Espíritu Santo: A dream come true!

Posted bybrantdyer6929Posted inUncategorized

In the early 1990s we visited the then kind of smelly falling down city of La Paz. I was fascinated by the island of Espíritu Santo and wanted to go. It was at a time where you could only communicate in Spanish (very fast Spanish)… and it was a hot August day. After some hardcore Spanglish about broken boats etc we sadly got our money back and jumped in our unairconditioned Volkswagen beetle and putted down the dirt road to Todos Santos. I was so bummed we had failed but planned to return some day. Thirty two years later, in a bit of a bidding war at the “Rotary Taste of East Cape” we “won” (jeje… brant is not sure silent auctions are “winning”) the trip to Espíritu Santo. The first year the trips were completely sold out but the owner graciously agreed to allow us to book it next year. There were 2 spots left and we grabbed them.

Loved these real cactuses in front of the painted ones.

Somehow it made us a little nervous. 5 days of Kayaking? No cell service? No Bathrooms? We envisioned triathletes getting up to run the beach followed by a yoga session balanced on the roof of our panga while planning their 20 mile paddle for the day.

That is a blue heron taking care of her baby that’s in the nest of a jumping cholla. These are very prickly cactuses that provide protection from predators. Guess it’s worth the discomfort to survive

We were relieved to find quite a few 70 year old plus attendees when we gathered for breakfast …. As well as 3 other under 17 participants? How hard could this be?

Here are the markings of a whale shark . A couple of whale sharks just hung out around the boat. Interesting behavior.

Turns out the 70 year old plus were more like 80 and they were kayaking beasts. (These are women who think it’s fun to circumnavigate the island of espíritu santo and Vancouver island later this year). The 2 teenaged women were the types that race to jump in the water when the guide says “there’s a hammerhead out here!” The 7 year old was endlessly patient with our explorations but extremely frustrated with my inability to learn Spanish tongue twisters. Our group was delightful….. an unexpected and lovely surprise.

We took a quick botanical tour of the island. One of our guides grew up on a ranch near La Paz and he had a wealth of plant knowledge
Just love this pic. We are hiking near where we camped. Those sharp shadows and neon water caused me to take a lot of pics!
It was very hard to stop taking pics…

Other than having slightly bigger tents (the ring tail cats thought Brant’s head bulging out the wall of the tent was fun to play with at 3 am.)….and perhaps a nicer warm water shower, it was all about as perfect as it gets. A definite pinch me trip. It was an incredible stark beauty and I want to go back just to take more pics.

This was the view from back of our tents
And this was the view in front. Brant and I used the longest heaviest kayak.

This really was a dream come true. As we returned to our hotel, our captain once again gently maneuvered us toward some beautiful humpbacks. We shared the moment with crowded day boating tours from La Paz. Our guide referred to them as refugee boats. We laughed but I also felt so very sad. I said…. “At least they are doing it! “ They are experiencing it. (Get in the bucket as John Muir would say). Though not ideal, I thought likely there are kids on that boat that will have a dream. Someday maybe they will sleep on the beaches of Espíritu Santo. Seriously I had tears in my eyes then and I do again as I write this. A dream come true…

The water was exactly that color… that clear.
There were lots of dolphins and our captain was good at enticing them into doing Sea World performances in the surf of our boat.
Sea lions have chosen this peculiar islet to have babies and hang out. Our guide was terrific at doing a diving pirouette and the adolescent proved over and over that he was better at doing it. The sea lion aliso liked holding onto the rope of the life ring then being pulled around.
Just a short walk down from our tents we found mama laying eggs
So disappointing to realize your live pictures is not turned on. Moments before this giant splash, there was a huge humpback whale hoisting himself completely out of the water. So close you could count the barnacles!
Each morning you could opt to go fishing with captain. The light on the mountains was beautiful as the sun came up.
Or you could just sip your coffee while you walked the beach
But if you went fishing, there was a terrific payoff in the evening when dinner rolled around…
We had grilled fish and ceviche. All excellent. And all with a great view. We were surprised what great fresh healthy meals we had each day.
… and lots of fruit
I would not have minded the water being a couple degrees warmer but it was still wonderful to jump into the water on the evening… soap up then rinse off under sun warmed water.., followed by ceviche and a margarita…. None of which I had to fix!
Somehow sea cliffs (and all sea life) are more interesting when you are sitting in a kayak. (That is one of the guides)
I remember wondering why there were tire tracks coming out of the ocean. Someone finally explained a few years ago.
Here are one of the spots we hopped off the boat to snorkel. While the fish were much the same as Los Barriles, the coral was healthy and seemingly endless. So great to see so much healthy coral.
Never has a cup of coffee delivered by a wonderful husband been more appreciated! I loved sitting on my cot sipping coffee in the morning…. And sticking my head out and watching the stars at night.
The desert light was golden at night
I’m always surprised how they just drive into the beach. Easy!
You can see our tents in the background as we paddle away.
The geography of the island was very variable.
We could see these mountains in La Paz.
We were also impressed when the chef made a tres leaches cake on our last day on the island to celebrate a special birthday.
Adios to the Whalesharks!
This is a pic one of our fellow campers took one beautiful night of our glowing tent.
We did not get up at sunrise to scramble up these rocks. Next time!
Nice view from the rooftop of our hotel.
I was impressed by how many airbrushed bathroom doors there were at the hotel! Lots of murals . The hotel made for a fun quiet spot to relax before and after the trip. I think my fellow campers wondered why I wanted to take pics of their bathrooms.
Hoping I uploaded a dolphin video

The words “Espíritu Santo” mean Holy Spirit. I loved being there with an enthusiastic group that clearly loved taking care of our one and only earth. There was certainly a spirituality in sharing our love for nature together at a UNESCO world heritage site.

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