Biola in Baja

Biola in Baja 2009

2009-01-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

We left Biola at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Janyary 4 with 12 students and 6 staff i 4 vans (2 passenger, 2 cargo). We arrived in Colonia Vincente Guerrero (our first campsite)at 3:30 p.m.
Set up camp and had a great spaghetti dinner and discussion about the day's events arround the campfire.

Left at 8:30 the next morning for the desert near Catavina. Stopped at the wave cut terraces south of San Quintin and in the Vizcaino desert for lunch. Camped in the beautiful rock desert north of Catavina.
Sunset at Catavina
Weather is clear, but cold at night. Spent Tuesday morning exploring the desert and on a plant walk with Karen and then up to the Indian cave to contemplate cave paintings over 900 years old. Arrived in Bahia de Los Angeles at 4 p.m. Nice calm bay and our home away from home, the Vermilion Sea Field Station. Spent today (Wednesday the 7th) on a town walk, reading Annie Dillard, working on journals and getting ready for our camping trip tomorrow.
The Vermilion Sea Field Station

We are sorry to be so long in catching up with the blog. The internet down here leave much to be desired. So here is a summary of where we’ve been and what we’ve done.

January 8, 2009

After spending a day and two nights at the Vermilion Sea Field Station, we packed up and headed south. First stop, a desert plant walk near Punta Prieta and then on to Guerrero Negro for our traditional fish taco lunch. Tacos Henry is now closed so we enjoyed Tony’s Fish Taco stand on the main street. A bumpy drive on the road through the salt marsh to the old salt piers gave us plenty of birds to identify. We completed the day by driving the 90 miles down to the beautiful oasis village of San Ignacio where we camped among the date palms.

January 9, 2009
We spent the day in San Ignacio beginning with a bird walk down to the lakes and then the afternoon up on the bluff overlooking the village and down in the village visiting shops and the mission, Mission San Ignacio de Kadakaman, built in 1728.

Mission San Ignacio de Kadakaman

January 10-14, 2009
We drove 100 miles south to our favorite camping spot, Coyote beach in Bahia Concepcion. On the way we stopped in Santa Rosalia to view the Eiffel church and sample the baked goods at the world famous Panaderia El Boleo.
Setting up camp and tents on the beach at Coyote was an hilarious adventure. One of the campers who was already there informed students who were pitching tents on the beach near the high tide mark that the tide would be 8 feet higher tonight than the night before. Thus began “The Trench”. An excellent way to let off pent up energy, it was dug some 75 feet long and 2 feet deep in order to keep the sea water from floating the tents away in the middle of the night. (also known as the “Dan Callis Effect”) Digging the Dan Callis Memorial Trench
Waiting for high tide.
The sand that was dug out was used as a berm in front of the tents. It worked! Much to the joy and triumph of the excavators.
The tents are saved from the high tide!
We spent 5 nights camped on the beach with daily trips to outlying locations. A day trip 70 miles south to the town of Loreto, Baja’s first capital to see it’s oldest mission, Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto, built in 1699.
Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto

Two trips into Mulege to visit the mission, Mission Santa Rosalia de Mulege, built in 1705Mission Santa Rosalia de Mulege

and down the bumpy road along Rio Mulege to the lighthouse and rocky beach. The flood two and a half years ago really affected the environment and the economy of the village, but they are slowly recovering. We read and discussed the Introduction to Steinbeck's Log From the Sea of Cortez.

January 15-16, 2009
Thursday we drove back through Santa Rosalia (another panaderia stop) and on to San Ignacio where we had made arrangements with Kuyima Ecotourismo to go whalewatching on Laguna San Ignacio on Friday morning.
We camped among the date palms again where Amy tried the native treeclimbing technique.We got up early for “Mr Toad’s Wild Ride” down to the lagoon. What a beautiful, sunny, no wind day! There were only 10-15 whales in the lagoon, but our panga drivers were expert in putting us near them. Whale watchers & whale flipper
One boat saw a cow-calf pair and a mating frenzy (this IS a biology class), and the others spent much of the time with two whales who were feeding in the shallows (6 feet deep) on their sides with their pectoral flippers waving in the air. They would spend a couple minutes feeding and than turn upright, spout and return to their sides for more muddy breakfast food (bottom dwelling invertebrates).
The return ride back from the lagoon proved just as bumpy as the trip down. We continued the 100 miles north to Guerrero Negro. Karen and Ted took the class out to the salt company evaporation ponds while Rafe birded the town park. We we too late for Tony’s fish tacos, so settled on dinner out and camped at Malarrimo’s
Salt pond highjinks.
January 17, 2009
A casual travel day 125 miles back to Bahia de Los Angeles and the Vermilion Sea Field Station to be greeted by our friends Lane and Janet McDonald. Rafe did a power point lecture on bird feeding strategies using photos of Baja birds for examples.
A good night’s sleep on nice station cots.

January 18, 2009
Sunday, another gorgeous day in paradise! A day for the disciplines of solitude and silence followed by a wonderful worship service planned by the class. The afternoon was spent studying for the dreaded plant test scheduled for tomorrow.

They're Off!

2009-01-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Dan Callis and I (see posts from previous years to see who we are) surprised Rafe and Karen this morning by dropping by at 6am to see them off for this year’s Baja class. They’ll be updating the blog as they are able over the next three weeks—if you don’t see a post for a while, don’t worry, they just haven’t had access to a computer!

In the meantime, here’s a map so you can try to figure out where they happen to be on any given day. (You can click on the map for a larger--and readable--image.) Tonight they’ll be camping near San Quintin, tomorrow on to Catavina, and then on to Bahia de los Angeles, their home away from home for the class.

As for Dan and me? We’re in Alta California working! Oh well, maybe next year we’ll be able to free up our schedules and go back to Baja.

Final Entry (2008)

2008-01-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

I would love to tell you about the specifics of this trip, but I will leave that up to the others. I would love to tell you what this trip and this opportunity to be on the staff has meant to me, but our language doesn’t know words that would accurately portray such a description.

Our Gracious Heavenly Father has provided this amazing place for us to come and study. He has gorged it with various desert plants, birds, whales, and other assorted animals. He has graced it with an unparalleled landscape. He has filled it with a rich culture and wonderful people with a unique society. Best of all, He has preserved it in this state for us to come and learn from. He has created this to be a place rich with things for us regardless of our discipline or area of study. The Lord has selected this group to come down here so He could show us something we have never seen before and so He could teach us something that cannot be taught in any classroom. He put us in a place so that He could teach us and challenge us as He sees fit. We have this wonderful place and are given this wonderful opportunity to study it because of Him. We have a special chance to be here in fellowship with fellow believers: we learn and grow from each other, not just the land.

I can tell you a bit about the meaning of Biola Baja. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is unrivaled nation-wide. It will take many of the students a long time to realize how grand and special this opportunity is, and sadly, some will never understand. We have all participated in this thing but few of us have the life experience necessary to measure how big this thing that we have done really is.

Biola Baja is not a place, it is not a class; it is a life changing experience. It offers its own set of perspectives, its own challenges, and its own beauties that are available only through this adventure. We have learned much here, much about art, biology, geology, society, culture, life, God, and ourselves. We have been given an opportunity to grow and explore ourselves in a new and unique environment. This place is not just a place of beauty and landscape to our artists and a place of plants and animals to our biologists. Baja has claimed a piece of each of our hearts and means to us something that cannot be explained: It can only be understood by those who have been through the Biola Baja experience.

Baja is a place that treats us all like mature adults. It doesn’t care where we have traveled to, what sights we have seen, what choices we have made or who we were in our pre-Baja days, it only cares about where we will go from here, how we will see the world, what choices we will make and we will become. We have graduated from looking at this place to really being able to see this place. It is amazing how much there is to see in this desert; more than an eye can take in within one lifetime. Though I have only spent 5 weeks of my life here in Baja, I feel as if I have grown up here. I have seen, learned, and thought about so many things down here, things that can only be incited in this unique place. The Biola Baja experience is so rich and full of lush life lessons.

The Lord gives us opportunity to learn and grow, but it is our responsibility to take full advantage of His provisions. Baja offers the same set of experiences to each student here, but at the same time allows us to choose how much of that experience we want to submerse ourselves into. Some of us will take more away from this place than others. In a way, being down here gives each of us a set of wings. Now we must choose how high we want to soar.

-Ted Chapanian

Quote of the Day

2008-01-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

"It isn't really fun or entertaining, we actually learn stuff."

Luke providing excellent academic cover for the Biola Baja class

Goodbye

2008-01-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Goodbye sunrises, Dr. Seuss plants, German accents, tacos de pescado,
aquamarine blue, deceased grebes, Norway, top ramen, our baby gray whale.

Though, Lord willing, I will return,
I will not come back to this place in time.
Goodbye, not see you later.
Goodbye to now.

I am leaving removed of what I’ve brought,
but I’m leaving full.
I shed knowledge and gained experience.
I am losing the tangible, but gaining character.

I owe it to my guides, both transcendent and earthly;
Knowing when to instruct and when to teach through silence.
Seeing and wanting us to see,
not pressing ideas and experiences
but giving opportunities to take responsibility.

Glad to go home, but here I have time to be.
Goodbye time to sit and wonder,
time to see and know; where the world sits still.
But when the smog blurs my vision,
I will not say goodbye, I will remember.

- Amy Beth Lindvall

Quote of the Day

2008-01-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

"Save me a head, and I’ll eat it...the eyeballs are like jello."

Jon referencing a raw fish head.

Jan. 19th: An Accounting

2008-01-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

7:06 AM: The wind-sheltered side of the VSFS building.
“I think that’s his head. Luke?”
I peak out of my down cocoon of a sleeping bag and am immediately confronted by daylight. The sun is already high and I can feel that the hair on the back of my head is sticking up.
“Yah, what’s up?” I manage to bark out in something between morning voice and grizzly bear. Squinting, I make out Beth and Heidi.
“The stove isn’t lighting.”
“Did you try lighting it manually?” Closer to morning voice than grizzly bear this time.
“Yes. The propane is on too.”
“May need to switch tanks. Ask Ted.”
Ted is asleep on his cot in the belly of the fin whale skeleton, about thirty feet away.
“Alright. Thanks. Sorry for waking you up.”
I was planning on getting up in a couple hours anyway.

7:24 AM: The boys’ room in the VSFS
I dig for my deodorant through the explosion of socks and soiled t-shirts that used to be my luggage. Deodorant is an essential item in Baja, allowing the user to stave off showering for days on end. But right now, this white, powdering gold eludes me. Bennett walks in.
“Hey Bennett, have you seen any deodorant lying around?”
“Does it look like this?” He replies, pulling down the stolen treasure from his shelf. “Because I have the same kind.”
This time he pulls out another stick, same brand, same flavor, same pretty much everything.
“I saw this one on the floor and I thought it was mine because they’re exactly the same.”
“Bennett, you stole my deodorant.”
“They look exactly the same,” Bennett clarifies, leaving me with the pilfered anti-perspirant.

10:43 AM: By the beach outside the VSFS
I replace another turned over rock in discouragement. I am not finding anything. We are fish-printing today, a technique of applying ink to an object (we used fish, obviously) and pressing down on the object with paper, leaving the imprint of the object on the paper. I had the idea earlier that I wanted to do something unique, but now in the moment, I am coming up short. I turn back to the field station to print the spotted sand bass Dan acquired this morning.

10:46 AM: Back inside the VSFS
I see Melissa inking a cool looking seastar, Ben has a cardon skeleton to print and Natalie is trying out a crab. I turn to a sand bass with a large mouth and despondently start painting ink on the fish. I am not yet satisfied with my print subject.
Troy walks up to Ted and asks, “Hey, can you tell me how to do this?”
“You can watch other people and figure it out,” Ted replies.
Troy pauses.
“Hey Makalani, can you tell me how to do this?”

10:58 AM: Still inside the VSFS
“It’s non-toxic!” Aimy Beth articulates, happily smothering her hand in a smooth layer of dark ink.
“Right. Does it wash off?”
“Um… I think so. It’s water-soluble!”
I stand there, looking at her newly blackened digits and it strikes me. I must do something completely unique, something untried before, something risky, but something totally cooler than a sand bass. That is, unless you really like sand bass.
“Aimy Beth, when you’re done with that, what do you think about printing a head?”

11:16 AM: Very much still inside the VSFS
“Say, ‘Ink me!’ so that we can use it for a quote!”
A white trash bag hangs over my shoulders. I turn to Matt and agree to his request.
“Ink me.”

11:21 AM: Even still very much inside the VSFS
My face is covered in ink. It is stuck is my beard, on my eyebrows, up my nose. The wet paper peels away from my face. My first impression of the print is that I look like a lion, or maybe a goat. They are pretty similar looking.

12:07 PM: In the kitchen of the VSFS
“Save me a head, and I’ll eat it.”
I look at Jon, a little curious about the request, but I agree.
“The eyeballs are like jello.”
“Right.”
I grab a knife and start working on the first of the sand bass. Sautéed bass sounds like a fantastic lunch to me. The real lunch is burritos, which are great with freshly made salsa, guacamole and tortillas, but I have five perfectly good sand bass that only need to be cleaned. Beth and Matt both grab knives and try their hand at filleting. Try is a great word for our attempts.

12:41 PM: Haven’t left the kitchen
Corey, Jenny, Gen, Beth and I stand around a little yellow plate filled with fish.
“I wish there had been some garlic, but the lime sure helps out,” I comment as I dive in for another mouthful, hoping to dodge any missed bones.
“I think I’ve stopped eating fish and am only eating limes,” Gen grins.
I look around the kitchen.
“Has Jon eaten the fish eye yet?”

1:23 PM: VSFS lab
I sit and listen as Karen lectures about desert plant adaptations. I only mention this because I thought it’d be good to prove that we actually learn stuff in Baja. It really isn’t fun or entertaining.

3:35 PM: I’m not really sure where it is. I was in the back Dan’s van getting there and you can’t hear or see much back there.
“Try digging in the drier stuff. You would not think there would be any there, but there was water there a few hours ago.”
I’m not sure if Seth knows what he is talking about, but I dig the shovel into the gravel bar.
Carleigh sees one and grabs it, only to find another. Ted and Karen also start seeing more. Seth knows what he is talking about.

4:53 PM: Back in the kitchen of the VSFS
Emily, Bethany, Julie, Ted, JJ, Natalie, Becky and bunch of other folks whom I don’t recall are all gathered round piles of clams. We are listening to Journey, which makes clam cleaning a very epic activity.

5:02 PM: Still in the kitchen of the VSFS
“It kind of looks like the chicken helper dinner we had in Mulege,” I notice about the pile of shelled clams.
Rafe looks at me and warns, “Don’t tell any one that. Then they won’t want to eat them.”

5:49 PM: At the sinks in the kitchen of the VSFS
Jenny has her arms out, forming a triangle with soapy thumbs and fingers. She blows into the vortex of soapiness (I’m sure there is a scientific phrase for that which I should know) and out comes a big bubble, free floating above the sink.
“Sweet…,” I whisper to myself as I lift up my soapy hands to try to emulate the feat.

8:38 PM: In the lab at VSFS
I sit at one of the tables in the field station lab as Rafe is lecturing about the theology of ecology. A line of Rafe’s current lecture reads, “Seeking contentment as our great gain.” This is in the context of the theology of ecology, but for me it has been the meaning of this trip. My prayer at the beginning of this trip was to find joy solely in God, getting my pleasure from Him, or at least to head in that direction. My time in Baja has been showing me this, that happiness is not found in people liking me, eating good food, entertaining myself, or even enjoying His creation. I find joy when I think about the Lord, how He humbled himself to become like me to save me. At night, I stare up into a testament of vastness, the night sky, and I know that my God is beyond all that. Knowing that that same God, the one who made the deserts, oceans, whales, mountains, and plant life that we have seen humbled himself so that I may approach the throne of God, as a wretched sinner washed clean, brings me joy. I pray I look to this for my contentment, my joy and my hope. I pray that I can find contentment in all situations, learn to trust in Him, and continue to do so as I move back into the everydayness of life.

Our Beloved Leader

2008-01-18T19:10:00.003-08:00

Jeff says carrots and corn are the same thing...just different colors.

A Blustery Day

2008-01-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

Bennett and Genevieve’s Blog…

Today was a blustery winter day in Baja. The white caps were out, the boat did not work, and ramen was served for lunch. We ventured out to the town square with our beat up legs from Mike’s hike to photograph the town and visit the museum. While we were out, we dodged cacti, wished we had brought warmer clothes, traveled to the market to buy tortillas (ramen was not so satisfying), and met Rafe’s neighbor at the museum. When leaving the museum, after we had a small chat with Rafe’s neighbor, we encountered 2 barking dogs that looked like they could kill us; luckily a 7 year old playing with a tractor came to the rescue. The scientists played with shells in the afternoon, while the painters drew Dan; Luke did too.

***Rafe would like to add that it started out glass calm on the water, which is why he and Ted traveled out in the boat and then it proceeded to die and left them stranded, and then the wind began to blow…. so Dan, Karen, and Ted went for a swim and pulled the boat with their teeth back to shore…. Then again, this is the same man that told Gen last night that carrots were the same thing as corn, only a different color.

Quote of the Day

2008-01-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

“We didn’t get lost. We just went the wrong direction”

Gen explaining about she and Bennett getting off the trail.

Mike's Hike!

2008-01-17T18:18:00.001-08:00

Well hello hello Biola friends and family! This is JJ and I am most anxious to report to you the adventures of those who hiked the Baja inferno that is Mike’s Mountain.

At a whopping 4,000 feet, this peak was once the home of an eccentric vegetarian hermit named Mike. Although he was notorious for hiking in the oh so fashionable Speedo, or even in the nude, we decided to climb fully clothed and fully loaded with snacks and water to assure maximum comfort.

Some began the hike at the most ungodly hour of 4:30 am and decided to scale the mountain in the dark. General comments, “We didn’t get lost, we just went the wrong direction.” Some, less devoted hikers, left between seven and eight o’clock. And some (we’ll call them the insane) decided it would be fun to run up the mountain in an attempt to beat the current record of making it to the top in 1 hour and 46 minutes. Their final time: an impressive 1 hour, 45 minutes and 30 seconds.

Amidst the brisk air and blistering wind, we stumbled about the rocky trails, crossed the “ridge of death,” and scaled massive boulders. Dodging cacti and rockslides along the way, the path was treacherous. Casualties: a bloody ankle, little tumbles (thankfully not over the cliff), and scratched legs. I myself suffered from ripped pants after a rather painful encounter with an agave cactus. However, the view from the top made it worth the burning pain in the thighs, sweaty backs, and puffy red hands.

It was a treat to view the bay from such a height, to sense the intense coloration of pthalo blues and greens along the shoreline, and to see the vast Mexican mainland disappear into the haze. Another unexpected treat was the most delightful campfire that awaited those who journeyed to Mike’s renowned cave.

Exhausted from the climb, we plopped down on sunbathed rocks to devour a most delicious and well-earned lunch. I never imagined a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could taste so good.
Satisfied and accomplished, we began the descent at 1pm. Aching knees and blistered toes accompanied us on the way down, but good humor and witty comments kept our spirits up and the pain at bay. At the Field Station we were greeted by a round of applause and a bottle of ibuprofen.

Of this I am sure, we will all sleep well tonight!

(You might want to click on the photo above for a fabulous shot of Bahia de los Angeles from Mike's Mountain!)

Quote of the Day

2008-01-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

"A watched boot never bakes."

Julie to Seth, who was supervising his boots as they dried in the sun.

The Day in Bahia

2008-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

It is time for another Biola in Baja blog update. My name is Seth Branahl and as today’s designated Biology blogger, I bring you greetings from all the students and teachers currently at the Vermillion Sea Field Station in Bahia de Los Angeles.

The morning found many of us Biology students reluctantly falling out of our cots after a late night of studying. Our major plant test would follow in the afternoon and our minds were swimming with the likes of Idria columnaris and Tamarix pentandra. But before we could put our memory to the test, we had turtles to clean.

Just north of town, wedged between the bay and a rather neglected RV camp, lay a sea turtle research field station. In three shallow cement tanks filled with murky, algae green water swam 9 sea turtles of four varieties. There were Hawksbill Turtles, fierce looking fellows with spiked edges on their bright yellow and green shells, Green and Black Turtles, smooth, sleek and differing only in their shell color, and a giant Loggerhead Turtle, grumpy and imposing with a big … um … log shaped head. Having not been washed in a month, all our reptilian friends were in dire need of a thorough scrubbing. We all hopped in the tanks, artists, biologists, musicians, businessmen and sociologists alike, to remove as much algae as possible before the tide went out. The local scientists directed us as we vigorously scrubbed their shells and cautiously washed their heads. Although the work was rather demanding, there were plenty of delighted squeals from the three tanks.

As much fun as the turtles were, my favorite experience at the turtle research center had little to do with the turtles themselves. As we were busy scrubbing in my tank, Janet, a nice lady who lives down here at the field station, decided to shut off the water to our tank completely. Across the tank from the water pipe stood our innocent TA, Melissa Gray, as she diligently washed away at a turtle. Janet turned the lever the wrong way and Poor Miss Gray found herself the victim of an unexpected high pressure hosing. Just recalling the look of pure shock and confusion on her face still makes me laugh.

After bath time with the sea turtles, the Biology students set out to the surrounding area for the major plant test. One of our teachers, Karen, drove us around and chose plants for us to identify. The non-science majors were required to know the English and Spanish names, while the science majors had to know the English, Spanish, Family, Genus and Species names for the plants. The test was not too terribly difficult, but I am sure that everyone was as relieved as me to be finished with it.

To celebrate my victory over the plant test, I went down to the ocean and watched a frenzy of sea birds. Some fishermen had thrown the remains of their catch in the shallows and dozens of gulls and pelicans were snapping up the free food. One pelican had a huge piece of food lodged in its throat and was futilely attempting to swallow it. Acting as a perfect example of a kleptoparasite, a gull sat next to the pelican persistently trying to snatch the food out of the pelican’s mouth. Interested in this behavior, I hopped from rock to rock out into the bay, hoping to get a closer look at the pelican and the gull. Unfortunately, one of the rocks proved more slippery than expected and I quickly found myself knee deep in the Sea of Cortez. My waterproof hiking boots proved ineffective at keeping the water in, but gloriously efficient at acting as buckets. I poured a few cups of water out of my boots at the field station and set them in the oven to dry.

Soon after, an art major friend, Julie, wisely reminded me, “a watched boot never bakes” and suggested that I stick a toothpick in them to see if they were done. Personally, I thought that throwing them against the wall and seeing if they stuck was the best choice. Apparently, I took Julie’s warning against watching my boots too seriously, because I just received reports that people can smell my boots burning.

As you can probably tell, the science is fascinating and the art is gorgeous, but the friends we are all making down here are the best parts of Baja. Our group gets along beautifully and one can almost always find people laughing together. Hopefully, you will get to hear about Biola in Baja from an Art major tomorrow and see some pictures from our hike of Mike’s Mountain

Catching Up!

2008-01-16T20:57:00.001-08:00

We apologize for the long delay of postings; it is partially due to the fact that we have been on the road and a few technical difficulties that are a bit more pronounced when you are working with a primitive technology. But we are on now!

To get you caught up (and so much has happened.)

We took three days to get from Biola to our field station in Bahia.

Jan. 3rd. The first night we camped on the Pacific side near the town of San Quintin.

Jan. 4th. The second day we headed south, turning inland into the Vizcaino desert where we camped for a night. This is considered one of the most beautiful deserts in the world. We camped among huge boulders, cardon cactus and the strange and wonderful cirio cactus.

Jan. 5th. On day three we continued towards the gulf stopping to visit an ancient cave painting site. By late afternoon we arrived at our home away from home, Bahia de Los Angeles and the Vermilion Sea Field Station.

Jan. 6th. Settled into the field station and toured the town of Bahia, a small fishing village with a population of approx. 800. The field station is nestled on the beach just a stone throw outside of town. The weather so far has been amazing, sunning and cool with amazingly clear nights with a sky full of stars!

Jan. 7th. We headed out for our eight day camping trip. We will be traveling from Bahia de Los Angeles to San Ignacio. We stopped in the town of Guerrero Negro for the famous Tacos Henry. Much to our dismay the owner was under the weather but she sent us to her cousins taco stand and to our pleasure the fish tacos where every bit as good as Henry’s. Incredible fish tacos must run in the family. After lunch we pushed on another hundred and twenty miles to the town of San Ignacio where we would spend two nights.

Jan. 8th. San Ignacio is an eighteenth century colonial town established at a fresh water lagoon. Driving through the lush groves of date palms we entered the tiny town square. The defining building on the square is the San Ignacio Mission built in the mid 1700’s. It is still a functioning church and the pride of this humble town. The biology students explored the lagoon identifying birds and desert plants while the art students painted and photographed the landscape and the beautiful, weathered architecture of the town.

Jan. 9th. San Ignacio south to El Coyote on Bahia de la Concepcion. Once on the gulf coast we stopped in the French colonial town of Santa Rosalia (we had to sample some of the famous Mexican sweat breads and fruit smoothies.) After lunch we continued onto El Coyote where we camped on a pristine white sand beach. This was a great place for landscape painting and shell identification.

Jan. 11th. We break camp and head north for the fishing town of Mulege. The group is so excited to be here (first clean showers in three days!)

Jan. 13th. We head northwest for the Pacific coast and Sca mmon’s Lagoon where we will go gray whale watching. Another beautiful day and clear night.

Jan. 14th. Got up early and went out with whales! We saw lots of mother whales and their newborn calves. Several boats where also visited by dolphins. Returned to Bahia Los Angeles by nightfall.

Jan. 15th. First full day at the field station. Cleaned up and rested from the camping trip we begin to explore all that our environment has to offer. The biology students continue to learn about the plants, birds and eco-systems of Baja. The art students are desperately trying to capture the amazing richness of this unique place.

Final Reflection

2007-01-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

One of the recurring themes of the Baja experience is "seeing"—seeing things from new perspectives and seeing the same things from completely different perspectives, disciplinary and otherwise, all oriented around how it takes multiple perspectives to get a better view of the world, and worlds, we live in. Thus, we view the same things and have the same experiences, but have somewhat different understandings of them, depending on a large number of variables, the most basic of which for us in Baja is that we have two biologists, a sociologist and an artist running three separate classes, while at the same time combining them into one experience.

The unifying factor is that we agree to have this conversation—and it is a conversation, one that goes on for three weeks, and into which we invite our students. At this point in the class, we are starting to see the fruits of this effort. Art students and biology students are asking sociological questions; biology students and sociology students are understanding the nuances of perspective in art making; sociology students and art students are appreciative of, and yes, learning, different plant names, identifying birds, and seeing how natural ecological systems are also related to global economic systems.

In her wonderful book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, a reflection on nature and theology, Annie Dillard points out that as humans we just can’t see the world as it really is—our brains naturally edit the types of information we can receive and thus with which we can interact. She notes that it is only the simplest, one-celled animals that experience the world in an unedited way—thus seeing the world as it really is. As a sociologist, I include in this “editing” process such things as culture, gender, race, social class, religion, etc., through which we experience reality differently depending on where we are located in these different classifications.

So where does that leave us? Is this some sort of nefarious postmodern perspective as some would have it, or is it an honest approach to understanding a complex and multifaceted world? I suppose the answer to that lies in the way that we have organized this whole Baja experience—valuing multiple perspectives as a way to get an understanding of life in the fullest sense, physically (biology), aesthetically (art), socially (sociology), all embedded within the spiritual realities that we seek and claim. In this understanding, the spiritual dimension of life is enhanced when we come to at least a partial understanding of these other areas. For us then, one of the challenges of the Baja experience is to give our students the opportunity to attempt to overcome their perceptive limitations, and hopefully see a broader range of the reality within which they live.

Departing Bahia

2007-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

We'll be departing Bahia de Los Angeles at 6am tomorrow morning, driving all the way home to Biola by tomorrow night. The trip is a long--15 hours or so--journey home. It is an event in itself, from literally rolling out of bed and into the vans, to the border crossing at Tijuana. Hopefully since it will be a Monday evening, we won't spend too much time in line waiting to cross back into the U.S.

The students will probably start calling once we cross the border and their cell phones pick up the U.S. signals. If they call while connected the Mexican system, it can get kind of pricey!

Anyway, here we are in all our glory. Three weeks in Baja, a little dirtier, lots of new friends, and hopefully at least slightly different than when we left three weeks ago.

Our Visiting Scholar

2007-01-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

We have been remiss in mentioning that we have had the privilege of having Karen Riddervold, a 1999 Biola graduate who currently works as a scientist for the Royal Family of Norway (or Norwegia as one of our students called it!) along as a visiting scientist on our trip. She has been invaluable to our students and to the trip overall. She is a bright and inquisitive person who has contributed mightily to the students' lives. Here she is giving a talk about Baja plant life.

Remember the Boat?

2007-01-21T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a current picture of the fishing boat that several years ago was anchored just off shore of the field station, and for the past four years has been beached just down the way. As you can see, it has been almost completely reclaimed by the sea.

When we get home, we'll try to post pictures from the past couple of years so you can see its gradual deteriorization.

San Borja

2007-01-20T21:13:00.001-08:00

We drove out to the mission at San Borja today, a mission that was only in service for about 20 or so years in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It has been being restored for the last several years and is now approximating what it originally looked like, although the restoration is still continuing.

While we're there we take the students through the mission building and around the grounds of the mission. One of the traditions that has been established over the past couple of years is an off-road hike (i.e. no trail, lots of cactus and rocks) to la "cueva mascara" or the mask cave. As it sounds, the cave looks like a face—holes in the rock cliff face that looks like two eyes and a mouth, which the native Cochimi shamans lit fires as a part of their religious ceremonies.

The first picture is evidence of the cholla that somehow magically appears attached to your skin. Derek “willingly" (not) stuck the back of his hand into a cholla and ended up with this beautiful attachment. Notice how the skin is pulled up by the barbs on the end of the cholla spines. Just a bit uncomfortable...…

Notice the donkeys--we encounterd a small pack on our way back from San Borja-on the formerly almost impassable road that is now nicely graded.

Quote(s) of the Trip or, Rafe's New Name

2007-01-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Ted: "Why do they call you Jeff?"
Rafe: "They don't."
Dick: "What does Jefe mean in Spanish, Ted?"
Ted: "Jeffrey."
Dick: "No it doesn't."
Ted: "Yes it Does."
Dick to Carolyn: "How do you say Jeff in Spanish?"
Carolyn: "You Don't."
Ted: "I don't think I like this game anymore."

Dumbest Quote We Heard in Baja

2007-01-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

"This is almost like another country."

(From a Canadian tourist camped at Bahia Concepcion, apparently forgetting, as Carolyn Zambrano noted, that they went through two international borders, and the Baja Sur y Norte border to get to where they were.)

Quote of the Day

2007-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

"You have Oreos on your beard and it makes me think of baleen." (Matt to Derek)

New Friends

2007-01-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Today we had a visit from several high school students from the new high school in Bahia. Luis, Jesus, Angel, Ysica and Brian all came by with their teacher, Simona and the school director, Julio, at 10:30 this morning. Throughout the day the students showed us their art work, and then the sociology students presented their projects. Following the morning activities, we all enjoyed lunch together--including fresh vegetables and salad provided by the high school students, which was a big hit with all of us. Following lunch, Dan led a drawing workshop and all of us sociologists discussed life in Bahia with Simona.

One of the interesting things we noticed was how "branded" by American popular cultural products the students were. The products represented in their hats, t-shirts and sweatshirts included Billabong, Quicksilver, Volcom, Hurley, and Vans, among others. The prize for the most inter-cultural consumer product was the straw cowboy hat that Ysica was wearing that had a "shaka" sign sewn onto the front. Sort of Hawaii meets Baja.

A Rude Awakening

2007-01-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

So we all went to bed last night to clear skies and warm sleeping bags, but it didn't last long. That is right; it rained last night. I was fortunate enough to be roused while it was only drizzling. Two of the guys on the trip were not so lucky. Ted and Eric were awakened to the feeling of cold and wet coming straight through their sleeping bags at about 6:30 this morning. They both are fine and the sun is now out and drying everything off, but this was my first experience with rain in the desert of Baja as well. If the weather stays nice, we might go out in the boat this afternoon to look for dolphins, whales, and seals. It could be fun.

Quote of the Day

2007-01-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

On the Mike's Mountain hike:

"Matt, your mouth tastes funny." (Ted)

A Mike's First

2007-01-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

We hiked Mike's mountain today--an eight mile hike (round trip) that starts at sea level and ends at 4,000 feet. A mere 1,000 foot increase in altitude per mile.

The Mike's first is that everyone--everybody--made it to Mike's cave. We are very happy about that feat.

Turtles!

2007-01-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

Today was a magnificent experience. There is a small research facility in town that has been doing work with the sea turtles that can be found in the Sea of Cortes. Some of the students went over to the facility and helped out the head researcher with the cleaning of the tanks and the animals. There were 12 turtles that we helped to weigh, measure, scrub, and clean the huge salt water tanks in which they live. Everyone was just giddy with delight and many pictures were taken with the littlest of the green turtles that we named Squirt. David, the researcher, was very grateful for the help and we were grateful for the opportunity to help with the research that is sponsored by the Mexican government. Now we must go and get the algae smell off of our hands.

Mike's Mountain Tomorrow

2007-01-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we hike Mike's Mountain, one of the more physically taxing experiences of the class. Mike's Mountain is probably about 4,000 feet high, and the trail is about 4 miles from start to finish. Just looking at Mike's, it doesn't seem like a big hike, but thinking about the elevation gain per mile, we're going up about 1,000 feet per mile--strenuous by any account.

The rules are simple: Everyone hikes, you either make it to the top--and Mike's cave--or you turn around and hike back down regardless your progress at 1pm. It's a great experience, and one that is fun to watch the students tackle.

BTW, This year Dan and I are hiking to the top. Neither of us have gone to the top in a few years, so that will be fun to experience it again with a new group of students.

We'll post more about Mike's--and include pictures--after the hike.

Plant Test Today!

2007-01-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

Some of you out there have experienced the angst of anticipation before the plant test (can you still identify the Haplopappus sonorensis?)--well, everyone here is in the throes of preparation for the test. And we mean everyone--even the art and sociology students are helping in the preparation...not that they can put the plant with the name, but, on the off chance they are ever asked about the Haplopappus sonorensis, they can at least bluff their way through...kind of like in any class....

See what happens when the Profs go to bed?

2007-01-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ojo de Liebre--Las Ballenas Gris

2007-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

We've been a bit slow updating the blog--tough to do when we're on the road, but since we're back in Bahia, we're going to crack the whip and get this thing moving!

On Sunday (Jan 14) we were camped just outside of Guerrero Negro for our annual whale watching experience. We're a bit early in the season, as there are only about 50 whales in the lagoon now, but, we did see several whales, including some moms and their calves. The weather was bright and cold...and wet! Note--don't sit in the back of the boat if you don't want to get wet! The boats are little fishing pangas, not the big diesel belching fishing boats you might be familiar with if you've gone whale watching in California. If you're ever down this way, you really need to see these magnificent creatures.

From Beautiful Coyote Bay

2007-01-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Sea of Cortez. We have been on Conception Bay for a few days now and some of us have taken a trip into the town of Mulege.

We stopped in the city of Guerrero Negro and had the ever tasty fish tacos at Tacos Henry. They are a hit every year.

We spent two nights in the oasis of San Ignacio. We had some blustery winds and a lot of dust to wipe out of our ears but it was a good time nonetheless. Everyone who tried them thought that the date bread cakes sold by a local woman were fabulous.

We then traveled on down to the city of Santa Rosalia to stop at the world famous bakery in town and to get some fresh juice squeezed out right in front of us.

We ended that travel day setting up camp at Coyote Bay. The sites are gorgeous and fish are friendly. People have enjoyed hiking and snorkeling and washing their hair in the ocean. We will be there for one more night before heading up to Mulege for a night.

We had a great discussion around the campfire last night about what it means to see. It morphed into everyone discussing some little blessing (we call them pennies) that they have witnessed on the trip. It was touching to hear everyone share from their hearts about some amazing occurance that they will never forget.

Well, it is time for me to be off. Please continue to pray for us. Now that the weather has turned good, we would like it to stay that way. Until I can find another open computer...

Off to San Ignacio

2007-01-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

We leave early tomorrow morning for San Ignacio (see the links in our post with our itinerary and the map of Baja). We'll stop in the desert for a plant walk among the giant cardon cactus, some as old as 200-250 years old, cross into Baja Sur and eat lunch in Guerrero Negro--the best fish tacos you'll find anywhere--and then on to San Ignacio.

Imagining the Landscape

2007-01-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight Dan is going to lecture on the perception and conception of the landscape in western culture from Plato to Postmodernism...all in one hour. Talk about high level academic work!

Greetings from Bahia de Los Angeles!

2007-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the Vermilion Sea Field Station (vsfs.org) yesterday afternoon about 5pm. Everybody’s safe and in good condition, albeit a bit dirtier than when we left the U.S. The weather here is clear, with a strong north wind blowing since last night. Hopefully the wind will die down by tomorrow.

We had a great couple of days drive down here and will spend today and tonight here before setting out on our eight-day camping trip down the peninsula. Be sure to check the itinerary throughout the next several days to see where we are, and of course we’ll update the blog during while we’re on the road as we are able.

We’re also going to have our Teaching Assistants blog this year—which is a change from the last couple of years, so be looking for their contributions to the blog and their perspective on our experience in Baja. You can check out their bio’s if you click on their names in the right column of the blog.

We’ll post more later; we’re off to take the students on a little tour of Bahia.

Where in Baja is Biola?

2007-01-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

During the three weeks we're in Baja we'll travel more than 700 miles south of the border. We'll be traveling in large vans making frequent stops for roadside rambles, both for lectures and observations of the landscape and the towns. In general, we will not be in places where we can be reached, however, there are internet cafes in several of the towns we visit, so we will have intermittant access to email.

Here is our itinerary, as we have planned it. We will be in these loctions more-or-less on the days listed. I've included a notation next to the towns we know have internet access, and a link to more informtion about each of our different stops.

Use the map to see where we are as we travel around Baja (you can click on it for a larger image).

Jan 3 Camp in Colonia Vicente Guerrero near San Quintin. Here's the weather forcast for San Quintin.

Jan 4 San Quintin to Catavina. Weather for Catavina.

Jan 5 Catavina to Bahia de los Angeles. Our home base throughout the program is the Vermilion Sea Field Station (internet) Weather for Bahia de los Angeles.

Jan 7 Bahia de los Angeles to San Ignacio (internet two years ago, not last year, so...), traveling through Guerrero Negro (and enjoying a legendary almuerzo de tacos pescado at Tacos Henry!). Weather for San Ignacio.

Jan 9 San Ignacio to El Coyote on Bahia de la Concepcion, with stops in Santa Rosalia and Mulege. Bahia de la Concepcion is the bay just south of Mulege. Here's the Mulege area weather.

Jan 12 Bahia Concepcion to Mulege (internet)

Jan 14 Mulege to Guerrero Negro and Scammons Lagoon. Weather for Guerrero Negro.

Jan 15 Guerrero Negro to Bahia Los Angeles

Jan 22 Bahia Los Angeles to Biola

Note that these dates are subject to change due to variables such as weather, fuel supply, and road and sea conditions over which we have no control. But that's a life lesson in itself....

What is Biola Baja?

2007-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

The "Baja class" is a three-week long Interterm (January) program in which students and professors from three classes travel together throughout Baja California, Mexico, observing, writing, reading, discussing and experiencing Baja. It follows, what program founder Rafe Payne has called the "Janovy method": "a ramble...punctuated with discoveries."

The Baja program at Biola University was pioneered by Rafe Payne, Professor of Biological Sciences, over 25 years ago as consisting of a class titled, "The Natural History of Baja California." Over the years the program has grown to include two additional classes: an Art seminar taught by Dan Callis, "Visual Studies in Baja" and a Sociology field research class taught by Richard Flory, "Baja California in Social and Cultural Context."

Homeward Bound

2006-01-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

We'll be leaving Bahia at about 6:30 am tomorrow morning (Saturday 1/21), which will put us at the border around 6 pm. Once we cross the border--and since it is a Saturday evening, this will take a while--the cell phones will pick up their signals from the U.S. and you'll start receiving phone calls about our approximate ETA at Biola, which should be around 9-9:30 pm.

Student Reflections

2006-01-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

We're leaving early tomorrow morning, and as we prepare to leave this place, we are providing some reflections from the student's journals, so that you don't always hear the *official* word from Baja (assuming there is such a thing). Note the dates and places where the reflections were written as you read and enjoy what the students have to say.

From Jamie

I always had the same idea in reference to girls in make up. Make up for the most part is completely unnecessary. Sure some girls may suffer from bad acne you know the kind that plagues the rim of the brow, under the cheeks, and God forbid the wretched neck-nee. I will say that in the case of bad acne or severe burns of the face, neck and chest area make up should be used. At any other time make up is simply nothing more then a fence girls put up between them and the world, a wall that is dabbed and brushed on with small swift movements and opened mouths. For 20 or so days now my personal space has been completely invaded by a bunch of people, who’s typical wall of make up has been torn down and rebuilt with dirt and crystallized sweat. The pinks and blues and turned brown along with the fair porcelain that was once their skin. They, even I, look very different from those awkward and timid folks who first found themselves loading up the Yeti and Sasquatch (the vans) 20 or so days ago. Tonight we are going out to dinner. Some of the girls got together and “dolled” themselves up for the event, I even pulled a semi- clean shirt out of the bottom of my bag and put it on. I almost wanted to avoid putting on make up like the rest if the girls, the same way I have been avoiding collecting all the shells on the beach, myspace, and occasional weeping fits. But I too wiped away the dirt and replaced it with powdered paints and sparkles. I was sad to wash my hair and face, I became quite comfortable with my filth wall but it came down like in Berlin, sans David Hasselhof in an American flag jacket. I watched as the faces I had known transform. Despite my efforts I looked pretty much the same, but some of the girls really glowed. I was most amused by the faces of the three guys on the trip. These unfortunate fellows have been burdened by their inner gentlemen for the past 20 or so days; opening doors, falling last in the food line, and even being irated by the lewd gestures of their Mexican brethren. I watched as they looked at the painted faces of the girls, their eyes regretfully admitting, “they’re not so hideous after all.” I too watched as the make up walls were rebuilt and as each girl (myself included) awkwardly milled in and out of the rooms of the field station second guessing the reconstruction of their walls and questioning the foundations in which they stand. Do any of us really need make up? We have survived a 4,000-foot mountain, many a frightening car rides, and copious amounts of Coldplay all with out make up, yet we paint, brush, curl and crimp. Next week I will be days away from this star filled sky and Dr. Seuss-like vegetation, laying the bricks of my make up wall and remembering the bare, brown faces of these people, the unpolished beauty that each face encumbered. Yes, we are a different people. These 20 or so days have changed us from the rigid and feeble to the learned and humble, and the faces, made up or not, are no longer mere faces but friends.

January 20
VSFS
Bahia de los Angeles

From Bethany Laursen

As the trip nears it end, I’m getting more and more uncomfortable here; I miss showers, clean clothes, my coffee mug, and the internet. But I don’t know that it’s a good that I’m missing these things. For one thing, I can begin to become discontent with this place. For another thing, I don’t think that the internet is worth missing, because I just want it to fill some void of loneliness that it can’t fill. And, I like the return to simplicity marked by less clothing/fashion and water usage. Here, we celebrate the normally mundane occurrence of clean hair! What a simple joy! It seems to have straightened our priorities and sharpened our gratitude—we’re just thankful to have plenty of food, water, clothing, and shelter. So, when I really think about it, I’m not looking forward to selling my soul to be concerned about shallow things so that I can relate to my friends. That’s not to say that my friends are shallow, but they probably would not understand why taking shorter showers could ever be good for your soul. And, I don’t have to take luxury for granted, but it will certainly be difficult without 23 other people helping me consume less.

January 16
4:48 pm
VSFS
Bahia de los Angeles

From Libby Stokes

The wind moves like the rain, in waves. The water’s surface is mottled and pushed. It is darkened by each passing exhale from the sky. The air, even in its invisibility, can carry. It can hold a grain of sand, a crying gull, an expanse of cloud. The wind’s hands, like God, are mighty enough for the clouds, and gentle enough for a feather.

The wind has no voice. We only hear what things say about the wind. The trees hum to a gentle “ffffffff.” The rafters whistle and creak. Even when we turn our heads into the wind, our ears find works in its silent moving.

January 15 (during “solitude and silence” time)
VSFS
Bahia de los Angeles

From Sunny Ware

We plop down in fron of the “Mision de Santa Rosalia de Mulege,” three of us armed with pens and iPods. We don’t talk to each other. We slip into our own world complete with soundtracks. I notice how odd this really is when the 80s classic, “Love Shack” comes on. How can three little, white, American girls sit in front of this holy place in this manner? Does it defile it? What does the space become when a group of 20 of us come in talking, snapping photos, and turning it into a classroom/tourist sopt? Can it be holy and profane?

January 12
Mulege

From Sarah Concannon

Discover

Each morning I awake to the
sound of something new.
Is it the ocean or a bird or
a date falling through the dew?
So much to experience today but
where should I start?
Well, a bird walk with Rafe
may produce the sighting of a lark.
Going much deeper we discuss the
issues at hand.
How can we change the way we
see this vast land?
Looking through eyes as we did
as a child.
Colors and shapes jump out that
are far beyond mild
Into the vans we pile once more
off to discover cuz that’s what
we’re here for.

January 10
El Coyote, Bahia de Concepcion

San Borja Today

2006-01-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

We're off to San Borja today to visit the mission and environs. We'll post more when we return this evening.

We just returned from San Borja. There is lots of activity out there as the renovation of mission seems to have been shifted into high gear. For the last two years there was one man, with occasional workers who helped him, doing the work. This year, he is gone, and there is an entire crew of workers making doors, windows, and replacing the stone blocks of the building. The mission still has a long way to go before the renovation is complete.

For those who have been there, the family that lives next to the mission is still there, but unlike the last two years, now has complete access to the mission buildings and surroundings. They still accompany you pretty much wherever you go around the mission, sort of the self appointed guides to the area.

As the artists were painting and the students who did not have hiking-type shoes on stayed around the mission and caught up on their journals (time is running short!), several of us hiked up to *la cueva mascara,* the mask cave where the Cochimi shamans would light fires from the inside, thus showing their powers to their people. It's a completely off-road hike--lots of cholla, pitalla, and other sticky things that must be avoided. We managed to get up and down without too many wounds, although I am apparently now going to be known as *Dr. Cholla* as I managed to slide across one as my footing gave way, thus requiring the extraction of several of the spines with the always handy leatherman-type pliers. The irony of course was that I had just bragged to several students that I had broken out a nice, clean t-shirt for the day, that is now full of the tiny leftover cholla spines, blood, dirt, etc. I think I'll just retire the t-shirt. But, it was a great hike and everyone enjoyed it, probably more so because of my slide--actually two slides, the second not involving sticky things--on the slopes.

Quote of the Day

2006-01-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

"This tastes like grape juice." (Amanda while drinking from a juice box that was not only purple, but was labeled 100% grape juice.)

A Man in His Element

2006-01-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

Rafe took everyone out on the boat today. As John Puls said last year, "It's good to see a man in his element." Yes.

Quotes of the Day

2006-01-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

"Bad roads bring good people."

"It takes money to be a live person."

--Antonio Resendiz-Hidalgo, Bahia Sea Turtle Research Station

Hike Like Mike!

2006-01-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Today is the hike up Mike's Mountain. Hiking Mike's is a tradition in the Baja program, and everyone hikes. Mike's is a deceptive hike, especially for people who are used to hiking the Sierra's or other mountain ranges in the U.S., because it just doesn't look all that intimidating or difficult. But, the hike starts at sea level and ends up at approximately 4,000 feet, all in about 4 miles. Doing the math results in an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet per mile.

The hike is tough, but worth it--even for those who don't make it all the way to the top. The victory is in the effort, not necessarily in making it all the way to Mike's camp at the top. We'll post some student reflections on their day as they return to the field station.

Here's an email Rafe received from Wiley Roberson the first Baja TA (circa 1979-1982) about *Hiking Like Mike.* (We are, by the way, very happy that people like Wiley and the extended Biola Baja family are reading the blog and about the experiences of new generations of Baja students.).

Here's Wiley's email:

Well, here is the story. One February I found myself at the Bay on a rather unexpected trip. Two weeks prior I had just finished assisting Rafe on another Biola in Baja class in which my truck had blown a head gasket coming back up the line from Muleje (which by the way, was the same trip as the mud hole, boat prop story). With the help of Jon Francine we were able to limp the last 150 miles into the Bay traveling 30-40mph and stopping every 8-9 miles to add water. The morning the class left the Bay, the truck locked up at the edge of the old runway out front of Casa Diaz. We pushed it back to the lab and transferred a few items over to the school van and piled in. A week later a friend and CO-assistant of Glendale Community College Baja class Steve James (aka Yoda) and myself headed back to the Bay loaded with a tow bar. Once there we stayed on a week or two to help Jose Mercado and Michael McCabe (SP?) build on Jose's house (as a side note, we were framing on the house one day only to look up and see several Orca's cruising 100yds off the beach. We hopped in Michael's boat and followed them out around the lighthouse and into very rough water and wind. The 'Keeper of the Keys' refused us further entry and quickly sent us for shore. Little did we know the Keeper had other plans for us). While there we saw Mike several times either out on his kayak or walking up the beach from his trailer. One afternoon we were privileged to be invited by Mike to make the hike up the Mike's Mountain with him to resupply the camp and spend the night. To my knowledge, Yoda, Michael and myself were the only ones ever invited by Mike to hike along or at least certainly the first. Mike didn't think much of socializing, after all, he was the hermit of Bahia. We agreed to meet early the next morning up the wash a piece on the other side of the road south of town. This was the original trail cut by Mike and I believe no one has been on it much since his death. Rafe, is the trail still there or is it gone now. Anyway, early the next morning, loaded with sleeping bag, backpack, camera and several gallons of water for Mike to store at the camp, we headed out to meet up with Mike. For some reason as we headed up the wash at the head of the trail the small talk ended as we began to "step lightly" into the habitat and domain belonging to Mike. After a 15 minute hike we came across Mike sitting on a boulder shaded by a bush alongside the wash silently enjoying the quiet of the Baja morning as I'm sure he did daily. He had a walking stick and like us had a backpack and plastic water jugs and wore a hat, bandana and hiking shoes. As he stood up his nakedness became apparent. Yes, the man was buck naked. I swear at the very moment I could hear a wild burro braying somewhere up in those mountains. He quietly told us this had always been the way he approached the mountain. He then turned and began up the trail and we silently followed him into his domain. Mike led, I followed behind...literally. Only a few times did he stop to rest and I'm sure it was only for our benefit. We arrived at the top of Mike's Mountain a few hours later and were occasionally treated to brief conversations about cutting the trail, how he dug out under the rock to make the cave, how he set up the water collection station on the boulders, the big horned sheep he had once encountered partaking of some of the collected water. We enjoyed one of the best vermilion sunsets I've ever seen and settled in our bags shortly after darkness fell. The next day we came down the mountain and parted ways at the same point as the day before with Mike heading back to his precious solitude, Yoda, Michael and myself to the building project. It was 2 or 3 days before I saw Mike again, I was working on the roof and looked out to the bay and there he was on his kayak paddling down the beach. I waved and he waved back. As I turned back to my nails and hammer I couldn't help but smile and say to myself. Man, wait til I see Rafe! I had come to Bahia just to take a broken truck home, but Bahia had another experience she wanted to share.

Moral of the story.....When hiking up a steep mountain trail for several hours, be aware, you don't want to butt into the person in front and above you...especially if that someone Hike's Like Mike....

Quote of the Day

2006-01-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

"I'd rather die than be in pain." Ashley W. after hiking Mike's

Whale watching at Scammon's Lagoon

2006-01-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

We were out of our sleeping bags by sunrise wanting to be the first group to the whale watching boats. Each small boat held ten people and was piloted by a trained boatman. Motoring the small skiffs within a few feet of the huge but gentle animals we were amazed to see their graceful movements as they emerged from the deep. We sited approximately thirty whales and by late February it is estimated that as many as two thousand of these gentle giants will be in the lagoon.

Quote of the Day

2006-01-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

"Is there any more hot water that's hot?" (Erin)

Scammon's Lagoon

2006-01-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 13th we drove north from our campsite in Mulege back thru Santa Rosalia to San Ignacio where we ate lunch in the town square. Back on the road again within an hour we were on our way to Scammon’s Lagoon just south of the city of Guerrero Negro. Scammon’s is one of the three lagoons in Baja where the Gray Whale (Eschrichtius Robustus) spends their winter after migrating approximately 6,000 miles from Alaska. They make this trip to mate and give birth every year. The mother whales are approx. 40 – 50 feet in length and weigh around 40 – 50 tons give birth to a cutely little baby 12 – 15 ft. in length and weighing 3/4 of a ton. Scammon’s Lagoon is named after Capt. Charles Scammon who discovered this lagoon in the late eighteen hundreds where after blocking the mouth of the lagoon with his fleet he preceded to slaughter the mother and calf pairs in mass. We became modern day whale hunters only our weapon was alert eyes and camera lenses.

We entered the lagoon by traveling 10 miles off the main highway on a dirt road that crisscrosses over the world’s largest salt-evaporation plant, which is a joint business venture of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and the Mexican Commerce Ministry. The lagoon itself is a designated United Nations World Heritage Biosphere. The proximity of international corporate holdings and birthing whales was a poignant living example for our campfire lecture and discussion on Globalization and environmental stewardship.

Our campsite was a beautiful and isolated beach where we watched the sunset, cooked s’mores (though the bathroom facilities left a little to be desired.)

Quote of the Day

2006-01-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

"What color is red?" (Libby)

Update from Mulege

2006-01-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted to the blog lately, but we've been on the road and haven't gotten into an internet cafe until now.

We're in Mulege until tomorrow morning, then off to Guerrero Negro for one night and then whale watching on Saturday morning at Scammons Lagoon, then "home" to Bahia de los Angeles. We've had some great experiences so far on the trip and in the class, making lots of new friends and seeing old ones. We'll post a more complete description of where we've been and what we've been up to when we return to Bahia, but until then we'll leave you with this: Last night's Question of the Day was "What is the worst song you've heard so far in the vans?" Apparently there is lots of bad music floating around our vans!

We'll check back in a couple of days with a more complete report.

Quote of the Day

2006-01-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

"If I die, my headlamp will totally save my life." Carolyn on the blinking feature of her headlamp.

Quote of the Day

2006-01-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

"Verbize is an action, therefore it's a noun." (Dawn Nicole)

Quote of the Day

2006-01-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

"This is fluffy, soft, showery hair." (David S., after a shower in campground at San Ignacio)

Greetings from the Vermilion Sea Field Station

2006-01-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it to Bahia de los Angeles yesterday about 5pm. We had a good two-day trip down here, and will be leaving for points south tomorrow morning (see our itinerary below).

The trip to this point in Baja is a journey of contrasts. As we cross the border at Tijuana and travel through Ensenada, there is a fairly large population and lots of "American style" stores and housing developments. But once you head out of Ensenada, we start to see the more sparsely populated parts of Baja, small "colonias" of a couple of hundred people at the most, mostly open spaces and desert, cactus, scrub plants and the like.

We've already had some interesting and challenging situations, and everyone has risen to the challenges we have faced. Just after lunch on Tuesday, as we were heading into the final stretch before setting up camp in Colonia Vicente Guerrero, we blew a tire on the trailer...which meant stopping and changing the tire. No hay problema! On Wednesday as we approached our campsite at Catavina, Rafe's van--pulling the trailer--got stuck in some deep sand. Everyone piled out of each van, we unloaded and unhooked the trailer, moved the trailer out of the way, dug under the rear tires and placed rocks under each tire and drove out of the sand, re-loaded and re-hooked the trailer, and entered the campsite from a different road. All in the space of an hour. Everyone pitched in and as someone has said, many hands made light(er) work--although very dirty!

We'll post more as we get all of our equipment set up, but all is well, and everyone is gradually getting into the local motion of Baja.

From Colonia Vicente Guerrero to Catavina

2006-01-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

We made our first stop at Don Pepe's camp ground in Colonia Vicente Guerrero yesterday about 3pm, just in time to unload the trailor, set up the tents and get dinner cooked and served.

After dinner, we had a discussion around the campfire about the different observations the students had made to that point in the trip, and read aloud from John Steinbeck's, _Log from the Sea of Cortez_. Steinbeck asks what it is that drives people to pursue the things they do, whether poets, scientists, or adventurers. For Steinbeck, his "unlimited curiosity" about the life patterns of the Sea of Cortez could only be satisfied by an expedition such as they undertook. They went, he says, "wide open [to] see what we see, record what we find, and not fool ourselves with any conventional scientific strictures."

As we reflected on our reading and discussion of Stienbeck, while heading for some of the same places that he had seen--and more--we saw that it was also our goal to go "all out" to the extent that we can, to discover as much as we can about the nature, beauty, and people of Baja, and in the end, about ourselves.

Where in Baja is Biola?

2006-01-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

During the three weeks we're in Baja we'll travel more than 700 miles south of the border. We'll be traveling in large vans making frequent stops for roadside rambles, both for lectures and observations of the landscape and the towns. In general, we will not be in places where we can be reached, however, there are internet cafes in several of the towns we visit, so we will have intermittant access to email.

Here is our itinerary, as we have planned it. We will be in these loctions more-or-less on the days listed. I've included a notation next to the towns we know have internet access, and a link to more informtion about each of our different stops.

Use the map to see where we are as we travel around Baja.

Jan 3 Camp in Colonia Vicente Guerrero near San Quintin. Here's the weather forcast for San Quintin.

Jan 4 San Quintin to Catavina. Weather for Catavina.

Jan 5 Catavina to Bahia de los Angeles. Our home base throughout the program is the Vermilion Sea Field Station (internet) Weather for Bahia de los Angeles.

Jan 7 Bahia de los Angeles to San Ignacio (internet two years ago, not last year, so...), traveling through Guerrero Negro (and enjoying a legendary almuerzo de tacos pescado at Tacos Henry!). Weather for San Ignacio.

Jan 9 San Ignacio to El Coyote on Bahia de la Concepcion, with stops in Santa Rosalia and Mulege. Bahia de la Concepcion is the bay just south of Mulege. Here's the Mulege area weather.

Jan 11 Bahia Concepcion to Mulege (internet)

Jan 13 Mulege to Guerrero Negro and Scammons Lagoon. Weather for Guerrero Negro.

Jan 14 Guerrero Negro to Bahia Los Angeles

Jan 21 Bahia Los Angeles to Biola

Note that these dates are subject to change due to variables such as weather, fuel supply, and road and sea conditions over which we have no control. But that's a life lesson in itself....

What is Biola Baja?

2006-01-01T20:20:00.000-08:00