Day 1. April 15th, 2006. Our first destination is the classic spring break city, Cabo San Lucas. Passing the celebrating crowds, we set a course for Land's End, the southernmost point of Baja. Our route takes us over Playa Solmar, where we find gorgeous rock formations.

There's a water taxi that takes conventional tourists to Land's End, but stubborn as we are, we climb over two rocky headlands and through a cave to get there (this, despite April wearing flip-flops). The beach at the other end, Playa del Amor, is quite different, but also stunning.

For the night, we find a nice beach along the "Corridor," between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo. Unfortunately, the airport lost my pack, with nearly all of our camping gear inside. This photo shows the entirety of our first camp: the one sleeping bag that arrived and a $11US blanket we bought on the spot. As we fall asleep, we feel rustic.

Day 2. As we wake up, we feel very cold. We find a ranch and rent horses for a morning ride along Playa el Medano. I discover that my horse, Carbonaru, is terrified of scooters.

Day 3. We wake up in La Paz, on the Sea of Cortez. The city has a postcard-worthy malecon, where we sit and drink aguas frescas.

We drive north to Playa Tecolote through fields of imposing cordon cactus. Rather than explain how big these cacti are, here's one so that you can see the scale for yourself:

At Tecolote, we rent kayaks and explore the coast. Photos are on an underwater disposable camera we bought. Hopefully some will come out.

Day 4. From Tecolote, we jump on a boat tour to La Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez. The un-Earthly red and orange rock strata make us wish we knew more about geology.

Here, we also find the highlight of our entire trip: a colony of sea lions. These animals are so comfortable with humans that we can jump into the water and snorkel with them. Some weighing 300 kilos, seeing them in the water is terrifying and magnificient. Some smaller ones come close to stare at us and roll over on their backs. One sniffs April's flippers. Hopefully some of our underwater pictures will come out.

This is the day that our good luck seems endless. On the way back, we spot dolphins, rays flipping out of the water, and an incredible whale. When we drive up, the whale is churning the water by slapping it with its tail for minutes on end.

Day 5. On our last full day, we wake up in Todos Santos, on the Pacific coast. At Playa Los Cerritos, April tries to surf for the first time. In the evening, we drive past more cactus fields at sunset, to return to the Corridor beaches for our last night. My pack has finally caught up to us, so this beach camp is luxurious compared to our first one.