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Whales and Angels in Marine Protected Areas

June 11, 2010 • By • 2 Comments
Raul, a local fisherman, is doing fiberglass repairs on his pangas. Raul is one of four fishermen licensed to take tourists to see the whale sharks from up close, and does conservation monitoring. (Kristian Beadle)

Voyage of Kiri blogger Kristian Beadle finds that even though Mexico’s Sea of Cortez has been a haven for whales, their numbers are still falling, which can have myriad impacts on both whale and man. Location: On the Sea of Cortéz, in Bahia de los Angeles, the water is smooth like a lake. We are camped in a palapa on the beach, and nobody else is around. Conditions: It was a very still, hot day. Then an offshore wind suddenly swept down from the mountains like someone turned on a massive fan. Discussion: The radio bellowed about the forests of Transylvania, dark and cool, with ... Read More

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The Ghost Harbor at Santa Rosalillita

June 8, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
George, an American ex-pat and his wife, Sandra, live in the one and only house at Punta San Andres on the lonely coast north of Santa Rosalillita in Mexico.

Voyage of Kiri blogger Kristian Beadle visits a development where plans for a yachters' paradise failed, opening up opportunities for conservationists. Location: At the beach in Punta San Andres, two hours south of Cataviña. Although the last 10 miles driving here were bumpy and dusty, the majority of the road was freshly paved (and widened) to accommodate the influx of fancy yachts that would have been transported on the road across the peninsula. Yachts ... on a road? I also thought it was a strange idea. Conditions: Our shack with three walls is remarkably good shelter from the ... Read More

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San Quintín and Brackish-Water Farming

May 28, 2010 • By • 3 Comments
Raul and Miguel, Mixteco indigenous people from Oaxaca who left their eroded lands to find employment in San Quintín.

While traveling in Baja California, Kristian Beadle finds that water issues inland present a challenge and a threat to agriculture and the economy. Location: Just inland of Cabo San Quintín, around the corner from a huge bay/wetland, lays an agricultural complex that serves the U.S. market. Conditions: A generator whines and whirrs in the evening air — there is no grid electricity in this beach community. High-altitude clouds cover the night sky. Discussion: The trans-peninsular highway cuts through innumerable small towns south of Ensenada; dusty farmlands blur in the glare of ... Read More

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Waterfalls and Surprises

May 15, 2010 • By • 2 Comments
mmw_bajawaterfall0515

Water in the desert is always a pleasant discovery, even if 20 carloads of people have beaten you there. Location: 30 miles north-east of Ensenada, in Baja Norte. Conditions: The sun continues to shine every day. Evening temperatures drop to the upper 50s. Discussion: The clear skies and dry landscape of the Valle de Guadalupe made the talk of water seem so abstract and distant. Underground aquifers and rain? I see none. I needed the real thing: flowing water. One of our hopes, while we were in the mountains of Baja, was to visit a hot spring — and we heard of one in the area. We ... Read More

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Vineyards in the Desert

May 10, 2010 • By • 4 Comments
David Dalgoff at winery

I see that vintners are making the desert bloom with wine grapes, but where is their water coming from? Location: in a desert canyon on the Rio Guadalupe, near a waterfall and natural hot springs, where a nice old man lets people camp. Conditions: starry night and calm, save for a Mexican family sitting around a bonfire laughing in the distance. Discussion:  Instead of going directly to Ensenada along the coast, we veered inland and went upriver, to the main wine and olive growing region in Baja: the Valle de Guadalupe. The valley has the rocky appearance of a desert, which makes ... Read More

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Cliff-Top Living in Northern Baja

May 7, 2010 • By • 1 Comment

Along this part of the voyage, I am discovering how climate change might affect homes and businesses built helter-skelter on a seaside cliff. Location: at an Internet café in the Valle de Guadalupe, 20 miles inland from the coast, with vineyards and olive groves lining the hills. Conditions: Clear skies, 3 p.m. It is warmer inland in the valley, but the breeze keeps the temperature cool. Discussion: After our brief encounter with “hyena-like” road criminals, we had a pleasant night at the cliff-top camping of K-58, one of the last spots before the old Mexico Highway 1 veers ... Read More

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A Water Exhibit and Aztec Art

April 29, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
Voyage of Kiri

As the overland Voyage of the Kiri commences, I approach the Mexican border but on the way south learns about the Aztecs and water in separate Los Angeles exhibitions. Location: At a friend's cottage near Point Loma in San Diego. From the deck, they point out the fuzzy hills of Tijuana in the distance. Conditions: Clouds dissipating after a light rain this morning. Discussion: We climb a hill and BAM! We can see Mexico far away. We are in San Diego on the brink of the journey. "We" being El Hippo the silver Ford van, my sweetheart, Alyssum, who is joining us for a month, and ... Read More

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Just Add Water: Colorado Delta Resurrects

March 15, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
Because Mexican government agencies can't afford complicated tertiary sewage treatment plants, they rely on nature to remove contaminants from wastewater before returning it to Rio Colorado. The Las Arenitas Wastewater Treatment Plant was installed in 2007, with NGOs and now the federal government working hard to plant filtering wetlands along the edges of its drainage basin. (Ben Preston)

In this installment of our series on the Lower Colorado River, conservation and restoration efforts on the Mexican side of the International Border will be explored. Stay tuned for the final installment, which will examine cooperation between American and Mexican entities. The Colorado River conservation community is tight-knit, but there are transnational political considerations to be made when working with a natural resource that isn't confined by political boundaries. Part I: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Part II: JUST ADD WATER: COLORADO DELTA RESURRECTS Part III: THE RISKY BUSINESS OF ... Read More

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Something for Everyone

March 8, 2010 • By • 2 Comments

In the next installment of this series, conservation and restoration efforts on the Mexican side of the International Border will be explored. With less money and less water available, several nongovernmental organizations are busily dedicated to preserving key wetlands in the Colorado River's Delta, as well as restoring riparian habitat along its corridor. In the third and final segment, cooperation between American and Mexican entities will be examined. The Colorado River conservation community is tight-knit, but there are transnational political considerations to be made when working with a ... Read More

More like this: CAROUSEL, Environment, Science & Environment
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Finding Water from Outer Space

October 19, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
Angola_map_ForWeb

The Land Cruiser rattles and bumps down a stripe of rutted dirt carving through the brush in this remote corner of southern Angola. Half a mile to the west, the tranquil blue Atlantic glimmers in the African sun. To the east, miles of spiky desert grass fade away to a range of sere mountains. The last village lies miles behind us, the next miles ahead. In the front seat, Alain Gachet, a plump, boyish 58-year-old, his thick crest of silver hair crammed under a leather Indiana Jones hat, is focused intently on the laptop balanced on his knees. The computer is plugged into a tiny GPS unit set ... Read More

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