Land's End Today, the clear waters of the Sea of Cortez beckoned. With my compadres, I hopped on a panga boat and headed out to Land's End for some diving. At the very tip of the Baja peninsula, where the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez meet the cool Pacific, we dropped anchor and strapped on our scuba gear. As we made our way down the wall of Neptune's Finger, on the edge of a deep abyss, we saw all manner of sea life. In fact, I have never seen such an amazing quantity and diversity of marine life in one dive. A white-tipped reef shark cruised along the edge of the undersea canyon below us. We found a seahorse nestled in a crack of the wall. Pufferfish swelled up like balloons when our divemaster grabbed them. Moray and zebra eels coiled around the reefs, glaring at us as we floated up for a closer look. Around us swam bat rays, Moorish Idols, sea lions, grouper and all manner of colorful reef fish—especially when our divemaster cracked open a bag of tortillas. Between dives, our boat crew dropped us at Lover's Beach, a narrow isthmus of sand just north of Land's End, which is otherwise a rocky and impassable (but scenic) peninsula. On the bay (Sea of Cortez) side, a gentle surge lapped at the golden sand. Across the isthmus, monstrous shorebreakers pounded the beach on the Pacific side. Since I had not yet seen the famous arch, I strapped my fins back on and swam along the rocky coastline. Rounding an outcropping, I found the arch directly ahead. At last, I had reached the very tip of the Baja peninsula. Despite the strong surge heaving through the arch, I paddled on through it, swimming from the Sea of Cortez into the Pacific Ocean. One more goal to check off my Life's Wish List. For an aquatic adventurer like me, today was a picture-perfect day. Diving and swimming around the rocks of Land's End was the main attraction for my visit, so the pleasure of the activity was augmented by a certain satisfied feeling of accomplishment. Now that I've seen what the waters of the Sea of Cortez have to offer, I want to see more. Next: Overpriced Photos | E-mail comments | Back to Home Page Content, photography & design © 2001-2003 Michael Strickland All photographs digitally watermarked · Unauthorized use prohibited