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La Bufadora

Posted on October 28, 2008 by: Tropigal

Best Time To Visit: year round
Closest City: Ensenada
State: 66
Country: 125

La Bufadora,

Ensenada, Mexico

Noted as one of Baja California’s most amazing natural wonders, La Bufadora, meaning the blowhole, is a natural spout that shoots sea spray approximately 60 to 100 feet above sea level through crevices formed in the cliffs. This geyser, which shoots out every minute or so, is created when incoming tide enters a submerged cavern and mixes with air. This mixture “chokes” the cave and the compressed air trapped inside has nowhere to go but up. The highly pressurized combination of seawater and air are violently forced through a small opening creating a waterspout that shoots high overhead. From the wrap-around viewing area directly above the blowhole, the scene is explosive and the sound almost deafening. Perched above the dramatic and craggy cliffs of La Bufadora, the sound can be heard resonating within the underwater cavern like a person blowing into an empty bottle of cerveza. The hollow blowing sound suddenly becomes a mighty and thunderous roar; signaling La Bufadora is full of life. We were told that the blowhole is unpredictable; high or low tide does not necessarily ensure a more explosive waterspout, nor does rapid tidal surges.

The blowhole at Makapuu Point in Oahu, Hawaii takes the honor of being the world’s largest marine geyser. However, La Bufadora, which is second in line, is said to be the most spectacular due to its location along the rocky coastline of the Punta Banda Peninsula. Other natural blowholes are located in Tahiti, Araphoho, as well as in Australia, Kiama.

How to get there: La Bufadora is located approx. 20 miles south of Ensenada “and the drive provides spectacular views of both Bahia de Todos Santos and the mountain range on the southern end of the bay. Head south out of Ensenada on the Mexico 1 for about 25 minutes until you reach Maneadero. You will proceed west along the base of the mountains and drive for about twenty minutes. The road is paved and well marked with signs” that lead you to the village of Bufadora (BajaBound). You have arrived at your destination, Bufadora Cove on the Punta Banda Peninsula. “There are several parking lots to choose from, and it costs a couple of dollars to leave your car in a lot with an attendant on duty” or free if you arrive with a bussed-in tour group (BajaBound). We were on an excursion with a Carnival Cruise tour group, accompanied by a guide (Gloria) who was wonderful.

In the area: This “natural phenomenon” (as Gloria referred to it) has been a strong influence in the tourist development of the Punta Banda peninsula. The open-air market place (which you will have to walk through to get down to the blowhole) provides great shopping (Ruben’s is a recommended store). The shops sell just about everything from real opal jewelry to beautiful knock-off leather purses. Take the time to walk through some of these shops. Our guide encouraged us to bargain, bargain, bargain! Numerous restaurants line the market stree t, however, she only recommended some, others may send you home with Montezuma’s Revenge! Speaking of that, there are clean restrooms at the end of the market just above the viewing area of La Bufadora. The fee to use the restrooms is 50 cents, but before you think it’s a tourist trap, there is a reason. This area of the Punta Banda Peninsula has no natural water, not even wells; so all water must be delivered to the area. They charge a small fee in hopes of preventing unnecessary water usage, and to pay to have more water delivered. Restrooms inside Habana Banana are free when you purchase something. Near the viewing area of La Bufadora there may be live entertainment. Our live entertainment was a dancer dressed as an ancient warrior, who played musical instruments and sounded a horn through a conch shell. There is also supposed to be a museum and a complete SCUBA shop which dives in a little cove near La Bufadora, but I don’t remember seeing either. “The little sierra along the peninsula of Punta Banda invites you to practice hiking, camping (and RVing), mountain bike riding and the observation of flora and fauna” (BajaQuest).

Recommendations: “Climbing is not recommended due to the dangerous, slippery, rocky area” (BajaQuest). Bring your camera as well as a cloth to wipe the spray from your lens. Wear comfortable clothing, dress in layers and wear shoes you can walk in. Bring cash for the shops; smaller bills will help you bargain more efficiently.

“The Whale Jail” blowhole Legend: “Against this background of sound and fury, exploding water and flying spray, a legend has come down through the years: "The Legend of the Whale Jail." A century ago, within easy sight of the Blowhole, there was a whaling station below the bluff close to the water's edge. The whalers spun a tale of a mother whale returning to the Arctic with her new-born calf from the breeding grounds at Scammon Lagoon in Guerrero Negro, four hundred miles south. One night the baby whale skipped away to explore a mysterious underwater cave in the cliffs of Punta Banda. A whale calf grows very fast- fifty pounds a day, or more than two pounds an hour- and this "little" fellow stayed in the cave all night. By morning he was too big to squeeze through the narrow, crevice-like entrance of the cave. The following day the whalers in the camp saw a small spout rising mysteriously from the cave and heard the frightened sobs of the trapped baby whale. As years passed the spouts grew larger, his lamentations louder. And legend says that the spout, accompanied by a tumultuous crash emerging from the Blowhole today, is the spout and fulmination of a still-trapped but now full-grown leviathan” (BajaQuest).

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