Cruising the Sea of Cortez,
Up Close and Personal 

by Ann Hazard

Photo Credit: Terry Hauswirth 

Ann Hazard is the author of Cooking with Baja Magic, Cartwheels in the Sand, and the recently released Agave Sunsets. She has also written over 100 articles on Baja, Mexico, and Mexican cuisine. Visit her at http://www.bajamagic.com . 

Every time I visit Baja, it�s like the first time. Without fail, I�m humbled by the wild emptiness of its mountains, the magnificence of its endless beaches, the clarity of its waters and the multitudes of sea life that flourish in the Sea of Cortez, along its eastern shores. However, most of Baja�s shoreline is inaccessible by road and largely uninhabited. Rugged islands dot the sea, surrounded by pristine bays. More species of marine life inhabit this sea than any other on earth, including several species of whales, dolphins, rays, whale sharks, and tropical and big game fish. I�ve driven the peninsula several times, and flown over it too many times to count. Every time I make the journey � whether by land or sky � I ache to visit those places I see from the air, the places the roads don�t go.  

This spring I got my chance. My family and some close friends took a weeklong Baja Whale and Wildlife Cruise aboard the 102-passenger Spirit of Endeavor. We departed on Saturday, March 21, from the main dock in downtown La Paz. We headed north after sunset and awoke Sunday morning off the shore of Isla Espirit� Santo � its craggy, almost lunar outline a dark silhouette against the brilliance of the sunrise. Inhaling the salt air, I drank up the silence, broken only by the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore, and the squawk of sea birds as they dove for their breakfast.  

Later, we took a boat to shore and went snorkeling. The water was that perfect shade of pale green tinged with aquamarine, and crystal clear. We skimmed over green and rust-colored coral reefs that looked like huge heads of cauliflower. Between the coral and waving meadows of seaweed, we swam among needlefish, angelfish, navy blue damselfish, tiny polka-dotted blowfish, turquoise, lavender, green and pink parrotfish, silvery triggerfish, moray eels, and the occasional game fish.  

Lunch was served topside on the ship � and it was a sumptuous barbecue of fresh fish, chicken, burgers and hot dogs with plenty of trimmings. Afterward, we went back to the beach and boarded kayaks where we skirted the shoreline and watched the fish swimming beneath us. Others of our group went hiking through tangled thickets of exotic cacti, up steep hillsides to photograph the magnificent, pristine views.  

The Spirit of Endeavor is definitely not your typical cruise ship. There is no casino, nightclub or swimming pool onboard, but we did enjoy world-class cuisine and roomy, comfortable accommodations. The crew was young, friendly and energetic � most of them wearing two or three hats and working 12 hour shifts every day. Our waitress, Shanda, cleaned the rooms after serving us breakfast. She also did beach duty, helping passengers in and out of inflatable boats on shore excursions. At dinner, she was back on duty in the dining room � ever cheerful. I wanted to adopt her and take her home.  

Every morning we awoke to see the sun rising dramatically over the Sea of Cortez, and every day we were anchored off a different island. For the first time in my life, I was experiencing � up close and personal � places I had only previously seen from 35,000 feet above sea level. We even snorkeled with sea lions at Los Islotes off Isla Partida. Amazingly enough, if we got too close to one of the males, he would blow a circle of bubbles, letting us know where the boundaries of his space were and giving us a big hint to stay outside it!