In the middle of an impressive desert landscape, we drive through valleys with huge cactus that, together with the mountains, break the horizon line, we cross dry river beds, while the midday sun hits relentlessly without living any shadow in the road. The heat, the wind and the dust in the highway hit the face until, suddenly, after passing a small slope, a light but fresh breeze with smell of sea tells us that we’re next to our destiny: Cabo Pulmo.
The National Marine Park of Cabo Pulmo is the only living coral reef in the west of North America. It’s located exactly in the Tropic of Cancer in South Baja California in Cortes Sea. It is, fortunately, an eight kilometer natural protected area with unexplored beaches that goes from known places such as Punta Cabo Pulmo to Punta Los Frailes.
In June of 1995 it was incorporated to the protected natural areas system as a National Marine Park. It`s an spectacular coral reef, considered one of the oldest in the american pacific with an antiquity of twenty thousand years. Besides, it counts with innumerable marine species, many under protection such as five species of sea turtles that are under danger of extinction.
John Steinbeck mentions the richness of this coral reef when he calls it “The East Cape Jewel” in his book “The Log from the Sea of Cortez” (1951) written during a boat trip in 1940 with his friend and biologist
Ed Ricketts in search of biological species. In Cabo Pulmo’s coral reef there’re found approximately the seventy percent of the marine species, probably due to its location in Cortes sea, which is considered by
Jacques Yves Cousteau the world’s aquarium.
Marine migrations are very important in this area. In the season from July to November is possible to swim with the Whale Shark (rhincodon typus), while from november to march it’s possible to watch the Hunchback whales (megaptera novaeanbliae) in their migration route. But something that may be really spectacular is watching the schools of flying mantas (mobula thurstoni) in and out of the water, from november to march.
No one knows exactly why this mantas “fly” or, better said, jump out of the water. Some think it’s to remove the parasites, but what ever the reason is, it transforms the flying mantas in a fascinating spectacle. After this massive reunion, nobody knows where they go exactly. It’ll be until the next year that they’ll gather in these waters.
Because of all this, Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park has become one of the best international destinies to practice scuba diving, snorkel and kayak. In comparison with other places to practice these sports as Cozumel or the Mexican Caribbean, here the water is deeper and richer in nutrients so the visibility is less but no doubt you may find huge schools or fish banks that hardly are found anywhere else.
There are different options for hiring a guided trip to the reef, such as the
Cabo Pulmo Dive Center that is a complete
PADI center with professional full time instructors and has been functioning since the place was declared Marine Park; in this center you may take scuba diving instruction for beginners or if you prefer, is possible to rent equipment for snorkel and/or explore the nearby beaches in kayak.
In this center you may also hire a diving or snorkel tour of approximately two hours, in which you visit the best places to dive and practice snorkel such as near Sirenita Beach, besides the sea lions colony with which -depending the season- you may swim. The best season to practice snorkel is in october because the water it’s not cold. From december to february there are strong winds so it’s perfect to practice windsurf.
Apparently, the name of Cabo Pulmo has its origins in the time when the local people dived in search of perls holding their breath or as it’s said in spanish: A pulmón (lung).
The nearby beaches
The park’s beaches also offer a unique experience for those who like long walks: it’s possible to walk for hours without meeting with any one else.
The north beach is covered with millions of river stones, that give you the sensation of being in a huge zen garden. It could be said that it’s perfect for meditation or just for contemplation because, besides the stones, the rumour of the sea waves hitting them produces a strange but comforting sound. Walking from this beach towards north, you arrive to the ruins of a school and a rocky point from where there’s a beautiful view of all Cabo Pulmo with it’s huge mountains at the back.
The south beach is more extense and if completely different because has vast extensions of soft sand and tall rocky walls, offering the opportunity to snorkel, sun bathing and swim. Walking to the south you get to Los Arbolitos beach, that counts with some palapas in which you may shelter from the sun; you may also get to this beach by car from the highway.
Asking the local guides, you find other options of virgin beaches or rides as the known boat ride that is a lift in a boat to those beaches you can only get by sea and where you may camp completely alone for the time you want. The guide that gave you the lift comes for you to take you back in the boat.
The principal charm of all this beaches is their solitude and the untouched nature that surrounds them. They are a place where, besides the aesthetic contemplation of the sea and the desert, you may also reflect about yourself. If you decide to camp in some of these beaches, the nights without moon offer a fascinating spectacle of millions of stars and one or two falling stars. There are also guided trips to the falls and cave paintings the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve in Baja, you just have to ask.
The surroundings
The combination of desert and sea makes Cabo Pulmo ideal not only for those looking for diving or snorkel experiences, but also for those longing for a closer contact with nature and desertic environments, such as when you go through the trekking routes.
This routes are an ideal excuse for taking pictures of the local birds that go from partridges and roadrunners to cardinals, etc. It’s possible also to watch hares and a huge number of reptiles. The silence and the views from the routes are spectacular because the place is not so populated and the only constructions were made taking care to reduce the impact in the environment. After a few minutes walking you feel as if you lost all contact with all civilization and you’re completely immersed in the fascinating desertic atmosphere.
Until now, Cabo Pulmo has succeeded in keeping its natural and wild environment, not only by taking care of the reef and its sea fauna, but also by keeping almost untouched this desertic environment that, as I see it, is equally beautiful and full of life.
The road that conduces to Cabo Pulmo is full of signs of “Keep away” and “Private Property”, that apparently, only show the huge interest to exploit touristically this area. Cabo Pulmo is already a huge touristic place that counts with its own attractions and doesn’t need touristic mega - developments, malls (that are the same anywhere), marines or golf camps that only cause a negative impact in the sea or desert fauna and flora.
