westwards. The scenery at this point was not very interesting; the gray ash of the volcano mixed with rocks was all there was to see. I noticed that the vegetation on the side of the volcano is limited to a cactus every now and then.
When the coastline turned south again the scenery quickly changed to brown hills with a lot of loose rocks and only slightly more vegetation. This really is a barren place.
The shore is very irregular, numerous small inlets and rocks sticking out into the channel. Some nice little bays started to appear but everything was always pebbles or rocks; not very interesting to land on and certainly nothing to camp on.
It was a very quiet day. This must be the first time in the past week that the forecast was somewhat accurate. There was only a very slight west wind blowing, not even enough to have a cooling effect; the day was very hot. I continued paddling and wanted to find the estuary where I had seen the sting rays and the crabs yesterday. After more than an hour on the water I noticed a reef which looked like it could be the entrance to the lagoon. It was sheltered by a row of smaller rocks which created a corridor-like entrance to the lagoon itself. At it’s entrance the lagoon is pretty deep; the water is a deep green and the bottom is not visible. It stays like this nearly until the end is reached where it becomes very shallow. This is the area in which the rays and skates are plentiful and I saw many scuttle away quickly as soon as I got near. I wanted to take some video shots so I floated with the current and stuck my hand with the camera under water when I saw something interesting. I was not very successful in getting close to any of the fish I saw and it took me a while to realize that it was the shadow of the kayak which chased them away before I got close enough. It was still early in the morning so the shadows were still long.
I paddled to the other side of the lagoon and drifted back facing the sun and what a difference it made. I was now able to get very close, sometimes right above the fish before there would be a reaction, if any at all.
After a while I beached the kayak and went on shore to find the crabs again. They were busy feeding in the mud and I was able to approach quite close before they would all scatter. The biggest crabs were no bigger than approximately one inch across. They were colored from bright white to dull brown and gray to red. Only a small number had a pincher, some were left-clawed, others had their claws on the right. I took some photographs and some video. As long as I did not move, I was able to observe them through the tele lens from very near by and I was amazed at the speed with which they picked up from the mud whatever it was that they were eating and putting it into their mouths.
When I left the lagoon and paddled further south I paddled through some inlets and rounded one of the many points of this island until I was back at the spot where I had finally found some wind shade the day before.
The wind was only a little stronger by now and it did provide some cooling without being really strong. I was looking forward to the frigate bird rookery again and hoped that I could find a way to beach the kayak and get out on the rocks to take some shots with the canon camera, which is not waterproof and is carried in one of the hatches while on the water. As I got close I saw a group of vultures at the water’s edge feeding on something which was laying on the rocks. I needed to round a big rock to identify what it was; a whale carcass, but obviously one that had been there for quite a long time. There was not much skin left, there was no smell and some ribs and vertebrae were scattered quite a distance across the rocks, but still, there was apparently enough left for the vultures to be feeding. I took some video before I paddled on and contemplated trying to take a vertebra with me for Martijn but immediately realized that this was an impossible undertaking in view of all the stuff I carried on the kayak already. Anyway, I now know where it is so we can come back and try to find an interesting body part the next time that we are in Bahia de los Angeles.
Paddling further and getting to the frigate bird rookery I realized that it would be very difficult to execute the plan that I had to get some close up shots. There is only one tiny little cove in that area and I would not be able to get a good angle on the birds from that vantage point. I would either have to do it from the kayak and hope not to get the camera wet, or use the little waterproof camera which does not have the same magnification. I decided to leave that decision to another day.
I paddled closer to the shore than I had the day before and kept a very good look out for a spot which was designated as a camp site. I did indeed find it, not far from the rookery; a small, insignificant sign nearly blown over had the sign of a tent on it. I landed and found a very interesting site, but again only rocks and pebbles. But, this site had a lot more to offer with regard to scenery than where I was camped below the volcano so I decided to move my camp there in the next few days.
Around mid-afternoon I arrived back at the volcano; I had circled the whole island and done plenty of sight seeing within the space of 6 hours and I was very hot and tired by now. A quick dip in the water and a snack restored my energy. I lay with my back on the hot pebbles again to relax my back muscles which were stiff and hurting.
I was still in two minds if I should climb the volcano. I was tempted to do it and I was not at all pressed for time so the only thing that really kept me from spontaneously deciding to climb it was the weather; I did not fancy climbing this hill if the weather was going to be as hot as it had been the last few days.