We woke up with the alarm at 6:00am (!) and got ourselves together as quickly as possible for our 6:50am pickup for Espiritu Santo. We were sad to miss another of Erik's famous breakfasts, but the cook (a/k/a his mom, according to FourSquare) was arriving just as we were leaving. When the Cabo Expeditions van arrived, we were the last guests (making 7 in total, plus a guide (Jose) and a driver (whose name we didn't catch). A few minutes after we pulled away from the Bungalows, Jer realized that he'd forgotten his contacts, so we came back briefly (and Jer let one of our fellow passengers use our bathroom). Then it was off to La Paz.
The drive was long but fairly uneventful (though we did see a donkey in the road at one point). We drove along the Pacific coast to Todos Santos, then cut across to the eastern side of the peninsula. Between Todos Santos and La Paz, we stopped for breakfast at a local truck stop. Jer had the huevos con chorizo with coffee (which, while decent, wasn't anywhere near as good as at the Bungalows). Jess had the huevos rancheros with fresh-squeezed OJ. Our breakfasts were pretty basic but filling and tasty. The lady who got the beef empanadas was much less happy; everyone who tried hers said there was something weird about the filling. (Erik at the Bungalows later told us that the locals like empanadas that way, but no one else does.)
Once in La Paz, we drove to a beautiful beach opposite Espiritu Santo, where we met our captain, Arturo (of Marlin Adventures). The water was glass-smooth, so the crossing was very easy. Before we reached our first snorkel stop, we got something of a guided tour. Arturo showed us the different types of rock that make up the island, told us about the endemic and introduced fauna on the island (including local fishermen whose families had shacks there before the area became a national marine park, so they are permitted to remain but not to build more), and took us by rock pillars and inside the Cave of the Windows -- all without leaving the boat!
Our first snorkel spot was Los Islotes, the site of the main seal lion colony (about 350, a mix of babies, juveniles and adults), plus lots of birds (like brown-footed boobies and seagulls). After circling the site to let us take pictures and to check the current, Arturo dropped the anchor and we all got in the water. At first, we saw mainly fish (parrotfish, triggerfish, sea urchins, sergeant-majors, starfish, etc.), but then we spotted the sea lions. At first, we saw only singles and pairs; a curious juvenile came quite close to us, checking us out, which was really cool. (We wished we could get close to the babies on the rocks, but their mothers wouldn't have tolerated it.) We also saw another young one catch a fish, though Jose told us the adults hunt 2-3 miles offshore. We swam a bit farther and came upon an alpha male and his harem. We didn't want to get too close, but it was fun to watch them interact with each other. All too soon, it was time to get back in the boat.
Our next stop was Ensenada Grande, a big swath of sandy beach, where we had our lunch. Arturo made us ham-and-cheese sandwiches to take the edge off, and then he brought out the good stuff: triggerfish ceviche and marlin ceviche (freshly made by him and his crew in La Paz). Both were delicious, but the triggerfish one was exceptional -- who knew?! Jose encouraged us to go snorkeling along the rocky edges of the cove, but only Jer and I took him up on it. We saw a long trumpetfish when we started out, the along the rock wall we saw sea urchins, startfish, triggerfish, balloon pufferfish, damselfish, etc. (As before, pictures are available on this great Baja fish ID website.)
After 20 minutes or so, the boat came and picked us up. On our way to our next stop, we were set upon by a small pod of about eight bottlenose dolphins, which swam around and under our boat for a few minutes. They're surprisingly big and very cute, so we were very happy to have gotten the chance to see them. (Arturo said he sees them frequently, but not on every trip and not always in the same place, so we were lucky.)
Our last snorkel spot, Los Coralitos, was another cove, but this one filled with green-yellow coral. We saw a big school of parrotfish and another of trumpetfish, plus king angelfish, triggerfish, etc. The cove was calm and nice, but the highlight was when Jose brought up starfish, a brown sea urchin and a porcupinefish for us to touch.
We were all quite tired as Arturo brought us back to La Paz. Once there, we got back into dry clothes and piled into the van. We stopped at our breakfast spot to use the bathrooms, then stopped for 15 minutes in Todos Santos so that the others could see the Hotel California. (Having been there the day before, Jer and I acted as de facto guides.) Then it was back to CSL, and we were the first to be dropped off. We rinsed our gear and showered, then rested for a bit. Finally, we realized that we were actually pretty hungry, so we set off to find dinner.
Unfortunately our first few options didn't pan out (both Capitan Fish and Las Mariscadas close early, and we couldn't find Los Tres Gallos). Eventually, we spotted El Pollo de Oro, which one of our fellow tour passengers had mentioned as a spot locals recommended to her. Jer got their chicken and pork ribs combo (both cooked on a rotisserie, with the chicken juices dripping onto the ribs to keep them moist), with rice and beans. Jess had the chicken burritos without rice (which turned out to be similar to American-style fajitas, with chicken, roasted tomatoes, grilled onions and grilled sweet and hot peppers, all wrapped together in a tortilla), with beans and guacamole. Everything was reasonably tasty and the portions were huge, so it was quite a good value.
We headed back to the Bungalows, where Jer downloaded our photos. The day had taken a lot out of Jess, apparently, because she fell asleep before bedtime.