The granite arch where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific, seen from a water taxi in the morning and a catamaran at sunset.
El Arco is the rock arch at Land's End, the very tip of the Baja California peninsula, where a ridge of weathered granite runs out into the sea.
You can't walk there, so you go by boat. Water taxis and glass-bottom boats leave from the marina and from Médano beach for a loop of about 20 minutes, past sea lions on the rocks, pelicans overhead and the arch itself.
Most will drop you at Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach), a strip of sand on the calm Sea of Cortez side. A short walk across the sand brings you to Playa del Divorcio on the Pacific side, beautiful and unswimmable, with heavy surf and strong currents.
At the end of the day, come back by catamaran. Sunset sails loop round the arch as the light goes; the best are small boats with fewer than 20 people.
Two trips round the same rock.
Agree the price and the pick-up time before you board.
Boats idle by the rocks where sea lions haul out.
Pass the arch, and at low tide see sand beneath it.
Swim on the calm side and look at the Pacific from Divorce Beach.
Board a small sunset sail from the marina and round the arch again at dusk.
.jpg?width=1280)
Water taxis wait on Médano and at the marina; the area is protected and a small park fee may be added.
Book a day ahead and ask how many guests the boat takes.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
.jpg){kind=link}
