It was by lucky circumstance that our guide, Pedro, was joining us for more of our Mexico travels and we were delighted to have his companionship in Balandra Bay. An easy 25 minute drive from La Paz, the Bay is a fantastic place to do a little sunning and sea kayaking and this is exactly what we had in store. But the wind was a bit of a show-off that morning, so we decided to limit our full-day sea kayaking trip to a few hours paddling among the Bay's mangroves. (Arriving at Balandra, I sheepishly realized I forgot our cameras back in La Paz. Long story short, our sea kayaking trip was delayed about 50 minutes and I perfected the use of "Lo siento".)
Pedro gave us some quick paddling points while Aaron slathered the kids in a fresh coat of sunscreen. We were still a little pink from yesterday's sunny Espiritu Santo trip; today we were not being shy with our SPF. Aaron and I doubled up with our younger kids and our 15-year-old, Gabs, took on her own kayak. The paddle out was against the wind. It was a true test of core strength (shout-out yoga) and I was sweating-it by the time we reached the mangroves. On the other hand, my kayak companion, Faye, was kicked back with her toes dangling in the water. But the wind died down almost immediately once isolated by the mangroves. Whew.
Pedro pulled some Oreos from his bag, which reconfirmed his coolness-status with the kids (and the kids' parents). Re-energized, it was a peaceful paddle in the mangroves. Pedro explained to us their significant role in the region's ecology and overall health of marine life. The mangroves themselves are beautiful: calm waters and lush vegetation set in the backdrop of Baja's rolling red landscape. It is a place where three hours passes in the blink of an eye.
We glided our way back to the beachfront. I unloaded the kids and applied a little more sunscreen. By now the air was still, except for a calm breeze that seemed to come just when needed - almost on cue. Pedro unpacked a picnic lunch and we quickly ate it under our cabana.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the legendary Baja sunshine. The kids grabbed hold of their goggles and went wading in the turquoise water. A perfect place for the kids to swim, they could wade nearly a 1/2 mile and still not get their hair wet. Gabs and I sat on the white-sandy beach with our feet in the water and I examined the shells, rocks or whathaveyous that Samuel and Faye plucked out of the Bay. Aaron and Pedro wandered further down the beach to take advantage of some great snorkeling. Once back, a game of tackle-the-kids-in-the-water quickly broke out. There was a lot of splashing and a lot of laughter.
I joined them.
To read additional entries from our family Mexico adventure, click here.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.