We went to Baja! We started our trip with kayaking, whale watching, snorkeling, fishing and cruising around the Sea of Cortez. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my winter vacation! Enjoying the warm weather, eating amazing food and adventures was so much better then sitting in the snow!
Baby whale in Magdalena Bay (Julia Kocubinski)We had come to Baja a few times before, but always to do the typical touristy things - deep sea fishing was our most "adventurous" activity we ever planned. We never had been whale-watching in Baja. Mom has always had a special place in her heart for whales, and always makes us take the half-day tours when the opportunity arose. So this was for her. Thanks to her, we all saw things we never thought would be possible on this trip!
We had booked a two night package on Magdalena Bay, where we would camp on the beach and go out twice a day for whale-watching. Our guide Marco picked us up early in the morning, and told us we were the only people in this group. We had a private trip! We headed across the peninsula to the Pacific side where we boarded a covered panga and sped across the bay to our camp. I use that term lightly. This camp was pretty spectacular! There were half a dozen or so safari-style wall-tents lined up on the beach, along with a large kitchen tent and dining tent. Our camp cook was waiting for us with a hot lunch and a warm smile. All the food was phenomenal, and included a nightly happy hour complete with appetizers!
We boarded the panga after lunch and sped out to la boca, or the mouth of the bay. We quickly spotted a spout or two, and Antonio was great at seeing them before we did, getting safely close to them and just waiting. We must have had a dozen or more grey whales around us and there were spouts and tales every direction you looked! After all the other day-trip boats headed back for the evening, we got the show of a lifetime! The whales were in that part of the bay for breeding, and we saw it all - literally! The males help each other position the female, but all we could see were several whales thrashing around and around on the surface, at times just a few yards from our boat. Even Marco had never seen anything like it!
The next day we went to the same location, but nothing could top the day before. We did see tons more whales and even saw them trying to mate again! After another delicious lunch, we took a short walk across the dunes to the other side of our beach, just to see the great big Pacific! We then decided we wanted to see a baby whale, since that is why all those grey whales are in Magdalena Bay this time of year. Unfortunately the babies were nowhere to be seen. An hour or two of wandering the shallow bay, Antonio decided to take us back out to la boca. It did not disappoint! We saw whales breaching, diving, and just playing around in the bay. That night, Antonio and Marco surprised my dad with a birthday cake! There is something special about eating a homemade birthday cake while camping. We celebrated with cocktails and a delicious desert.
Our last morning, we woke early to get another shot at finding a baby whale. We headed out and after a little searching, we came across some activity in the shallows water. We approached very slowly and sure enough, it was a mother and a baby! The baby was about haft the length of our boat, and it was curious! The mother kept circling between us and the baby, essentially herding it away from us, but after a few passes, she seemed to decide we were safe. We turned the boat to idle, and just drifted with the whale and her baby. She was so curious! She kept approaching our boat, lifting her head up to get a better look - at times just a foot or two from the boat. Marco said it was ok to let her touch us, as long as she approached us. I put my hand in the water and splashed it around. She approached several times but couldn't quite make the connection. I was concerned that we were too close to the whales, and teaching them to approach and have no fear for boats could be dangerous for her life, but Marco assured us that the scientists actually want the babies to be comfortable with boats.
After nearly an hour of playing with the mother and baby, we quickly headed back to camp to pack up our stuff before being taken back to civilization for the night.
Cabo San Lucas to La Paz
Mar 13, 2016
La Paz beach (Julia Kocubinski)After a couple days in Cabo San Lucas, we were ready to head north to La Paz. I’ve been to Cabo a few times growing up, and I am sad to see it has turned from a small fishing village to a full-blown beach resort city. Getting off the main drag it still has the same quaint, small-town feel that I remember from childhood and the beaches and water are about as pretty as you can imagine, but the large mall by the arena and the tall resorts that line the beach are just not my style. As we drove north along the Pacific, I quickly felt myself relax and feel the wave of vacation wash over me. We decided to spend much of the day in Todo Santos, a small artsy community on the Pacific Ocean. We wandered around the town on foot, stopped into a few art shops, grabbed ice cream and sat on the street and people-watched. We even stepped into the Hotel California. Yes, that Hotel California. I can't say I like the Eagles or that song, but if you go to Todos Santos, it seems you should at least step foot into the infamous hotel. We found a little taco stand on the edge of town, and had the most amazing street tacos and an ice-cold Fanta before heading further north.
We arrived into La Paz late in the afternoon, and we pretty quickly maneuvered through the traffic to our hotel, The Posada Luna Sol, our home-base for the next week. We wandered down the Malecon, the walkway along the bay and found a place to eat. Even though La Paz is a bigger city than Cabo San Lucas, the speed and general atmosphere was much more relaxed. I also quickly noticed that tourists were not all that common in La Paz. Most of the other strollers along the Malecon were local Mexicans, with an occasional ex-pat or tourist mixed in. Sunsets on the Malecon did not disappoint! After dinner, we walked back to the hotel for a nightcap on our rooftop terrace.
Kayaking, Snorkeling and Fishing on Espiritu Santo
Mar 13, 2016
Sunset on Espiritu Santo Island (Julia Kocubinski)We spent three nights camping at Bahia Candelero on Espiritu Santo Island, just off the shore of La Paz in the Sea of Cortez. Our three days were filled with kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, hiking and generally relaxing on beautiful white-sand beaches. As we departed La Paz to boat across the bay to the island, we again found that our trip was completely private! Just the four of us, our guide Hugo, Antonio the camp chef (and it would turn out - the fishing guide) and Jorge, possibly the most ruggedly handsome Mexican I have ever met, were going to spend three nights on possibly the most beautiful little cove I've ever seen. The water was clear as could be, and the color was spectacular. It almost seemed unreal.
Our first afternoon, we jumped in the kayaks and immediately saw a sea turtle swimming below us in our little private-cove. There were rays, guitarfish, schools of jacks, needle fish, and dozens of other fish and critters that remain unknown to me. We kayaked around the point to another small, beautiful bay and pulled our kayaks up onto shore. We put on our snorkel gear and spent nearly an hour exploring the water along a rock wall before kayaking back to camp. Antonio and Jorge, had been preparing happy hour and dinner for us. We had snacks and cocktails as we watched the sun set before eating a delicious dinner. We quickly became friends with Hugo, and found that we spent each of our nights in camp staying up late, talking family, life, politics, spirituality, music, books, pretty much anything and everything. Hugo not only fit right in with our family but also seemed to accept us as family.
At some point at dinner, Evan asked about going fishing, and Antonio lit up. So the next morning, we gathered our stuff, and set off in our boat to go fish out at the "sea mount", a shallow(ish) spot quite a ways out into the Sea of Cortez. This was clearly the spot, as there were at least 15-20 other boats all in the same area fishing for yellowtail. After a couple hours of throwing ballyhoo into the deep sea with no luck, we decided it was time to go snorkeling. So we boated back to the far north end of Espiritu Santo to Los Islotes We put on our wetsuits, jumped into the water and were quickly greeted by several young sea lions. They played with us, swam at our faces, then zoomed off, only to turn around and swim right back at us again. The water was a little choppy, which made me nervous, but Hugo always had an eye on us and checked on us to make sure we weren't overwhelmed. The occasionally large male would slowly swim below us, as if on patrol, but seemed unaffected by our presence. We played until we were exhausted and reluctantly returned to our boat. After drying off and warming up, we boated back to camp, where we had another amazing happy hour and hot dinner.
The next morning, Evan and I woke up early to enjoy the serenity of this quiet place. Antonio and Jorge saw that we were up and asked if we wanted to give fishing another try with them. This time, we were going to fish in a much more traditional way. We first went to another nearby cove and gathered a large net, which was filled with all sorts of critters. We threw most of it back, but kept all the snapper. I quietly hoped that we would get to taste the snapper later that day. Then we went out along the west end of Isla Ballena and started fishing for trigger fish. This time, rather than using the modes fishing pole, we put a chunk of bate on a hook and through in a line. We pulled in fish after fish this way! I had never hand-lined before but certainly had seen a lot of locals all over Latin America succeeding with this simple way of fishing. After we collected nearly two dozen trigger fish, we headed back to camp.
We packed a snack and loaded up in our kayaks to set off to the north. We kayaked for nearly an hour, crossing a pretty large, somewhat open area with bigger waves and a little bit of a crosswind. We are not experienced kayakers, but I will admit I was a little nervous. I know from my previous kayaking experience that paddling was the best way to keep yourself stabilized so I just kept paddling, heading across the "cut" towards the northern part of Espiritu Santo. Once we got to the more protected water again, we relaxed and started exploring along the rock walls and eventually made our way into this quiet little protected bay. We had a quick snack and a cold beer before going for a short hike into the desert. We quickly heated up being away from the water, and didn't take too long before deciding to turn back to get back in the water. We explored a little more before heading back across to our camp. I definitely felt like we'd gotten our exercise today! Antonio and Jorge, in the meantime, had been out fishing for snapper, and had prepared us an amazing fried red snapper for lunch.
After a quick siesta on the beach, we went for a hike behind our camp. The view was amazing, and we got back into the canyon a little and learned more about the history of the island. There was a well part-way down the trail that had amazingly cold freshwater in it. Hugo was nice enough to dump a bucket of the cold water on each of us, giving us a much-needed freshwater shower! When we got back to camp, an old, traditional fisherman pulled up on shore in his panga and showed us his catch from the day. He had a large net in the front of his boat, full of all different types of fish. He also had caught one of the largest stingrays I've ever seen. It took up nearly the whole front of his panga. Then he showed us the stinger, which he had cut out of the tail. It was about eight inches long, and looked like a double-serrated knife. Needless to say, seeing that was enough to scare me! I will definitely be VERY careful when walking or swimming in stingray-rich water!
Once again Antonio and Jorge surprised us that evening. Just when we didn't think things could get any better, they called us for a sunset-tour happy hour. A pitcher of fresh pina colada, a pitcher of margaritas (mixed together quickly became named a "juliarita) and fresh ceviche with chips while we slowly motored around the Isla Ballena while watching the sunset. This island did not disappoint. I will definitely come back. I just hope that we can get Hugo, Antonio and Jorge to join us again!
Snorkeling With a Whale Shark
Mar 13, 2016
Whale shark snorkeling in La Paz (Julia Kocubinski)As we said goodbye to our beautiful private camp at Candelero Bay on Espiritu Santo Island, we hoped our adventure wasn't over just yet. Jorge took us for a little tour of the southern part of the island. We pulled into a large, beautiful bay, which also happened to be a frigate bird nesting colony. There were thousands of them in the vegetation along the shore. We slowly motored along, taking pictures and watching them just do there thing. But our real adventure was still ahead of us. Hugo was hoping that we might get a chance to snorkel with a whale shark that morning before heading back to our hotel. So we boated back towards La Paz and were in luck. We saw a boat close to shore in the murky water, with snorkelers in the water. Hugo said that we were only allowed to have one boat snorkeling at a time, so we held back and waited for that group to get back in the boat. Once they did, Jorge brought us close to shore, and then we saw it - a whale shark right next to our boat! I thought he looked huge, but Hugo assured us that he was a juvenile, and they got bigger. Hugo said, "ok" and we all quickly grabbed our snorkel stuff and jumped in the water. Our only instruction was to not touch the shark, and stay away from the tail. They won't hurt you, but their tail is large and strong, and can easily knock you around in the water.
So we jumped in the water and by the time I got my bearings in the water and put my head under water, all I could see was the tail, just to my right. The water was murky and choppy, and swimming was difficult, but I did my best to try to get to the front-end of the shark. But my swimming wasn't nearly as strong as this massive animal. I swam my heart out, but no matter how hard I tried, I kept looking over at that tail slowly sawing back and forth, right by side. Hugo and Jorge had an eye on us, and after a few more minutes of struggling to get closer to the head of the shark, I gave up. I swam back to the boat and got in. Hugo said as soon as we got in the water, he was on the move. He had clearly had enough to eat in this spot and wanted to get to a new spot. There was no way I was going to catch that thing! But what an experience it was! I never thought I would willingly jump into the ocean with an active, massive shark, but this gentle, kind fish could care less about us.
The immediate response and knowledge of the tours. Jess was terrific with accessing our budget and type of tour.
Tiffani LoBue
4 hours ago
Prompt response with clarified information to questions.
Joyce Spencer
21 hours ago
Betty was extremely helpful and friendly! I have never traveled by long boat and was nervous about the options and the experience. Betty listened carefully to my wants and needs and presented exactly what my sister and I hoped for! I couldn’t have asked a more pleasant experience - I am so excited about our trip!!
Jan Struck
1 day ago
Tilly knowledgeable , quick to respond , and friendly
Raymond
1 day ago
They have very comprehensive options for the place we want to go to
Lian Choo L.C. Toh
2 days ago
The immediate response and knowledge of the tours. Jess was terrific with accessing our budget and type of tour.
Tiffani LoBue
4 hours ago
Prompt response with clarified information to questions.
Joyce Spencer
21 hours ago
Betty was extremely helpful and friendly! I have never traveled by long boat and was nervous about the options and the experience. Betty listened carefully to my wants and needs and presented exactly what my sister and I hoped for! I couldn’t have asked a more pleasant experience - I am so excited about our trip!!
Jan Struck
1 day ago
Tilly knowledgeable , quick to respond , and friendly
Raymond
1 day ago
They have very comprehensive options for the place we want to go to
Lian Choo L.C. Toh
2 days ago
The immediate response and knowledge of the tours. Jess was terrific with accessing our budget and type of tour.
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