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<\/a>Who buried Quinn?<\/p><\/div>\n
We found out from our friends Brian and Lisa, who spent Thanksgiving in Los Barriles, that there\u2019s a turtle hatchery in town where baby turtles are raised and released into the wild. We went in search of it, but unfortunately they had just done their release the previous day. After lunch of paella at a local Spanish restaurant, we reluctantly packed up to head back to La Paz for our sea kayaking trip the next day.<\/p>\n
As we were raising the top on our van for the evening, we heard a sharp crack. One of the steel mounts for the actuator motors had snapped. On the advice of Chris from San Francisco, who was camped next to us, I removed the offending pieces and went to the campground office. The owner made a quick phone call, and within a total of 2 hours a couple of guys showed up, took the broken parts, and returned with them welded back together. I re-installed the part and we were able to set up camp for the night.<\/p>\n
We met for our snorkeling and sea-kayaking trip at the tour outfitters\u2019 office in town. A motorboat took us on a two-hour speed boat ride to a sea lion rookery where we were able to snorkel with the sea lions.<\/p>\n
Next stop was a beach on Isla Espiritu Santo for a short-sea kayaking tour of the bay. This is the same beach where Ed, Annette, and I camped 16 years ago while on a multi-day kayaking trip here. We enjoyed the warm sand and the beautiful turquoise waters.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Near Isla Espiritu Santo<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Quinn enjoyed the bouncy boat ride<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Sea Kayaking was also a hit<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Pelicans on a boat in La Paz harbor<\/p><\/div>\n
The next day we had planned to return to Los Barriles and get another shot at seeing the turtles. We were just heading out of town when the van started to act funny, losing power under acceleration. We turned around and headed back to the campground in La Paz. Suspecting dirty fuel, I spent the afternoon replacing the fuel filter. <\/p>\n
After the repairs were done we decided to take the van for a test drive. It seemed better, but we won\u2019t really know until we can get it on the highway. We stopped at the local Autozone where we tried to find a replacement spare fuel filter. We came close, but it wasn\u2019t quite the right part. We stopped for an early dinner at a local seafood place that was packed. We were the only gringos in the place, and we enjoyed shrimp, beer and margaritas, live music and salsa dancers. Seems like the thing to do on a Sunday afternoon!<\/p>\n
On Monday after a leisurely morning we drove to the La Paz ferry terminal to board a ferry to Topolobampo (isn\u2019t that the coolest name?) on mainland Mexico. After an uneventful but crowded ferry ride, we made the short drive to Los Mochis, where one of our guidebooks promised a campground. It was almost midnight when we arrived, and the campground looked deserted. We found a nearby hotel where we paid for a room for a secure place to park and a bathroom.<\/p>\n