Baja Passage
Hello, friends. Just thought this month I would share with you some of the artwork I managed to do on our Baja Passage. I hope that this exploration into travel journaling will inspire you to give it a try yourself.
Trying to sketch while on a sailboat for three weeks at sea, with only occasional stops was a challenge. There’s very little privacy, quiet time, space, or opportunity to spread out, relax, and focus. I am delighted to say that I managed an effort that I’m excited to share with you. Please note that these are all quick sketches, which by their roughness I hope will inspire your own.
While waiting in the airport to board our flight on Alaska Air, I was eager to get started. I’d stuffed my navy blue Stillman & Birn Beta Series sketchbook into my chocolate brown, leather traveling backpack; so I had it at hand, along with my pencil case. The trouble was what to sketch.
I was seated in front of a window with very little to see except for warning and information and advertisement signs. I could, however, just barely make out the nose of a parked airplane, so it was just enough of an inspiration to get started. I can’t tell you how excited I was to get sketching.
We were heading out on a three-week sailing adventure. Our goal was to sail the Pacific Ocean along Baja and ultimately arrive in La Paz, where we would head home. It had been a big decision for me to come. The nerves were alive and well, but I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime.
After an quick flight, we arrived in San Diego to meet up with the sailboat and our traveling companions. It was so exciting to be able to find a few minutes to sketch something of the atmosphere at the marina. We had a delightful time taking Uber to get supplies, doing laundry, and fueling up ready for the journey.
In this quick journal page, I managed to capture quite a few of our experiences. Around the perimeter I recorded the names of some of the boats that we had amused us, including Miss B. Haven, From Pimp to Pope, Free Zone, and Nauti Nana. Just love the creativity.
The Flag in the center was enormous in reality. It dominated our welcome into Ensenada. The buoy was a comforting guide for our sailboat, and the buoy symbolizes being safely in port.
I also couldn’t resist sketching in a rough sun, as we were beginning to really feel the difference by now from our home climate.
The next page in my sketchbook is of the Museo de Historia de Ensenada. We were delighted to get to go for a quick explore of the city of Ensenada and ended up really enjoying the history museum in Ensenada. It was full of delightful art and tiles and was certainly not to be missed. We also enjoyed eating out on an amazing lunch of fish tacos, enchiladas, chile rellenos with pear spirals on the side.
Now it was time to get serious about our journey at sea. We fueled up and headed to Bahia des Tortugas. To get there it would take us two overnight passages. Those were definitely not for the faint of heart, but little did I know that we would have seven overnight passages by the time we got to La Paz.
“To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
What an exciting journey. I spent a lot of my time curled up in a berth hugged by a lee cloth or ensconced in a beanbag mouth agape as we sailed the high seas. As long as I didn’t try to walk about too much, I was fine. I’m happy to report that no sea sickness took me by surprise.
Bahia Des Tortugas was a real treat. Enrique met us with his little speed boat and led us to the fuel dock and told us where we could anchor. We really enjoyed the pelicans and showers after being at sea with two overnight sails doing at times a little over 10 knots when sailing and experiencing 6 foot swells.
This is my quick sketch of the scene. I had to be fast, as we were seabound yet again. What a fabulous trip it had been passing Isla de Guadalupe, Isla de Cedros, Isla San Benitos, and Isla Navidad, as well as Bahia de San Sebastian Viscaino.
Our journey to Mag Bay, Baja, CA was certainly among the most exciting parts of our journey. We enjoyed the bird life, the dolphins in amazing numbers, the seals basking in the sun way out at sea. But by far our most exciting moments were spent with a Bryde’s whale.
I was so enthralled with the experience that I left the photography to others. I did, however, manage an entry in my journal about the experience. We had stopped the sailboat in the middle of the ocean. Our sailors were itching for some relief from the hot sun and the sea was inviting.
Our captain was the last sailor to dangle over the swimming platform at the back of the boat. Suddenly a Bryde’s whale, about 25 feet long, appeared and began to circle our boat. He spent about 30 minutes with us, swimming as close as he could to the boat. Vern managed to get in the water with him and enjoyed being under water with the whale about 10 feet away.
Just as mysteriously as he arrived, he headed back out when suddenly he shot out of the waves in a spy hop, nose in the air, tail towards the bottom of the ocean. What an amazing treat it was for all of us.
I finally got comfortable enough to be of some help on the overnight passages. On our last passage, Vern and I were amazed to experience a full eclipse of the moon. What an amazing experience. It was hard to believe our eyes.
We saw the iconic rocks of Cabo and anchored in the dead of night. What an experience it was to bathe at the back of the boat, at night, facing the open sea. And the morning didn’t disappoint, either, as it allowed me to relax and do a complete sketch of the rocks of Cabo and just an example of some of our neighbors at anchor.
This was the end of the journey for Madeline. We were truly sad to say goodbye to her. And while the men were off on the dinghy taking her to catch her flight, I was busing hand-washing our laundry and hanging it up at the back of the boat and enjoying the flurry of activity around Cabo.
Bonnie and Vern headed in to reprovision our food supply. Look at the luxuries they found, including sugar cane and papaya. What treats!
My next entry in my journal was an attempt to capture some of the essence of our sights and visual treats at Caleta Partida. We enjoyed a wonderful rest there. The colors of the sea were brilliant and it was a pleasure to just have time to relax and enjoy the amazing scenery.
We had a chance to dinghy in to shore. It was the first time I had been on land for quite a while, so it felt good to have solid soil beneath my feet. We enjoyed the wildlife, seashells, and interesting lava rock beneath our feet.
Here’s my sketch of this fun moment. I giggled the entire time I was sketching this. I’m not quite sure why, but I think maybe it was a combo of a little too much sun, surf, and not enough sand. LOL.
The next Sunday we found ourselves in a bay called Ensenada Grande, not to be confused with the town we had visited at the beginning of our trip. This was a wonderful bay, and we all enjoyed snorkeling. The sea life and rock formations were amazing.
I got brave and went in. I loved seeing the coral formations and all the fish. Visibility was very clear. I did get intimidated, however, by a polka-dotted puffer fish and a school of coronet fish.
This next sketch is of the rock formations we enjoyed and around which we snorkeled. To the right of the sketch, you can see the buoy that floated where the guys were when they used air to swim at greater depths below the surface.
And then it was on to La Paz. We had a gorgeous sail. My next sketch was from anchor in La Paz. It reads: “8:59 Tuesday, November 23: Morning from La Paz, Mexico, Baja, Ca. Drawn at the back of Ringle on a beautiful morning. Coffee and plans for the day. Rocking gently with the waves. Sounds of birds chirping and pangas already busy transporting people.”
What fun we had going to shore in the dinghy. It was quite an experience getting into the dinghy with the swells at the back of the boat. But it was great fun speeding over the waves to enjoy the delights of the city. Here’s my final sketch from La Paz.
I’ve tried through my sketches and journal to give you a little glimpse into our Baja passage. There is no way to adequately share what we experienced for three weeks at sea. It was an unforgettable journey into self-discovery.
And I bravely leave you with this hastily scratched out sketch of our final airplane that would take us from Mexico City to San Francisco. It’s poorly formed, but I wanted to share it with you as it is and not try to fix it on arrival home. Again, the hope is that by seeing the realities of my attempt at travel journaling, you will be inspired to give it a try yourself.
This trip was a really courageous thing for me to do. I went way out of my comfort zone. I hope that I can encourage you to face your own fears and maybe to also find time to relax and explore your own personal creativity. Buen viaje!!
