All photos © Robin and Arlene Karpan

It was one scenic view after another as we travelled north from Loreto along Mexico’s Gulf of California. Baja’s California Sur’s rugged desert mountains with stands of huge cardon cacti vied with coastline vistas. But when we caught our first glimpse of Bahía Concepción or Conception Bay, the awesomeness of the landscape soon cranked up a few more notches.

This large protected inlet stretches south from the oasis town of Mulegé. The calm water has almost unreal shades of turquoise, green and blue, contrasting against the series of inviting sandy beaches.

We stopped at the roadside viewpoints, each one more enticing than the one before. There was Armenta Beach, followed by El Requeson where a sand spit to a nearby island becomes submerged at high tide, then El Coyote Beach, and finally El Burro Beach where we would spend the afternoon. Even more beaches stretch farther north.

Touring the Bay

We took a tour of the bay with Julio of Iguana Tours in his covered panga or fishing boat. We were looking forward to seeing more of the landscape up close. What we weren’t expecting was the phenomenal amount of birdlife on the islands.

Julio took us around some of the most important islands in the bay where seabirds nest and raise their young. Many islands have bizarre rock formations and come in a variety of colours. One island looked completely white from a distance, and when got close we could see why. It was almost totally coated in bird poop.

Birdlife galore

Yellow-footed gulls, a species endemic to the Gulf of California, were everywhere. Some already had well-grown chicks while others were still tending their nests. Further on we spotted two handsome brown pelicans, the male showing off his brilliant red throat pouch. They ignored us as we drifted by slowly, and we did not disturb their afternoon preening session. We also saw cormorants, plenty of great blue herons, egrets, as well as a few frigate birds flying high above.

“Look up there!” shouted Julio, pointing to a cardon cactus just coming into view. Perched on top were two ospreys mating, a rare sight to witness. We photographed flying osprey, one with a half-eaten fish in its talons. We saw so many ospreys that we eventually stopped taking photos unless they were doing something unusual.

The highlight was finding several blue-footed boobies. More common to the Galapagos Islands and the Pacific coast of South America, the islands of the Gulf of California are at the northern end of their range and the only place we can see them in North America. Males proudly showed off their shockingly blue feet. A female is mighty impressed by the intensity of the shade of blue, which indicates to her that she has found the best-suited mate of the bunch.

Lunch with a difference

We knew that lunch was part of the tour, but this was to be a lot more than your average picnic. Julio pulled into a bay and dropped the anchor. Then he put on his snorkel gear and yellow fins and jumped into the cool water. He was looking for chocolate clams, a Mexican delicacy in these parts. Their glossy shells measure about 4 inches across, and Julio knew exactly where to find them. After repeated dives, he had gathered enough and tossed his bag back on board.

Soon we were off boating to a secluded beach with a rocky overhang that Julio likes to use as a barbeque spot. Julio cut up several huge scallops he had gathered earlier, and shook a few spices on top including some hot sauce and Tajin. He then expertly pried open all the chocolate clams with his hefty knife and set them on the table still in their shells. More lime juice and seasonings, and the raw clams were offered to those who like them fresh out of the water. We decided to wait for the cooked ones that were being put on the fire.

Shellfish wasn’t the only shore lunch offering. Beside the boat, Julio cleaned a red snapper that he had caught earlier that morning. Leaving the skin intact, he splayed the fish so it would fit in a flat grill. From his trunk of goodies he smeared on mustard, soy sauce and more seasonings. Then he put it on the fire, turning it every few minutes until it was done just right. The roasting clams sizzled in the sauces and juices he had added.

It didn’t take long for us to dive into the feast. The clams, the freshest we have tasted, were excellent. Wrapping the snapper in warm tortillas made for the most amazing fish tacos ever.

On the way back to El Burro beach, Julio spotted a fin in the water. Whaleshark! Despite the name, these gentle creatures aren’t whales but are the largest fish in the world. They average around 12 metres long and have a mouth over 1.5 metres wide which they use to feed by taking in and filtering small organisms suspended in the water. This was a female and she had a baby. Even though it wasn’t the main season for seeing whale sharks, here they were, providing a perfect ending to a day at the beach, El Burro style.

Visiting El Burro Beach

Something that we liked about El Burro Beach, as well as the other beaches in the area, is that tourism is relaxed and low-key, with no flashy hotels. It’s a place for relaxing, exploring the bay by kayak, paddle-boarding, snorkelling, or wandering in the hills. While there are some cabanas and other places to stay, most visitors seemed to be campers staying in simple campgrounds right on the beach. Coffee and snack places and basic restaurants round out the choices for food and drink. If you have a car, you can also stay in nearby Mulegé, a small city with all services just a 20-minute drive or about 12 kilometres north.

Resources

For more information on visiting Loreto and nearby areas, see Loreto Tourism. Also see our earlier article on Photojourneys about Exploring the Magic Town of Loreto in Baja California Sur.

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