Expedition Planning
Isla Espiritu Santo, Isla Partida and Los Isolotes


 Ben Gillam--a great guy--at Baja Outdoor Activities (BOA) outfitted us with our kayaks.  One was a Cobra sit-on-top and the other a Necky Narpa.

He had great local knowledge of where to camp and of sea and weather conditions to watch out for.
 

Baja Map Guide is a good 1st source for a map of the islands. BOA sells a better map for $3.50 it's laminated and was very useful.

We e-mailed back and forth with BOA; they were very good at answering our questions. Our last day on the island I was able to raise Ben in his office in La Paz with my Hummingbird VHF 5 Marine Radio, from the most Southern Point of Espiritu Santo Island. At least 18 miles away.

He advised me that the South wind would die by noon after blowing all night and this is exactly what happened. This was  the Coromuel wind Ben had talked about.  Nice to be somewhere where it's not always windier in the afternoon. We observed the highest winds at night. This Coromuel wind happened every night we were there.
 

Thank you to Ben Gillam and our panga guide Eduardo for all their great help!

La Paz, Baja California Sur is the logical starting point for this expedition. A city of 180,000 it was very safe and friendly.

Driving it's about 930 miles South of the US  border. An easier way is to fly into La Paz (LAP) airport from Los Angeles (LAX).

Southwest Airlines can be the way to go to LAX from Oakland (OAK)

When we went Aerocalifornia Airlines was having an airfare sale with Round  trip air from LAX to LAP only US$124.00. It's more expensive to stay home. They don't maintain a website but you can obtain current info here

 Mexicana Airlines also flies here
 

A guide to fishing the local waters around the islands.

I bought a 3-piece carbon fiber paddle from  kayakstore.com for $210. They didn't have one in stock when I called but were able to make one and deliver it within 10 days.
BOA Aquabound's paddles would have been OK but a good paddle is an excellent item to put in the suitcase for expedition paddling.  If you have any trouble or want to customize your order e-mail or call William 888-544-9438  william@kayakstore.com
He was a great help!
 

We stayed in the cabanas at the Los Arcos Hotel which were excellent.  BOA  has a wide selection of recommended hotels on it's website.

Our paddle plan of 2 nights hotel when we got there, 4 nights on the islands and then 2 nights before flying home worked very well.
Trip report
 

If you want to check weather and ocean conditions before you paddle!

See weather briefing page

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copyright Storm Steiger 2002

baja-bound sea kayakers have visited since this page was created April 6, 2002