NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE!

We found so many bones on a short desert hike on Isla San Jose at Punta Salinas that we were left wondering if this was the place where everything comes to die!? We weren’t alarmed at first when we found the bones of fish and fowl and even the shell of a sea turtle, but when we started seeing the remains of mammals, such as goat and dolphin. Adding to the eeriness of the location was an abandoned salt mining operation, where we saw the “bones” of decaying buildings and vehicles. We worried jokingly that once we reached the summit, might we see human remains and wonder if any of us would get out alive!?

In the end our hike was safely guided by our expert guide, Wilson, from the UnCruise Safari Endeavour, and we were never in danger and despite the gory beginnings, we never saw anything remotely dangerous, except for several very scary looking cactus!! But we did see many amazing plants and animals that call the Baja Peninsula and Islands in the Sea of Cortez home.

The only “human” remains we found were the remains of buildings and old vehicles from a salt mining operation once operated on the island. Today the ruins were interesting to explore, and show proof of how little things “decay” in the dry desert environment.

The Sea of Cortez is one of the richest marine environments in the world, but hard up against that rich sea is a desolate desert environment that is geologically part to the Sonoran desert areas in SW United Sates and NW Mexico. When we visited in mid January, the Baja Peninsula had just finished having an unusual amount of rain in December, and the normally brown land forms were green with sprouting beautiful dessert plants and flowers.

Mule Ride at Agua Verde near Loreto

Earlier in the week, we explored the desert hills atop animals provided by the Romero Family in a unique partnership with UnCruise. The family drives their mules across the highlands to the beach at Aqua Verde where the Safari Endeavor moors for the day. A variety of activities are offered by day, including the opportunity to climb into the desert hills for spectacular views of Agua Verda and the Sea of Cortez.

This involved a lot of trust on our part! The mules comfortably and confidently navigate narrow mountain passes and steep terrain. The most comfortable way to explore is to trust that the mules will calmly and surefootedly manage the trails they know so well!

Later in the evening, the UnCruise crew set up “cocktail hour” on the beach with a fire pit, portable bar and the Romero Family treated us to some Mexican folk music.

With our expert UnCruise guides, we were always briefed about how to safely explore the unique desert environment of Baja and the islands in the Sea of Cortez. Even on board, the the pastry chef got in on the “desert’ exploration when she created this amazing “cactus macron” for dessert!