Todos Santos Baja Mexico Pages – News and Rumors.

via Cabo Surf Forecast | SURFLINE.COM.

Photo Via Topix

Photo Via Topix

Turtle nesting season begins in September and October in the Todos Santos area generally.  Last year the first nestings were spotted at the end of October:  Please don’t drive on the beaches!  This is one of the last pesticide free nesting ranges in the world for Caray, Leatherback, and Olive Ridley sea turtles.

If you are interested in helping protect turtles in the Todos Santos area please vist : http://www.todostortugueros.org/

Some interesting facts concerning Leatherback Turtles.

• A leatherback’s favorite food is jellyfish. They even have a special notch in their beak to help puncture the man-o-war jellyfish.
• Leatherbacks lay eggs the size of billiard balls and SAGs. SAGs are not eggs; they are smaller and have shell and albumen but not yolk
• The temperature in the nest determines if a hatchling will be male or female
• A leatherback’s shell is covered by a leathery skin
• The “tears” that turtles “cry” are just their way of shedding excess salt

For more information about leatherback turtles visit http://www.leatherback.org/ldc/pg/aboutturtles.htm

Preparing for the Future: Todos Santos, Mexico.

Found this article today concerning sustainable water use in an Todos, Santos.  Scarce water resources and the need for wastewater treatment are admirable projects for the area but I wonder how much of these new systems installation are driven by conservation or just the prelude to development in the area.

Beaches

The beaches along Baja California’s two coasts vary tremendously. The western coast, which faces the Pacific Ocean, is characterized by cool water, ocean swells and occasional heavy surf. The eastern coast faces the narrow Sea of Cortés and generally has calmer waters.

Each year, thousands of tourists travel to Baja to take advantage of sport fishing at Ensenada, San Felipe, Mexicali, Bahía de Los Ángeles and San Quintín.

Wine Country

The northern part of Baja California has an ideal climate for grape growing; the valleys of Calafia, Guadalupe and San Antonio de las Minas constitute the heart of the Baja California wine country, producing a wide variety of wines such as chardonnay, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, barbera, cabernet, syrah, tempranillo, merlot and cabernet franc. The Bodegas de Santo Tomas wineries continue to use the grape varieties planted by Jesuit missionaries in the 18th century.

Spanish Missions

Although the area resisted European colonization for more than a century after its discovery, the Spanish eventually colonized it by establishing missions. Many of the missions are in poor condition or have disappeared completely, but tourists still visit sites such as Misión San Vicente Ferrer, Misión El Descanso and Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera.

Cave Paintings

Ancient paintings, some of which were created by early humans around 8000 B.C, adorn caves and rock dwellings throughout the peninsula. Baja California’s cave painting route begins in the north at El Vallecito, near the town of La Rumorosa, and stretches south of the Guadalupe Valley to an area called Las Pintas.

via Landmarks – Baja California – Mexico – The History Channel.