By Emma Field

Sea kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico

Why go Sea Kayaking in Mexico's Sea of Cortez?
Where do I start? So many reasons: the blow-your-mind sea to mountainous desert views; the whopping array of wildlife; that oh-so-close to nature feel; the health benefits of propelling yourself across ocean waters beneath soaring sea cliffs; access to white-sand coves; the possibility of sighting blue whales. I could go on...so I will.

I travelled with Sea Kayak Adventures who took me and eleven others paddling through Loreto Bay National Bay Marine Park for four days.

What happened?
Good question. You mean apart from getting stiff arms?

We spent the time exploring the Marine Park's closest islands, Islas Danzante and Carmen, while the red tones of the aptly named Sierra de la Giganta towered above us on the mainland.

It was fairly relaxed - this isn't a trip for hardcore sea kayakers although a measure of fitness is required. (Sea Kayak Adventures does have more challenging options are available; our group was made up of people of various fitness and experience levels.) Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and post-paddle snacks were cooked by the guides. We camped on the islands' beaches and broke up the paddling with swimming, tide pooling, snorkelling, beachcombing and hiking.

The kayaks were doubles with guides in singles. And yes, one kayak did capsize. More about that below...

Our group was supported by a motorboat, which meant we didn't have to carry all of our own food, water, toilet, other essentials and, arguably, not-so-essentials (one bottle of rum, whiskey, gin or vodka was on offer each evening). The motorboat didn't hang around us all day - it travelled ahead of the group to lunch and overnight spots and was on the lookout for marine wildlife. Each group member had to carry their own clothes, wet suit, snorkel, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and tent, which really didn't amount to much weight in those sturdy sea-faring kayaks.

And, thankfully, the painfully stiff arms quickly morphed into an urge to paddle on and on and on and on...

Wildlife
The pièce de résistance of the trip. Manta rays leapt from the sea in front of us and swam in squadrons beneath our kayaks. A pod of bottlenose dolphins swam so close we could almost reach out and touch them. Sea birds of all sorts flew past: pelicans, blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds and osprey. Snorkelling, we spotted a Panamic green moray eel, spotted scorpion fish, puffa fish, snapper and sergeant major fish. Very lucky paddlers sometimes see fin and blue whales but, much as I scanned the horizon, I didn't spot one.

The guides
The guides were excellent. Two of our three guides were marine biologists by training, one was also a deep sea diver. The third was a long-standing tour guide and whale expert. They all happened to be superb cooks. I especially liked that they were all Mexican with plenty of local knowledge.

Food
Again, excellent. Lunch tended towards simple sandwiches and wraps, although ceviche also made an appearance, while dinners were full-on affairs that included parrot fish, chicken in mole sauce, rice, veg and so on followed by a freshly baked cake. Snacks such as tortilla chips and dips, nuts or crackers with cream cheese were served up with cocktails before dinner. Breakfast was usually cooked and preceded by tea, coffee or hot chocolate with last night's left over cake. Put it this way - we never went hungry.

Accommodation
Hotels for the nights before and after the expedition were included. Whilst we were paddling, we slept in roomy two-man tents (single travellers slept alone in slightly smaller affairs) with huge screens that allowed for panoramic views of the beach and sea. The provided sleeping bags, liners and Therm-a-Rests were incredibly comfortable - that, combined with all that fresh air and exercise meant lack of sleep was never an issue. In fact, each night I wanted to keep my eyes open to savour the delectable view from my bed, but sleep always won.

Toilets are always top of everyone's list of questions when it comes to trips like this. To put your curious mind at ease, it wasn't an issue. We had a portable toilet which was located in a hidden-away spot (usually with a great view) in each evening camp spot.

Schedule
We never kayaked for more that three hours at a time. The days usually consisted of coffee/tea, breakfast, pack up, kayak to lunch spot, activities such as swimming, snorkelling or hiking, lunch, more kayaking, set up camp, snack and evening cocktail with board games and general chit chat, dinner and then bed.

Where we kayaked to each day depended largely on the weather. The guides received a weather report each morning at 8am via radio and our route was adjusted accordingly.

Safety
Safety was taken very seriously, as you'd expect from an award-winning company such as Sea Kayak Adventures (National Geographic loves these guys, and quite rightly). The kayaks were top quality. Obviously life jackets were provide and worn at all times. The expedition began with a lesson on the basics of paddling and a thorough review of safety procedures. We didn't leave shore until everyone felt comfortable. And when the afore-mentioned capsize occurred (which, I must reassure you, is extremely rare) it was dealt with quickly and efficiently - the guides even retrieved the bedraggled but nonetheless exhilarated capsizers' water bottles.