March 20 census Laguna San Ignacio
There are 103 cow/calf pairs and 53 single gray whales in the lagoon.
Chocolate lava cake, anyone?
Steve “Wrong Way” Lamb (aka Lamp Chop) shares a decadent dessert recipe, as served aboard Searcher Natural History Tours.
Lamb Chop in his native habitat!
Chocolate Lava Cakes
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients:
1-1/2 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar (Ghirardelli)
2 eggs
1/4 cup(s) heavy cream
8 tablespoon(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup(s) sugar
1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1/4 cup(s) cake flour
Directions
To make centers, melt 2 ounces of chocolate (1/2 a baking bar) and cream in a double boiler. Whisk gently to blend. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Form into 6 balls; refrigerate until needed.
To make cake, heat oven to 400°F.
Spray six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups with cooking spray.
Melt 4 ounces of chocolate (1 baking bar) and butter in double boiler; whisk gently to blend.
With an electric mixer, whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, and vanilla on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and light.
Fold melted chocolate mixture and flour into egg mixture just until combined.
Spoon cake batter into ramekins. Place a chocolate ball in the middle of each ramekin. Bake about 15 minutes or until cake is firm to the touch. Let it sit out of the oven for about 5 minutes. Run a small, sharp knife around inside of each ramekin, place a plate on top, invert and remove ramekin.
Garnish with raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream.
Rare dwarf sperm whale cow/calf photo
Conditions were just right for a great shot of the surfacing dwarf sperm whales. Congrats to Chef Charles Howell for capturing this elusive cetacean! (Editor’s note: It takes boat-handling skill by Capt Art too!)
Laguna San Ignacio census March 15
There are 80 mother/calf pairs and 89 singles, for a total of 249 gray whales. Thanks to Chef Charles for the spyhopping gray whale photo taken in the lagoon!
Tour #4 Another whale species and underwater fun March 19
Hello whalewatcher,
Ttoday was another remarkable day with calm seas and wind. We started the day at the south end of Isla San Jose in the mangroves. Everyone enjoyed the skiff ride. We left there and headed south towards Los Islotes for another skiff ride and a snorkel with the sea lions.
Everyone enjoyed the stay at Los Islotes. The water was warm and there was a tremendous amount of life around the islets–lots of bait fish, pelicans diving and lots of sea lions.
We left there and headed south. We travelled for an hour and spotted three dwarf sperm whales on the surface. We were able to get close and I think it was best look we have ever had of these whales. The water was glassy and extremely calm, and we got within 50 feet of these whales. What a treat and a great way to end an incredible trip!
The group was awsome and the naturalists Michael Ellis and Armando Quintero from Footloose Forays were superb.
Looking forward to next trip,
Capt Art
Tour #4 Sunset/moonrise in Baja March 18
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we started at beautiful Bahia Agua Verde with a pre-breakfast walk. One of the local fishermen guided the group up to a small cave that has some cave paintings in it. Everyone enjoyed the cave and the walk.
After breakfast we had a combo skiff ride and snorkel for those interested. The water has warmed up to the low 70’s whish is a huge improvement over the past three trips. Around lunch time we went offshore to look for a whale or two we found a cow and calf Bryde’s whale, a cow and calf blue whale, fin whales in the distance and to finish the day, we came across about 100 to 150 pilot whales. That was spectacular! The moon rise and the sunset with the colors in the sky was as good as it gets. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we shut the boat down including the generator and had complete silence with pilot whales spouting and the sunset along with the moon rise. Now it doesn’t get any better than that. It was a very powerful experience for everyone.
Headed south after the back deck buffet and margaritas.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Baja Whale YouTube Channel
We’re adding more every trip!
Tour #4 Pilot whales and more March 17
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we spent the morning at Isla Santa Catalina and everyone had a great morning with a early hike among the amazing cactus, a snorkel before lunch and a few people had a “Crazy Coastal Cruise with Capt Cole.” They had bow-riding bottlenose dolphins in the skiff and that was pretty “Crazy.”
We left and went offshore to see if we could find some toothed whales. We were lucky and found a group of 100 pilot whales with a few bottlenose dolphin mixed in. We spent some time in deep-water looking for the other toothed whale (if you’ve been with us, you know who that is…) with no luck yet.
We did see 7 to 10 fin whales east of Isla Carmen and another herd of common dolphin at sunset. The area had a lot of life with whales dolphin, birds, fish and more. It was a very good ending to a perfect day.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Dolphin video
To be surrounded by common dolphins in the Sea of Cortez…
Tour #4 Isla San Jose March 16
Hello whalewatchers,
Today started with a great sunrise at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose. We took the group on a pre-breakfast skiff ride along the shoreline for about an hour and everyone thought it was worth getting up a little early for. After breakfast the group went ashore for a couple of hours and enjoyed the walk. After a quick break back at the boat, most people went snorkelling. The visibility is good and the water is now 70 degrees, which is six degrees warmer than last trip.
We had “Chuckwagon Burgers in Paradise” as we left Punta Colorado and went out searching for whales. We found a great big herd of common dolphins, a cow and calf Bryde’s whale and some other small baleen whales in the area. We spent most of our time during sunset with the dolphins, which was spectacular.
We are headed for Isla Catalina for the night and tomorrow morning.
Capt Art
