The outriggers arrived and explained that the skiff was a bit late, but that they were always reliable. We learned from the flight time adjustments at Aero California out of Tijuana that you have to remember to be round about with schedules in Mexico. Plus because my wife, Betsy, and I are on the tallish side, they needed to adjust the rudder pedals for our dimensions. While waiting, we went to the neighboring "yacht club," which is more like a boatyard with a restaurant and shop. "We don't want to become another Los Cabos" (where development has gone crazy) a local told me. Although the eateries certainly cater to visitors, the residents are mostly geared toward government, work and the marine industries. And they encourage a good education with emphasis on languages and computers.
Thanks to the advice of the outriggers, the groceries we had bought at the CCC supermarket the previous evening awaited us on a folding table, off the ground where they would have been more accessible to the resident friendly mutts. We finished transferring our items into zip lock bags and nylon stuff sacks. In keeping with the recommended gallon-a-day allotment per person, we also had ten gallons of purified water for our five-day trip. Our tent (for which we were given an assembly sketch and an explanation) fit neatly into a small cylindrical bag. Rental for the two-person kayak, tent, wet suits, snorkel gear, propane stove and point-to-point transportation came to a bit over six hundred U.S. dollars.
Manuel, a jovial man with a silver-lined front tooth, drove us to the put in point. Along the winding way we saw varieties of cacti, a few skinny cattle and road signs that warned, "Curvas Peligrosas." A secondary school was situated in a beautiful coastal setting some distance from La Paz. He explained that they focus their studies on aquaculture. Thanks to some Japanese businessmen, they had a shrimp farm of two large rectangles dug into the earth across from the campus.
Manuel introduced us to our skipper, Guadeloupe, and bid farewell as we climbed aboard the skiff. Once Guadeloupe dropped us off on a beach on Isla Partida, about a dozen miles northeast of La Paz, we loaded the two-person kayak. Packing is an art to sea kayaking. I was to learn that it involves the regular practice of arranging the gear into the craft, unpacking, locating supplies and repacking. We set off for the sea lion colony near the arched rock, where they are known to frolic with snorkelers.