Towering pink cliffs. Twenty white sand beaches. Flying manta rays. Swimming with curious California sea lion pups. Snorkeling with tropical fish. Endless pelicans and herons keeping human paddlers company.

A seven-day kayak adventure around Isla Espiritu Santo, 27 kilometres north of La Paz, Mexico had numerous highlights, not to mention making new outdoor friends from across the U.S.

Baja Outdoor Activities, now known as Indomito, describes it as “The Jewel of the Sea of Cortez” and "one of the planet's iconic sea kayaking destinations." This Mexican National Park island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve due to the proliferation of amazing wildlife above and below the water.

The La Paz-based company offers two options—fully-catered and co-operatively catered. For the latter, 12 paddlers participate in all the camping, cooking and kayak loading/unloading duties. The Kayak Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen have survived numerous multi-day kayak camping expeditions on the B.C. coast and in the Southern Interior, so that was a given.

The kayakinbaja.com website (missing the 'g') explains the island circumnavigation is for beginner-intermediate kayakers with daily paddling........

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