Camping Gear

Whenever I travel, I have a reputation for bringing an abundance of gear. Can't apologize for it, I'd just rather be safe than sorry. However, I have to think carefully about gear to bring on the upcoming eight day sea kayak trip due to strict limitation of space. There is no support boat, so food, tents, water and everyone's gear are stowed in the kayaks. I must get all my gear in a 20"x12" duffel, including some gear for snorkeling.

Even with the space limitations, I don't want to be too separated from technology gear, so I am bringing a small folding 7 watt solar charger for power - folded, it is only about 9"x6". It can charge equipment directly and it will also charge a AA battery pack to store power. The batteries then can charge camera and Android phone (for blog posts, I hope). The battery pack can also be used with a small plug-in 1.5 watt light for about fours of reading or whatnot. The cables and connectors transfer photos from camera to phone. The solar panel, battery charger and light are all made by Goal Zero, one of my favorite travel gear companies. The camera is an Olympus TG-1 which will be all purpose, including being waterproof for snorkeling. It is full of features, with video and GPS tracking, and is only hampered by a limited 4X zoom. I recently took it Hawaii as my only camera and I liked it a lot.

This might seem like a lot of stuff, but if you know what I normally travel with, this is bare bones indeed.

Baja Graphic Arts

I discovered that Baja California has their own flag and seal. It is bold, and graphically interesting, but what the heck is this?  It took me a while to find a narrative explaining all of its meaning. 

From Wikipedia: it represents the past, the present and the future of the state. The motto "Work and social justice" is one of the goals of this state. In the upper part is the Sun, symbol of light, the main element nature gave the world and an inexhaustible source of energy, heat and life. To the sides, two human figures, with their hands joined in the middle, project a beam of light, symbol of energy. The book the man is holding in his hand represents culture. The woman is holding a test tube, which stands for chemistry, a carpenter's square, representing engineering, and an allegory for medicine. Together, these stand for the joining of intellectual work and science. 

I can figure out most of this, but I invite you to your own interpretation.

I am also enjoying the look and character of the official Mexican seal, as it appears on the national flag, with the eagle and snake motif that I remember from high school history and the founding of the Aztec empire.  A no-nonsense eagle.







Here is that eagle again, in a painting by Diego Rivera, depicting the history of Mexico from the time of the Spanish conquest - complicated maybe?
I will be staying in Loreto, the site of the first California mission - established in 1697. And from there the Spanish padres strung the chain of missions up to Sonoma, north of San Francisco.
Thank you Jared for the image.

Sea of Cortez

View Loreto Region in a larger map

I'm prepping for a trip coming up in a few days. I'll be leaving for Baja on March 9th and returning April 1st. On the Searcher. It's whale watching boat with a group put together by Michael Ellis, my naturalist friend - going from San Diego into the Sea of Cortez,  / then a few days in Cabo and Loreto / then eight days sea kayak camping on the islands and beaches south of Loreto. I had been on the Searcher before and it was an amazing voyage, so I am excited. There was so much marine life it gave me an expanded appreciation of what is just offshore. The boat's captain posts daily updates on their online ship's log - there is a link over on the right of the page and down a little, to "Captain Art".
The sea kayak leg is with a local outfitter and guides from Loreto, named Paddling South. This will be a big adventure into some new territory for me and I am looking forward to it.

I hope to include updates to this journal whenever possible, but, well, it's Baja. Not likely to be able to upload anything until reaching Cabo on the 20th, but you never know. 

Yellow pins on the map are places we should visit from the Searcher; the pink, blue and green pins are intended kayak destinations. The map should be interactive with zooming, etc.

Spam and Eggs

I am the Honolulu airport, waiting for our delayed flight to Molokai. It is super windy and flights are a little bit pushed back due to "in route weather conditions" so I can only imagine what our small plane will be like. This morning breakfast was spam 'n eggs with a poi donut at Jared's (not bad if you don't mind purple) So here we still are at 4:00, waiting for our 12:30 flight.

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