Cañón de San Dionisio

The granite mountains of the Sierra la Laguna dominate the terrestrial horizon of the Cape Region in southern Baja. Running north-south about 100 km, they rise to over 2,100 m (7,000 ft) and cover 112,522 ha (278,000 ac). Access to the mountains is on dirt roads that follow river valleys and canyons from east to west on the Sea of Cortez side and west to east on the Pacific side. Trails over the high ridges begin where the roads end (link).

Looking down (east) Cañón San Dionisio

Rande and I drove up Cañón de San Dionisio from the town of Santiago on the east side of the mountains. The vegetation is arid scrub (“matorrales”) from sea level up to about 250 m (800 ft), dry forests up to 800 m (2,600 ft), evergreen oak woodlands (“encino”) up to 1,200 m (4,000 ft), oak-pine forests at the higher elevations and palm oases along the river channels (link). The variety of habitats and the area's isolation are reflected in its biodiversity – nearly 1,000 plant species have been recorded and 23% are endemics, including five endemic genera (link). Eight of the 42 species of reptiles and amphibians and eight of the 59 resident bird species are endemics (link).

Beachcombing

Wikipedia defines beachcombing as “...an activity that consists of an individual ‘combing’ (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility.” Rande and I have combed the intertidal from the black beaches of Costa Rica to the green beaches of Hawaii looking for "things of interest." Now, with more free time and many miles of beaches nearby, we're working on proficiency. Our favorite beach is an uninhabited stretch of white sand south of Punta Arena on the Sea of Cortez. It’s great for seashells and glass.

Rande beachcombing near Punta Arena

Rande collects sea glass, but she’s also attracted to shells, rocks, wood and bones. Beachcombing to her is walking meditation; listening to the waves and the sound of her footsteps in the sand is a way to focus on the present (known as mindfulness). She may be onto something. Dr. Deacon Ritterbush (aka Dr. Beachcomb) describes beachcombing as “…an inexpensive way to achieve better mental, emotional and physical health; and a spiritual means to weather life’s challenges.”

San Jose del Cabo Art Walk

Every Thursday night beginning in November, the streets in the Art District of San Jose del Cabo are closed to traffic and the galleries stay open late. They feature Mexican and international artists working in a variety of styles and media from beautiful crafts to high-end art pieces. Some serve drinks and food, and the event is popular with tourists and Mexicans.

We met Nancy Pridham in the Los Cabos Amber Gallery and Fine Art Annex. She’s a Canadian painter from Bahía Asunción and was having her first show in San Jose del Cabo. She and her husband live in a fishing village of about 3,000 people on the Pacific coast south of Guerrero Negro and Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon’s Lagoon). You can see her paintings of Baja at nancypridham.blogspot.mx.

Gallery with a metal sculpture of "Catrina" in front

Scorpions

We found the first scorpion in the house a few days after we arrived. I was in bed arranging books on the night table when I bumped the small, wooden lamp; a scorpion dashed out from beneath the base and disappeared over the back. I moved the night table, but the scorpion was gone. In the morning, we moved the furniture, but couldn't find it. A couple days later, Rande saw a scorpion on the wall in the bathroom similar to the one on the night table. I dispatched it with a fly swatter. Rande identified it on the Internet as a bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda). So far, we've found seven bark scorpions (five in the house) and two unidentified scorpions outside.

Bark scorpion about 2.5 inches total length on the wall in the living room

Unidentified scorpion about 3 inches total length outside the house