into the Sierra Giganta. Muleg� is, literally, an oasis in the Baja desert. The only freshwater river (R�o Muleg�) in the peninsula flows through town, creating a wildlife-filled estuary. It's a starting point for the beaches, diving, and windsurfing of Bah�a Concepci�n, as well as for hiking excursions to the ancient cave paintings of the Sierra de Guadalupe. And the port town of Santa Rosal�a, while a century or so past its prime, makes a worthy detour, with its pastel clapboard houses and unusual steel-and-stained-glass church, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame).
The region's best-known attraction, and unquestionably its most thrilling, is the annual wintertime breeding and calving migration of gray whales to mid-Baja's bays and lagoons. From San Ignacio, Guerrero Negro, and Bah�a Magdalena, you can commune with these giant creatures in their natural environment. If you're lucky, they'll come right up to the boat and look you in the eye: man and nature, face to face
