Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of and El Vizcaíno

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of

   Jacques Cousteau once called the Gulf of California the world's aquarium, and the number backs him up: more than two hundred and forty islands and a protected stretch of sea, listed by UNESCO in 2005, hold about a third of the world's marine mammal species. Blue whales and fin whales come into the gulf to feed in winter and spring, sea lions haul out on island rocks, dolphins ride the bow waves of boats, and whale sharks cruise in warmer months. The water is a startling turquoise against cactus-covered desert islands in the colours of rust, ochre and bone.

   Read the complete Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of is where the day begins. Next is Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci.

2. 2. Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci

   Far down the Baja California peninsula, in the mountains above the Pacific coast, are some of the finest rock paintings in the Americas. The Sierra de San Francisco is a rugged range of volcanic mesas and deep canyons, and in the shelters and overhangs along the canyon walls the Cochimí people and their ancestors painted enormous figures: humans, deer, rabbits, birds, snakes and whales, in red, black, white and yellow. Many of the human figures are life-size or bigger, with arms raised, some pierced by arrows, and the older panels are thought to be a few hundred to several thousand years old. UNESCO listed the site in 1993.

   Read the complete Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is El Vizcaíno.

3. 3. El Vizcaíno

   Baja California is a long, thin peninsula, and El Vizcaino is where it gets properly wide. The biosphere reserve covers a huge, dry belt of the central peninsula, from the Pacific lagoons on one side to the Sierra de San Francisco on the other, and it is named after Sebastian Vizcaino, the Spanish captain who sailed these coasts in 1602. Scattered over the desert are the strange plants that make Baja famous, the towering cardon cactus, the squat elephant tree, and the cirio or boojum, a tall tapering spike that looks like an upside-down carrot with a few frizzy branches. After a rare rain the ground is briefly green.

   Read the complete El Vizcaíno write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 144 km into the recorded legs you reach El Vizcaíno. Next is back through Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci.

4. 4. back through Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Franci, late in the day. Next is Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of.

5. 5. Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of. That is the ride.