Tecolote - turtles & snorkelling with sea lions

We left Loreto Dec. 2 (on the Sea of Cortez) & crossed over (not thru) the Sierra La Giganta mountains accompanied by thousands of yellow butterflies. We passed through the middle of the Baja peninsula to Ciudad Constition, crossing many arroyos (dry stream beds) seeing evidence of massive amounts of water, leaving boulders on the road. Glad we were not here in hurricane season. We made a day trip to the Pacific coast - 55 km to San Carlos, a small fishing village where whale watching later in the winter is popular. We found it strange to see cacti growing so close to the ocean, we saw many large birds - crested carracas, vultures & ospreys & collected more shells.
Next to La Paz, back on the Sea of Cortez, a large city, which we bypassed, as did all the big trucks on their way to the ferry to the mainland. Another tiny, curvy road. We set up on Tecolote Beach - great long sandy beach, free camping amongst the sand dunes - stayed 10 nights. No services except for a few beach resturants, very peaceful. We drove in to La Paz for shopping, more tacos & to mail Christmas cards ( Dec 5, hopefully we don't beat them home).
We did an amazing boat tour - to Isla Espiritu Santo - beautiful scenery as we motored around the islands & we snorkelled right next to a sea lion colony - quite intimidating having sea lions swimming just below you & comorants (big birds) diving next to you. Lots of colorful fish in every size as well. Lunch of ceviche tostados ( I wasn't going to eat "raw" fish but I'm still alive & well) on a secluded beach & then we were very lucky to have a large family of dolphins swimming alongside the boat on our way back.
We also lucked out as we were invited to participate in a baby turtle release - a local beach resturant protects a site where turtles lay eggs & when they hatch they keep them until dark & release them into the ocean (no pelicans at night) - unforgettable!
I have experienced my first Mexican haircut - cost $6.50, non English speaking hairdresser so not quite what I wanted, but it will grow. I'd like to color my hair also, but I can't read the instructions & I'm afraid of the results!
We rented a 2 man kayak on our beach & decided to venture over to Balandra Bay (we thought it was "right around the corner"). Not quite- it took about 1 hour to paddle there & longer to return as there were a few whitecaps & some good sized swells by then. I snorkelled part of the way back - overall a good time, but pretty sore for a couple of days. We have decided that a 2 man kayak is the way to go - two people paddling is much easier & one can rest if the one in front isn't watching!
Feels a bit more like winter, we have had a few cloudy, cooler days & 1 full day of rain. We moved to a full hook-up campground in Los Barriles to recharge the batteries, fill with water & catch up with internet, then back to free beach camping just outside of town.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - still Loving It!