Into The Sea of Cortez: Then, Now, and the In Between. Part 1

Today marks the fifteen year anniversary of my first crossing into Mexico’s Baja peninsula, the small sliver of land that separates the Sea of Cortez from the Pacific Ocean. I had been to the Sea of Cortez before, but never Baja. I have returned to Baja many times since, but never has the experience been such an expedition of wonder, exploration, and camaraderie as I experienced in the summer of 1992.

As I prepare for another trip to Baja, I am studying my field journals from that 5-week expedition. Much has changed both in the Sea of Cortez, and much has changed with me. But more has stayed the same, for better or worse. As I begin this blog, it seems appropriate to discuss the “then and now’s” of the experience to put some perspective on what was learned and what one might hope for the future.

As it turns out, the trip to Baja was a rather formative experience. In the Summer of '92 I had completed my sophomore year as a fine arts major at the University of Arizona. I had taken up scuba diving my freshman year and this had rapidly become an addiction. Soon I was rabid about underwater photography and even took an introductory class in marine biology so I could learn the names of some of the fish I was seeing. I had no idea that taking up this sport and enrolling in a 100-level elective would have such a profound effect on the direction my life would take.

I met an entirely new group of people in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Unlike many the fine arts people I knew, these nutty ecology types were generally friendly, easy going and loved to travel. Sure they were idealistic and mad about things, but these things seemed tangible and meaningful compared to the generalized discontent I had found in the arts college. In short, I found my social unit. Plus, Birkenstocks are much more comfortable than uber-cool combat boots, and you really can only wear black in Tucson for so long before you burst into flames.