The wind had died some before we went to bed so we may be able to leave in the morning. Trying to be as prepared as possible for unknown circumstances, we plan 3 different scenarios for breakfast. The first would be cold cereal and have our boats ready to leave at first light. the second would be a hot but quicker breakfast and the third would most likely be eggs and fried potatoes which would probably mean that we were not leaving today. About 5 in the morning when it was still dark we heard waves and felt spray on our tent. Looks like it is going to be option 3 but before we can even think about breakfast we need to move our boats and tent as close to the cliffs as possible. We are not in a high tide cycle and know that the tide should be switching soon, so we are not too worried about our location. There is no doubt in our minds that we are staying here today.
The view from our tent.
It is a beautiful morning and later this morning we will check out an arroyo to the south of us.
Baja is known for its sunrises!
There are very few signs of people having been on this beach, but a pair of ravens have moved in to the area and we take a few minutes to raven proof our gear before hiking down the beach.
The waves continue to build during the morning.
The arroyo is beautiful and we decide if we are here tomorrow we will return and take a longer hike. Bringing with us our shade umbrellas, water and food.
Heading back to the tent and with it being in the shade, we spend some time the rest of the morning enjoying reading and checking out the maps for the upcoming coast. After a lunch made from the bread we baked yesterday we head up the beach in the opposite direction of the arroyo. First stop is a natural arch.
Having time to explore is always a good thing.
Slowing our pace down we see a crab that has blended in with the rocks.
Well maybe not that blended.
One creature or should I say numerous creatures are the isopods. They are all over the beach as the tide ebbs. When they see our shadows they are a mass of movement. Fun to watch but glad to know that they stay at the seas edge.
The Isopod
And the mass of isopods.
We return to our tent and do a bit more moving of our gear to the cliffs. Decided to put our boats behind the tent so if the spray hits our tent in the morning we will less gear to move.
Quite the back drop.
The wind is still quite strong as we make our dinner. This does not bode well for moving in the morning. One of the reasons that we chose to do this route in October was the chance of having less wind. At least we have plenty of water and know we can make miles if the weather cooperates.