Sea Kayaking Baja Mexico

Written by Robert LaGrone


Sea Kayaking Baja, Mexico

Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Read this entire feature with photos at: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/kayak/baja/baja.html

Eight days, two notebooks, three camcorder batteries. Would they be enough?

"Bienvenidos a Mexico!"repparttar sign at Loreto Airport announced.

Balmy air wafted intorepparttar 133727 open-air room underrepparttar 133728 lovely "palapa" roof made from fan palms fronds. I wondered why there was a ceiling fan turning at exactly 12 r.p.m. above my head. At that point I was in "vacation mode," measuring time byrepparttar 133729 number of trips my duffel bag made aroundrepparttar 133730 nearby carousel as I waited for a new stamp in my passport.

I had arrived for a weeklong "Islands Expedition" inrepparttar 133731 Sea of Cortez, offered by Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc.

Owners Terry Prichard and Nancy Mertz have been running trips here since 1993, and their experience shows inrepparttar 133732 organized schedule and thorough pre-departure information provided to guests. They offer three other paddling trips here as well: an exploration ofrepparttar 133733 sheltered lagoons alongrepparttar 133734 Pacific coast ofrepparttar 133735 Baja Peninsula, a strenuous twelve-day circumnavigation of Isla Carmen (the largest ofrepparttar 133736 three islands east of Loreto), and, upon demand, a custom paddling trip from Loreto to La Paz. SKA also arranges a special one-day whale-watching tour, which seven ofrepparttar 133737 nine people in our group would be taking tomorrow. Whale activity is at its peak inrepparttar 133738 late winter asrepparttar 133739 Gray Whales calve, breed, and prepare to migrate north.

"You can't get lost in Loreto," said Judy,repparttar 133740 tour guide who fetched our group atrepparttar 133741 airport and delivered us torepparttar 133742 Hacienda Suites Hotel. A good starting point for sightseeing,she said, isrepparttar 133743 famous mission -repparttar 133744 first in allrepparttar 133745 Californias. Another guest and I strolled down Avenida Salvatierra, named forrepparttar 133746 Jesuit padre who foundedrepparttar 133747 mission in 1697, until we sawrepparttar 133748 bell tower rising aboverepparttar 133749 rooftops inrepparttar 133750 late afternoon sun. The old clock onrepparttar 133751 tower, not original equipment, is correct twice each day at about 10:30. Oh well -repparttar 133752 rest ofrepparttar 133753 place is still very much in use. Mass is held inrepparttar 133754 chapel, andrepparttar 133755 storehouse building next door is nowrepparttar 133756 Museum ofrepparttar 133757 Missions.

We didn't exactly get lost, but after deciding to take a different route back torepparttar 133758 hotel, we couldn't find our desired street. We saw a bit ofrepparttar 133759 town, though, ending up on Loreto's waterfront street, with its broad walkway and shops and restaurants. Loreto is a city of over ten thousand people, but it feels smaller and very friendly. It would be much larger today if not forrepparttar 133760 European diseases that killed offrepparttar 133761 very peoplerepparttar 133762 missionaries were trying so hard to help. Despite its sleepy, laid-back ambiance, Loreto contains two modern surprises. First, it has become a major tourism hub for kayakers and R.V. tourists. Dollars are widely accepted at a current rate of about ten pesos per dollar. Second,repparttar 133763 town has several internet cafés. In fact,repparttar 133764 whole Baja Peninsula is wired with fiber-optic lines for modern communications. I utilizedrepparttar 133765 internet café, but I never turned onrepparttar 133766 television in my hotel room.

Permanent tourists: A lifelong trend!

Written by Liana Metal


In recent years, many tourists who visit Kerkyra (Corfu forrepparttar non Greek) island end up in buying some kind of property onrepparttar 133726 area. Some of them become permanent residents, while others use their new home as a basis for their family holidays, once or twice a year. But why choose this kind of tourism?

Nick, an Englishman, was one ofrepparttar 133727 first to built a small cottage in Korakiana Village, on Kerkyra island. He first visited Kerkyra many years ago with his family, but it was much later when he found out that he could actually get a permanent place onrepparttar 133728 island he loved.

“At first I thought that I would need a fortune to buy a decent house in a village,” he says. “But a friend of mine, who had already bought a ready cottage in Korakiana village , kept me informed boutrepparttar 133729 properties sold over there, and soon he spotted a bargain.”

Nick has got a family of five, and they were all delighted atrepparttar 133730 prospect of a holiday house on Kerkyra. Nick was able to get a small stone house with a yard in front at a very low cost, and he built a two-floored cottage in a year.

“When I first saw it,” he admits, “ it was a kind of ruined store room with nothing much to attractrepparttar 133731 buyer, butrepparttar 133732 scenery all around was fantastic, and that wasrepparttar 133733 basic point. We would live inrepparttar 133734 nature, breathe fresh mountain air and see a wonderful view every day.”

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