A Visit to El Golfo in the Sea of Cortez

(Pelican flying right above the water)

El Golfo is a beach town in Mexico which I have been visiting every summer since I can remember (without going into too much detail about my age, lets say, I have been visiting for many years but not too many ;). I have fond memories of this place, the seashell covered beach, all the treasures I would find in the tidal pools, there was never a lack of something amazing to see while there. It has changed so much throughout the years, but thankfully to the resilient nature of it's inhabitants, some things have made a comeback.

(small crab)

(itty bitty starfish on a sea fan)

(Seashells and sand dollar on the beach)

(I am not quite sure what this is, except that it's very neat)

El Golfo, might as well be my second home, at least in my heart it is. I didn't live there nor did I live nearby, and neither can I say I go very often. Nevertheless, this was the place my father would take us to on vacation, and because of it, El Golfo will forever have a special place in my heart.

("clay city" made by clams)

We had so many adventures there, my father and I. This was our special place. The area we visited was only accessible during a very particular low tide (a lower than normal low tide) and even then, your vehicle would still have to go through a good amount of water and rocks to get to our spot. It took an experienced driver and a good, resilient truck to get there. Not many would make it.

(many vehicles have found the end of their road trip here)

This area of El Golfo was our place, a sort of virgin beach area, miles away from the "regular" beach goers. The only people we would find in that area were the commercial fishermen and their "pangas" (canoe like boats). This was our spot and we could do as we pleased (yep, my sisters and I indulged in birthday suit style sun bathing back then). Unfortunately for some and fortunately for many, a road was made and our secret spot suddenly became open to a lot more people. Now all you needed was an all wheel drive vehicle. We were no longer alone, and the beach changed because of it.

A few years after the new road was put in, the beach was almost completely bare. No seashells to be seen, at least not cute ones or whole ones. El Golfo was one of the few places I can visit that still have much natural beauty to offer, but it was being exhausted. I once saw a foreigner carrying sacks full of shells. He would gather shells and leave the shell full sacks on the way as they would become too heavy to carry. After he had filled several sacks, he would drive and pick all of the sacks and take them all from the beach. This practice, depleted the beach and did not help the ecosystem.

(sea turtle skull found on the beach)

Thankfully, as I mentioned before, El Golfo flora and fauna are resilient and many more shells have filled the beach again. Many of the animals have also made a come back with some very sad exceptions. However, I'm thankful for what has been able to make a come back. I feel blessed that my kids get to enjoy some of the treasures I enjoyed as a kid even when we didn't do our jobs at preserving the place.

These are some of the critters that we got to see during our visit.

(I bothered the crap out of this crab ;)

(and this one too! Can you find the crab in this picture?)

(find the fish)

(these birds had no problem finding fish, I call this a feeding frenzy)

(dive bombing the fish)

(crows before...) ;)

(seagull)

(flipping happy dolphin :)

(a coyote which my dogster chased all night)

(the dogster ;)

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. I apologize for the length of it, there's just so much I want to share. <3