Land's End
Today, the clear waters of the Sea of Cortez
beckoned. With my compadres, I hopped on a panga
boat and headed out to Land's End for some diving.
At the very tip of the Baja peninsula, where the
warm waters of the Sea of Cortez meet the cool
Pacific, we dropped anchor and strapped on our
scuba gear. As we made our way down the wall of
Pelican Rock, on the edge of a deep abyss, we saw
all manner of sea life. In fact, I have never seen
such an amazing quantity and diversity of marine
life in one dive.
A white-tipped reef shark cruised along the edge
of the undersea canyon below us. We found a
seahorse nestled in a crack of the wall. Pufferfish
swelled up like balloons when our divemaster
grabbed them. Moray and zebra eels coiled around
the reefs, glaring at us as we floated up for a
closer look. Around us swam bat rays, Moorish
Idols, sea lions, grouper and all manner of
colorful reef fish—especially when our
divemaster cracked open a bag of tortillas.
Between dives, our boat crew dropped us at
Lover's Beach, a narrow isthmus of sand just north
of Land's End, which is otherwise a rocky and
impassable (but scenic) peninsula. On the bay (Sea
of Cortez) side, a gentle surge lapped at the
golden sand. Across the isthmus, monstrous
shorebreakers pounded the beach on the Pacific
side.
Since I had not yet seen the famous arch, I
strapped my fins back on and swam along the rocky
coastline. Rounding an outcropping, I found the
arch directly ahead. At last, I had reached the
very tip of the Baja peninsula. Despite the strong
surge heaving through the arch, I paddled on
through it, swimming from the Sea of Cortez into
the Pacific Ocean. One more goal to check off my
Life's Wish List.
For an aquatic adventurer like me, today was a
picture-perfect day. Diving and swimming around the
rocks of Land's End was the main attraction for my
visit, so the pleasure of the activity was
augmented by a certain satisfied feeling of
accomplishment. Now that I've seen what the waters
of the Sea of Cortez have to offer, I want to see
more.
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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