By Sheree Bykofsky

You either like San Diego or you love it. From La Jolla to Oceanside, the rich landscape and diverse activities of Northern San Diego have something for everyone to adore. For those seeking a relaxing vacation that combines supreme luxury with spiritual meditation, I've found two resorts that beg to be experienced.

Every inch of the newly renovated La Costa Resort and Spa is a study in design. Water, light and fire are used throughout the resort the way a fine artist uses paint. Myriad fountains dance in the light beneath baskets of fire. The walls of the Bluefire Grill change color, while the aesthetically-pleasing fresh food tempts, nourishes and satisfies. The aroma of the toasty grill will whet your appetite for herb-crusted lamb or Kobe pork loins. Breathtaking flowers perfume the air; the songs of birds blend with the trickle of water to create the perfect vibe to lull you into a meditative state. Live musicians enhance romance. And after you've walked the grounds, you will wander naturally into the Chopra center, named for Deepak Chopra, a place that offers a full escape with classes on meditation, yoga, and tantric breathing. Each element of beauty is a full sensory experience.

A day of golf. An afternoon at the pool or the spa. An evening of fine dining. A night in a dreamy bed. This is the stuff of vacations. The golf course at the La Costa Resort is so scenic that you won't mind losing your many balls into the omnipresent bodies of water. Or you'll enjoy the challenge of lofting the balls past them. Two pools are situated high on the hill above the course; one is for families, the other provides peaceful swimming and relaxation. The most unique and compelling aspect of the La Costa Resort is the newly renovated spa, which is available to guests willing to pay an extra charge or those enjoying a spa treatment. One luxurious spa treatment is an avocado cilantro body scrub, which includes a half hour massage. All spa treatments include a quick aromatherapy loofah exfoliation. The spa itself has many special amenities. The outdoor Roman hot power shower is an exhilarating and muscle-relaxing experience. Sit beneath the strong jet and enjoy the pulsating surge of hot water. Every other spa pleasure is available as well from a sauna to a steam bath to a hot tub. The salon provides feng shui beauty consultations and treatments. No stone has been left unturned to provide guests with the ultimate golf and spa vacation.

The rooms, and especially the suites, are comfortable, with the kind of beds you'll be wanting at home. Large soaking tubs, magnifying mirrors, fresh orchids, robes and slippers, and flat screen TVs await you in your lodgings. If you visit La Costa in May, be sure to seek out the nearby Carlsbad flower fields. It's a unique vision: millions of flowers in giant patches of varying colors are spread out over the hillside. A wagon ride whisks you around them, or you may walk on paths right through them. You'll feel like Dorothy as she approaches the Emerald City's fields of poppies, but without the witch's spell.

Next, head over to La Jolla. La Jolla may be one of the most enchanting places on earth, and the Torrey Pines golf course and resort is the jewel of La Jolla. Situated on the cliffs above the beach, the course provides breath-taking views of the Pacific. On hole 3 of the South Course, it takes work not to be distracted by the hang gliders sailing overhead with their colorful parachutes. On the North Course, it's the 6^th hole that provides the best views of the ocean and cliffs. Both courses are as challenging as they are stunning, and these municipal PGA courses draw golfers from around the world because they're deservedly famous for hosting the Buick Open (formerly the San Diego Open). The Golf Grill serves up outstanding hamburgers and Rueben sandwiches - a fine choice after 18 holes of golf on the famous course.

The first thing you'll notice upon arriving at The Lodge at Torrey Pines is the unusual entourage greeting you - doormen in traditional Scottish kilts! Pass through the grand porte cochère and breathe in the smell of fresh wood. The lodge was renovated several years ago in the California Craftsman style of Greene & Greene, giving it a turn-of-the-century minimalist feel with its clean lines and rough-hewn materials. Everywhere you'll find beautiful Jatoba wood secured by ebony pegs under soft light from reproductions of Tiffany stained glass that truly looks like the real thing. The smell of a wood-burning fire welcomes guests into the lobby, and the rustically elegant and luxurious rooms have gas-powered fireplaces and porches. Sprawling public rooms feature wide fireplaces, squashy couches, and views of the golf course, Pacific, and ocean cliffs. The lodge features a heated pool with individual cabanas for guests and a croquet lawn. Forgo TV and ipods in favor of a long afternoon of swimming and croquet, walking on the beach, or strolling along the breathtaking trails through the Torrey Pines reserve adjacent to the lodge as the breeze off the ocean takes you back to the early twentieth century.

The A.R. Valentien restaurant is the only 5-star restaurant within the San Diego city limits. The restaurant is named for Albert Robert Valentien, a turn-of-the-century Impressionist and one of San Diego's own. His ceramics, watercolors, and oils decorate the restaurant in one of the largest collections of his early works. Thus dinner is a cultural experience designed to woo your eyes and your taste buds. The menu is local farmers' market driven, guaranteeing your meal will always be fresh and delicious, innovative and spontaneous. San Diego magazine named A.R. Valentien the best breakfast in San Diego. Be sure to try the lemon ricotta pancakes with raspberry sauce. And on Thursday evenings, join the chef at the Artisan Table for a breathtaking prix fixe tasting menu. You won't be able to leave the Lodge without also trying the plush Spa at Torrey Pines, which features more than 9,500 feet of sheer relaxation. Indulge in a Coastal Sage Scrub to purify and detoxify your skin, or keep fit with a yoga, Pilates, or T'ai Chi class. Afterward, unwind in the Spa's infinity-edge whirlpool.

Whatever amenities you try when you visit La Jolla and La Costa, you won't leave the same as you came. Let San Diego slough off your stress, hand you a golf club, and treat you to some of the finest food you'll ever taste.

IF YOU GO:

San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau

360 N. Escondido Boulevard

Escondido, CA 92025-2600

760-745-4741

800-848-3336

Fax 760-745-4796

www.sandiegonorth.com

La Costa Resort and Spa

2100 Costa Del Mar Road

Carlsbad, CA 92009

800.854.5000

www.lacosta.com

Bluefire Grill

Reservations 760-929-6306

Dinner Tues - Sat 5pm - 10pm, Closed Sun & Mon
Happy Hour Tues - Sat 4pm - 6 pm, Closed Sun & Mon
Lounge Open Tues - Thurs 4pm - 12pm, Fri & Sat 4pm - 1:30 am, Closed Sun & Mon

The Lodge at Torrey Pines

11480 North Torrey Pines Road

La Jolla, CA 92037

www.lodgetorreypines.com

The Spa at Torrey Pines

11480 North Torrey Pines Road

La Jolla, CA 92037

Reservations 858-777-6690

Fax 858-777-6698

www.spatorreypines.com

Carlsbad Flower Fields

5704 Paseo Del Norte

Carlsbad, CA 92008

TRAVEL SICKNESS

My academic colleagues always tease me about my peripatetic existence. One never fails to ask if I am making a guest appearance on campus this semester. Another exclaims to all within earshot that I am the only "Tenured Visiting Professor" in the Connecticut Valley.The fact is that I am on the road (or in the air) much of the time. Almost every break I'm off to somewhere overseas. In between there are regular trips to Boston, New York, Washington, Cape Cod and Southern Maine.


I don't particularly like to fly or even to drive for long hours. Getting there is not half the fun, not even ten per cent of it. But, every time I get a call saying someone would like me to give a lecture, attend a meeting, participate in a conference, or go just about anywhere from Memphis to Melbourne, I seem to say, "Well, my schedule is awfully tight. You have to give me a few days," and then, not invariably but all too often, I'll call back and say, "I'll do it."

I picture myself once again lecturing from a podium in Salzburg, walking the streets of Sarajevo, checking out the locals in Taos, participating in a Mayan ceremony in the Yucatan, marching to a klezmer band in Budapest, trying on a mask for the Carnival in Venice, or heading down Cataract Canyon (with somebody else rowing!).

As soon as I hang up the phone, I call my wife. Depending on the character of the invitation (and the venue), I say, "Guess where I am [or we are] going in March?" "The Costa del Sol?" she guesses.

"Nope."

"The hills of Tuscany?" she hopes

"Guess again."

"Zurich?" ""Bangkok?" "Johannesburg?"

Wherever it is, as time for departure on one of my academic, extra-curricular or combined sojourns draws nigh, I begin to get anxious. It never fails.

"Why am I doing this," I ask myself. "So what if I never get to Timbuktu [or Lahore or Patagonia or Boise]!" "Why make yet another trip to Kyoto?" "I can easily live without going to my umpteenth meeting of the Society for the Study of Society?"

Sometimes I say these things aloud as I lie awake tossing and turning. Quite reasonably, my wife will ask, "Then why did you say yes?"

Like my own, Hedy's queries are rhetorical. And she knows it. I do it because I can't say no. I'm a travel junkie.

It's not so much the open road that beckons but the change of scenery, the cultural contrasts, the sights and smells of far away places that draw me away from the town local boosters call "The Paradise of America."

Once I am wherever it is I am going, I have a renewed sense of purpose. I revel in the familiarity of strange environs, thoroughly enjoy my anonymity as I run and walk the avenues and back streets, visit new sites, and then spend hours with hosts and colleagues.

Yet, whether I am gone for a week, a month, a semester or a year, there are times I get quite wistful. I ask myself, "What am I doing here?" I wonder what is going on back in New England. I wonder if I'm missing something I had decided I could do without just to satisfy my need for a travel fix.

My thoughts are both general and specific. In my mind's eye I see the town we have lived in for over 40 years and scenes I take for granted when I am there: the long views of the mountain range above the city; the Saturday market; the path along the river where I like to run with my dog; our home filled with memorabilia from our travels. I even visualize and get nostalgic about the utterly chaotic office I was so eager to escape.

Once I begin to think of such things I start getting restless. I am torn between things yet to see and obligations yet to fulfill and the desire to wrap things up. Not infrequently I will call the airline to see if I can get on a flight a day or two before my scheduled date of return.

Whether I head back early or according to the original plan, I find that I am just as excited by the announcement that "We will soon be landing at Bradley International Airport" as I was in hearing "We are now approaching Beijing [or Berlin or Bogota]" a few weeks before. I especially enjoy coming in to Bradley at dusk, seeing the trees and lights and houses of the New England countryside, then riding up the back way, through Suffield, West Springfield and on home.













En route, I think of Robert Frost's truism: "Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in." It is a comforting thought for every weary traveler.

The morning after every trip I get up very early, put on my jogging gear and head down to the river with the dog. There is nothing like it. Nothing in the world.

Back in my office, I enjoy seeing my students, greeting my friends, hearing the same old curmudgeons welcome me home then ask the expected question, "How long are you going to stay this time?"

I want to tell them that I'm back for good but I know it would be a lie.

As I go through the piles of mail on my desk, I feel the adrenaline increasing the second I spot a letter with a foreign stamp. When the phone rings, I can't help but wonder who's calling. Maybe it's somebody who wants to invite me to Russia. I've never been to Russia. "Now that would be interesting," I say to myself. "I could see the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and visit the Kremlin in Moscow, and talk to people about my work, and maybe write a travel story, too."

*An earlier version of this was first published in the Smith Alumnae Quarterly, in the spring of 1999 and reprinted in my memoir, Guest Appearances and Other Travels in Time and Space (Swallow Press, 2003).

-- Peter I. Rose, Editor --

My Visit To Phoenix
Ron Kapon

There are 12 cities in the U.S.A. with professional teams in all four major league sports: basketball, football, baseball and hockey. One of those cities is the fifth largest in population (1.4 million). That city just hosted the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) football game and will be the host city for the 2008 Super Bowl. Over 16 million tourists visited that city in 2005. There are 200 golf courses in the area and the state in which the city is located is now the fastest growing state in America. In addition, it is the headquarters for four major league teams. Welcome to Greater Phoenix Arizona.

Who Are We: Greater Phoenix has a population of 3.6 million and consists of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe. Adjacent Mesa is the third largest city in the state with a population of 400,000 (Tucson is number two). The baseball and basketball teams play in downtown Phoenix adjacent to the newly expanded (triple its size) Convention Center. The football and hockey teams stadium are in Glendale, some 45 minutes from downtown Phoenix. There is also an arena football and WNBA team and two NASCA races. Nine major league baseball teams use Greater Phoenix for its Cactus League Spring Training every March.

What to See: Downtown- The aforementioned Convention Center will be completed by late 2008 and will contain 900,000 square feet of exhibit space. Within walking distance is the Phoenix Museum of History- where one can trace the history of the city- and the hands-on Arizona Science Museum with 300 interactive exhibits (filled with kids the day I visited). Both the History & Science Museums are located within Heritage Square with many restaurants and gift shops. The Phoenix Art Museum & Heard Museum are also downtown. The Heard shows the history of the various Native American tribes that lived in the state with a collection of Native American art and artifacts. Construction for the light rail system which starts at the airport and runs 20 miles to Tempe will be completed in late 2008.

Near Downtown- Just outside Papago Park (1,200 acres of rolling desert hills and rugged mountains) is the Pueblo Grande Museum & Archaeological Park with the platform mounds once used as a village larger than 10,000 of the Hohokam Indians. The Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Gardens (containing over 20,000 plants) are inside the park. I happened upon a special tour called "Taste of the Desert" given every Saturday at Noon and 2PM. It is followed by a tasting party of Mesquite, Prickly Pear, Saguaro and Agave; yummy! Close by is the city of Tempe, home to Arizona State University, the largest university in the state and Tempe Town Lake.

Farther South- the Gila Indian community has built the Wild Horse Pass Casino, golf course and hotel. They also own the land where Rawhide, a recreation of an 1880's western town complete with mechanical bull, gunfights and stagecoach rides is located. Nearby is the 16,000 acre South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park in the world.

Downtown Scottsdale- Only Santa Fe, New Mexico, competes with this upscale city for the title of Art Capital of the Southwest. Take the free trolley from Fashion Square into Old Town Scottsdale with its antique stores, restaurants, 100 art galleries. Every Thursday night is Art walk with most of the galleries open and serving snacks. Nearby is Taliesin West by Frank Lloyd Wright. The 600-acre complex was built almost completely by hand so as not to disturb the natural surroundings and was his winter home.

North & West- The aforementioned Glendale was the site of the BCS football championship game and will host the 2008 Super Bowl. The University of Phoenix stadium is the first in North America to feature a retractable roof and a roll-out grass field. Sun Cities were the first planned retirement community for upscale residents 55 and older.

Where To Stay- There are many Five Star properties in the area, I am only listing those I visited. I stayed at the Westin Kierland Resort that was built 5 years ago in Scottsdale next to the Kierland Commons Shopping Center. They will be home to one of the two Super Bowl teams. Spa, conference center, fitness center, 9,000 square foot water park, 27 holes of golf, and don't forget the Heavenly Bed & Shower. The Phoenician- Stayed here last time in town; casitas, lodges, overlooks Camelback Mountain, the city's most famous landmark. Arizona Biltmore Resort- Built in 1929 it was Phoenix's first resort and operated for 43 years by the Wrigley Chewing Gum family. Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort- on Gila River Indian land. There are Native American artifacts everywhere. Take a canal boat to Rawhide, the casino or golf course. Four Seasons Hotel- In Northern Scottsdale with Hotel and Residence Villas built into the desert landscape.

Where to Eat & Drink- I've only mentioned places I visited. The only Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurant wine list is at the Phoenician's Mary Elaine with 2,200 wines and 300 ½ bottles (we single diners salute you). Master Sommelier Greg Tresner works here. Cowboy Ciao opened 10 years ago (American food and 3,000 wines), Kazimierz World Wine Bar & Sea Saw (Japanese) all have a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and have the same ownership. Vincent Guerithault on Camelback- overlooks the mountain and has 1,180 wines on their list. Classic French and another Best of Award of Excellence. Deseo- Latin-influenced cuisine at the Westin Kierland Hotel. One of the best dinners and service I have ever had. Not to be missed is the area's only ceviche and Muddle Bar. At another level try Greasewood Flats in North Scottsdale- a biker beer, hamburger "joint" with dirt floors and lots of atmosphere.

For More Information:

Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau- www.visitphoenix.com

(877) 225-5749
Glendale- www.visitglendale.com

Tempe- www.tempecvb.com

Scottsdale- www.scottsdalecvb.com

Desert Botanical Gardens- www.dbg.org

Pueblo Grande Museum- www.pueblogrande.com

Phoenix Zoo- www.phoenixzoo.org

Arizona Biltmore Resort- www.arizonabiltmore.com

Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort- www.wildhorsepassresort.com

Westin Kierland Resort- www.kierlandresort.com

The Phoenician- www.thephoenician.com

Vincent Guerithault on Camelback- www.vincentsoncamelback.com

Arizona Science Center- www.azscience.org

Heard Museum- www.heard.org

Phoenix Art Museum- www.phxart.org

Phoenix Museum of History- www.pmoh.org

Pueblo Grande Museum- www.pueblogrande.com

Taliesin West- www.franklloydwright.org

Four Seasons Hotel- www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale

Cowboy Ciao- www.cowboyciao.com

Kazimierz Wine Bar- www.kazbar.net

Rawhide- www.rawhide.com

Greasewood Flat- www.greaswoodflat.net

By Margaret Backenheimer & J.D. Brown

When asked what single nature cruise is the most spectacular on Earth, we have a ready answer: a cruise of the Galapagos, located six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador. But the Galapagos are far away, expensive to explore and congested with tour groups. Fortunately there's another choice that is nearer at hand, far less crowded and every bit as extraordinary: the "American Galapagos" located along western Mexico's Baja Peninsula. And while the Baja has no mammoth Galapagos turtles, it offers an even larger resident, the gray whales who winter here and who, when conditions are right, come right up to the boat and offer their enormous heads for a hands-on experience unlike any other.

Every year the magnificent gray whales migrate 5,000 miles south from Alaska along the Pacific coast to Baja's sheltered bays. Here they give birth, and it is also here that these leviathans, once hunted nearly to extinction by whalers, first began to frolic with local fishing boats in the 1970s, emerging for a reassuring pat on the head before returning north to Alaska. Today, Cruise West's small ships make sure that its passengers are there each winter to play among the calving whales, scouring the waters for close encounters of the largest kind. Mothers swim with their newborns, fattening them up and teaching them the skills they will need for the long migration north. For reasons that remain obscure, the whales also love to play hide-and-seek with the small fishing boats in Baja's Magdalena Bay, bobbing their heads out and bumping up against the hulls, nodding-indeed, almost smiling--when a passenger reaches out to caress their noggins.

Our ship's tireless young cruise director, Meriwether Gill, could not guarantee every passenger a whale pat, but during our excursion in March just about everyone did just that, including, for the first time ever, Meriwether herself.

The gray whales did not take center stage until our second full day at sea, when our vessel was well north of its departure port, Cabo San Lucas, Baja's version of Cancun. The voyage began at twilight, brushing Cabo's El Arco, a stack of sea rocks and stone towers at Baja's southern cape. After cocktails and dinner, Meriwether and the ship's other expedition leaders laid out our six-day itinerary. The next day at sea was to set the tone, introducing us to the quietude and natural splendors of Baja, particularly the abundance of marine life shelved within the volcanic shores of the peninsula and the Mexican mainland. The Sea of Cortes was all but deserted, as blue-green as the Galapagos, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, but nearly devoid of other cruise ships, freighters, or large port cities.

Our ship first anchored at Isla de Espiritu Santo, an islet acquired by the Mexican government from the Nature Conservancy in 2003. Its diverse ecosystem is intact, with its own endemic rabbits, squirrels, and cacti. A three-mile arc of sparkling sand known as Bonanza Beach made snorkeling and kayaking irresistible. We found deck chairs already pitched, beer and water in the cooler and kayaks lining the water's edge. The water was surprisingly nippy, around 70 degrees in winter, but Cruise West provided body suits and Meriwether and the other crew members on hand patiently taught the novices among us how to snorkel. The waters were transparent to the bottom, making snorkeling among the five hundred species of fish near the island well worth the plunge. The island's bay is a theater for diving brown pelicans, as well as magnificent frigate-birds, turkey vultures, Brandt's cormorants, and indigenous yellow-footed gulls. Below the surface the waters glowed with trumpetfish, urchins, sea stars, and balloonfish. Best of all, there was no one else on the whole island.

The hours drifted by and what became our evening routine recommenced at 5 p.m. back on board with a social hour in the lounge, a review of the day by the exploration leaders, dinner with its many choices of starters and entrees and a briefing on the next day's wonders. There is no casino, Las Vegas-style theater or swimming pool on this ship. The Sea of Cortes was to serve as our swimming pool, and its marine life as our entertainment.

To reach the sheltered bay where the gray whales calve, the ship docked inside the Sea of Cortes the next morning at Puerto Escondido, an abandoned tourism site that was once slated for development by the government. Chartered buses transported us over the Baja peninsula's Sierra de la Giganta range on a two-hour journey to the Pacific, affording us a view of this rugged landform, punctuated by tiny ranches, fields of cacti and nests of osprey pitched on special platforms atop the light poles. At Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, a score of skiffs awaited us, oversized rowboats holding eight passengers and a guide, powered by outboard engines and steered by a local fisherman. For several hours we cruised the protected Bahia Magdalena lagoon in search of the gray whales, who reach 30 to 50 feet in length.

Once we spotted whales, our skiffs purred into position, and we waited in silence for them to resurface. Often it was a pair of leviathans, mother and newborn child, who came along side our open boats. When they were in the mood, the whales poked their heads out of the water and gently nudged the hull. Those visitors who dared made direct contact for a moment or two. During our two-hour run in the Bahia Magdalena, we were fortunate enough to find half a dozen mothers and babies that we could reach out and touch with our bare hands. Their heads were tough and rubbery, as Meriwether herself happily discovered.

The next day, our third full day at sea, was Captain's choice, which entailed a leisurely search among deserted islands in the Sea of Cortes for whales, seabirds and secluded beach spots where we indulged in more snorkeling, kayaking, beach-combing, and desert hiking. On our way to one small island beach, we were escorted by bottlenose dolphins; departing, we were shadowed by sperm whales, the species made famous by Moby Dick; and by sunset we were within sight of a pod of blue whales, the largest creature ever to inhabit the earth, measuring up to 100 feet in length and 150 tons in weight.

The following morning we paid a visit to Loreto, the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Baja (1697). Loreto was the "mother mission" for all of the Spanish colonial missions as far north as Sonoma in Northern California. Today it is a sleepy seaside village of 10,000, its waterfront bordered by a pretty promenade, its heart possessed by the old mission church. Inside we found a painting of the Virgin of Loreto brought ashore here by Padre Kino in 1607. We received a narrated tour of the church and the historical museum next door. Then we were free to discover Loreto for ourselves. In the afternoon the Loreto mission courtyard opened its gates for a private wine and cheese reception where local musicians serenaded us and Meriwether was surprised with a birthday cake.

Loreto is the quintessential Baja fishing village, home to several hundred expatriates from America and Europe unable to resist its laid-back charms, from the bars and ice cream parlors to the Internet cafes and craft shops. It was as difficult to depart Loreto as it was the lagoon of gray whales and the remote island beaches.

By the fifth full morning of cruising, we began to lose count of the days. We awakened at the islet of Los Islotes, one of the little seamounts that jut like castles of stone from the Sea of Cortes. This particular sea mirage has long been colonized by hundreds of California sea lions, and the crew shuttled us in closer for a chance to snorkel with playful juvenile and female sea lions. Our swim was limited to 30 minutes, but it was a magical half-hour snorkel. The sea lions circled, darted and tugged at us, eyeing us face-to-face, gnawing at our flippers, rubbing up against this human pod which had mysteriously been dropped into their midst. When they sped away from us, they carved designs through the deep like amphibious figure skaters.

A sixth day of sailing brought us into port again, this time at La Paz, near where the Spanish explorer Cortes founded a community in 1535 after his conquest of the Aztecs. La Paz has been the regional capital since 1829. In the 1950s it served as a deep-sea fishing hot spot for Hollywood celebrities. Now it is a shopping magnet for vacationing Mexicans and a handful of foreign travelers. In the afternoon Cruise West treated us to an all-out Mexican fiesta, complete with dancers and pinatas.

Dinner, dessert on the upper deck, an evening of stargazing and then, the next morning, our ship returned to the southernmost point in Baja California Sur, back to where we had set out a week earlier. The Arch was bathed by the sunrise, and our ship paused for picture-taking. We disembarked in Cabo San Lucas, shaking ourselves from a primordial dream in which we had touched whales and swum with sea lions, as if for a few days we had slipped back to the beginning of time and sailed the shores of an Eden.

For further information on Baja voyages, contact Cruise West, telephone 800-203-8306, www.cruisewest.com.

J. D. Brown and Margaret Backenheimer are travel writers based in Oregon. Brown is the author of numerous guides to China for Frommer's and Berlitz. Backenheimer writes a weekly travel column for a major Midwest newspaper. Their articles and photos have appeared in hundreds of publications, including the New York Times, Islands, National Geographic Traveler, Hemispheres, the Denver Post, and the Los Angeles Times.