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I thought I had misunderstood when Juan said he was
going to take us to snorkel with sea lions, but he was completely serious.
A sense of anticipation surrounded us as we pushed off once again into
the ocean and sped around the cape toward our next stop. As we neared
the sea lion colony, Juan advised us to speak softly and not yell at
the sea lions. When the animals spotted us, they began barking and diving
off the high, flat rock where they were basking in the sun. There were
about 10 females and a much larger male.
The animals were huge and we were hesitant to join them
in the water. Juan explained that it was safe to swim with the sea lions,
but we shouldn’t ever try to touch them. He also advised that if one
came too close and we felt afraid, we should turn our backs to them.
Most importantly, he advised us to stay together. I forgot the last
piece of advice.
 One
after another my friends jumped out of the boat. I wasn’t sure I was
brave enough to meet a sea lion face to face in his territory, so I
thought about it for quite awhile. I finally decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity I had to grab, so I jumped in.
My heart was pounding as I searched the water for one
of the animals. I was only momentarily distracted by the beautiful fish
and other sea life found at my fingertips.
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We soon learned that the sea lions were playful and merely curious about
us, as we were about them. They would swim directly beneath us, turning
belly up and watch us with large soulful eyes. We spent what seemed
like hours swimming together. It was with resignation that we climbed
back in the boat and continued around the cape.
As we left the sea lions, they jumped back on their
sunning rock and strutted in the sun. One remained in the water, turned
on
 its
side and waved a fin at us, almost as if saying goodbye. I was amazed
that these animals were wild and not trained to perform for visitors
like us.
Juan continued to point out natural and man-made wonders.
We saw a camel formed out of jutting rock and rock carvings left from
ancient inhabitants. We saw traces of what remained of rock paintings
depicting early friars, eroded away from hundreds of years of exposure
to salt, water and wind. We also saw the ruins of a stone wall built
by former dwellers of the cape.
Our final stop was in the bay of Los Frailes (the Friars).
Here the water was still and warm. I left the snorkeling gear in the
boat and went for a swim in the inviting waters.
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Before long, I heard the tell tale bark of a sea lion and jerked my
head out of the water to see one of the animals just feet away, looking
right at me. As he ducked back underwater, so did I. He was enormous.
I had no idea from looking at them sunning on the rocks that they were
so large in life. I looked closer and realized that there were four
sea lions swimming 10 or 15 feet below me.
I was busy watching them flip and glide when I heard
a bark just behind me. I looked back towards my feet in time to see
the largest of the animals, the bull, swimming just beneath me. I could
have straddled the animal, it was that close. I screamed, but the sound
was muffled as I was under water. I looked around and realized I was
separated from the group. The other snorkelers were futilely looking
for sea lions several feet away. I motioned to them that I had encountered
the jackpot and was more than a little relieved when they swam to join
me.
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Several sailboats and RVs evidenced that this beach was better known
than its neighbor to the east. Tourists were buying fish from the day’s
catch and we bought a “cabrilla” of our own.
We pushed off for the last time and headed back for
Cabo Pulmo. The ride back took my breath away as Juan raced over the
water and the little boat bucked and dipped over the waves. As we neared
the beach, we were instructed to brace ourselves, with good reason,
as Juan drove the panga right onto the beach.
Juan’s wife cooked up our fresh fish and we finished
the afternoon eating fish tacos and refried beans. It was with full
stomachs and smiles on our faces that we piled back into the car for
the return to San José.
Article by Kristin Batchelor, Thx!
Photos by T. Zyber
Los Islotes, Bahia de La Paz, 4/15/03
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