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we all like to visit. There were Moorish idols, stately
queen angels and curious 10-pound snappers, including
cuberas that would quickly be caught and eaten
anywhere else along the rugged 800-mile-long desert
peninsula. Baja, the original California, has long been a
place of challenge and adventure, tranquility and hope
for visitors and settlers alike.
In 1940 John Steinbeck and Monterey marine biologist
Ed Ricketts (Doc in Cannery Row) sailed through these
waters on an expedition later recorded in Steinbeck’s
book The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Sitting on the
deck of their chartered fishing boat, the Western Flyer,
taking notes below circling pelicans and frigates whose
descendants still work the area, Steinbeck described the
WHI LE WE ’ VE LEARNED HOW BADLY WE CAN TRASH OUR OCEAN
PLANET , I T ’ S GOOD TO BE REMINDED WE CAN ALSO RESTORE I T .
CHRISTIAN VIZL
