Trip Reports

Hello Whalewatchers!

A great day for whale watching with flat calm conditions! We started the day off after breakfast with a single humpback whale, followed by a big group of bottlenose dolphin. While we always hope to see this on each of our trips – it doesn’t actually happen that often. The dolphins were showing off their acrobatics on the bow and in the stern wake repeatedly. We spent over an hour  with this group and it was awesome! Later on, we got to see a large group of common dolphin, who also gave us a great show. We continue on and came across some sea turtles and even more dolphins, another group of bottlenose. Today’s theme was clearly “day of the dolphin.”

To finish the morning, we spotted an unusual sighting of whales, a humpback and a Bryde’s whale together! It is extremely rare to see two different species traveling together. We have seen gray and humpback whales together in the past but only once. It is always great to see something unique.

We head to Isla Catalina for a snorkel session, a crazy coastal cruise and a hike. The snorkel session was great with lots of fish and warm water. The hike is always good with great lighting on the cactus. The cardon cactus have bloomed and are now with fruit and close to going to seed. We found 3 rattleless rattle snakes , a few emerald tailed lizard and desert iguana’s. The photo is of the biggest cardon cactus in the arroyo.

The grand finale was our traditional back deck BBQ with margaritas. Charley’s ribs are always a big hit!

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We started our day in one of our favorite places in Baja, Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose! Sunrise at this location are always memorable. This morning was a great example. The lighting on the red sandstone cliff when the sun first comes up is remarkable. After breakfast, we went for a walk on the island, then enjoyed a snorkel session. Everyone had an amazing time with both activities.

After leaving Punta Colorado we traveled north up the San Jose channel. The crew spotted a herd of common dolphins. we spent some time with the herd, there were quite a few mothers with their babies in this herd. It is always a treat to see baby dolphins!

We continued on and it didn’t take long before we spotted dwarf sperm whales on the surface. The calm seas allowed us to spot the dwarf sperm whales, which can only be spotted in these calm conditions. We were able to get close so everyone had a good look.
A little further north we came across an area where there were a lot of rays on this surface and a single Bryde’s whale. The finale was a tremendous sunset – the beauty of Baja continues to amaze me everyday.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We had a very successful day! We started with whale sharks in La Paz Bay. Chicolera tours provided us with 2 great trips, the first for our snorkelers and the second for our observers – who also saw a humpback whale! We departed the whale shark zone and traveled north towards Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. In transit, we came across an area of frigatebirds diving on a bait ball with pelicans, gulls and a few shearwaters. It was great to see them all feeding.

We went a little further north and saw a Bryde’s whale. Fortunately, we were able to follow it for a while and get great views. These whales can be shy and hard to watch, but not this one! In between sightings of the Bryde’s whale, we had a few smooth tailed mobulas jumping next to us. Everyone enjoyed that seeing that!

We traveled further north to Los Islotes for a skiff ride to view the sea lions and blue footed boobies. Then had another snorkel session.

What a day! We finished it off with Charley’s famous rack of lamb with a red wine sauce. I forgot to mention the weather has been great with calm seas and light winds! All in all a perfect day.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We had a great morning! It started with a rare sighting of Orcas (aka killer whales) off Cabo. It always something we look forward to seeing, but haven’t in recent years – so this sighting was super exciting! The pair of whales, one female and one male, were traveling southwest. We spent a little time following them, but eventually lost track of them.

We arrived in the Gorda Banks area, and it didn’t take too long before we located a trio of humpbacks. We spent close to 2 hours with these whales and they provided us with all the behaviors we hope to see with humpbacks, such as: fluking, lob tailing, pectoral flipper flapping and breaching. It was spectacular viewing!

After leaving our new humpback friends, we came across some sea turtles on the surface and a red billed tropic bird too! If that wasn’t enough excitement already, we then came across a cow, calf and escort trio of humpbacks. They were very active with the calf breaching repeatedly and the cow lob tailing over and over again! The calf and the escort were thrashing their tails around as well. That sighting was perhaps even more spectacular than the first trio we saw.

We continued the day heading north to Bahia Los Frailes for a walk and a snorkel session, however the winds out of the south prevented us from getting to Bahia Los Frailes. Deciding to continue north in hopes of more whale sightings, we were rewarded with another pair of humpbacks that breached repeatedly for over an hour. Sometimes both whales at once. We don’t get see that very often. The power of these whales is remarkable.

Headed to La Paz bay for Whales sharks tomorrow.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We have had a successful morning outside Bahia Magdalena. We had many common dolphin sightings during and after breakfast. There have also been loads of shearwaters, both black-vented and pink-footed. Sabines gulls, phalropes, Craveri’s murrlets, and black-storm petrels have been keep the bird watchers busy.

Tour 5’s Naturalists, Rob and Patti

 

The highlight by far was a blue whale close to the surface, who hung around for a long time! It was a medium size blue whale that stayed in the same area, we assume feeding as there was lots of life on the sounder and sonar. The blue whale is what many of our whale watchers are anxious to see on the trip, so this sighting was certainly was a delight for many on the boat! The photo is a blue whale at the surface close to the bow.

 

Chef Charley has also been preparing the most delicious food! Check out the photos below.

      

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

A great day in Laguna San Ignacio! We had excellent whale watching trips this morning. For the morning, we split off into two groups, one group went out to the mangroves while the other went out whale watching – then they swapped. Everyone had multiple close encounters with gray whales. The photo is Celia looking a gray whale calf in the eye!

We took a second trip out for whale watching in the afternoon, and everyone got more opportunities to interact with the gray whales. Everyone certainly had their fill! We also took a quick trip to the beach to view the whale bones and shells. It is always great to be on a beach where your footprints are the only ones.
I’m always a little sad at the end of our season here in the lagoon. It is hard to leave knowing we won’t be back until next year, but knowing we are coming back is a blessing.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We arrived to Laguna San Ignacio just after breakfast. The weather is great, and we were greeted by plenty of whales at the entrance in the surf – the whales seemingly enjoy hanging out here. There were also a number of whales inside the observation area.
Our 2 pangas arrived and we sent them out for our first whale watching excursion. While out in the lagoon, everyone had a close encounter with a whale – not bad for the first outing. Capt. Art and Celia went out together, and reminisce about how long they’ve been taking trips together to this magical place. Capt. Art has been coming here since 1976 and Celia has been coming here since 1985 – more than 30 years together, sharing Baja California and Laguna San Ignacio with their guests on the Searcher.

We also saw long-time friend of the Searcher, Fredrico, who has been driving pangas in Laguna San Ignacio for 22 years, and was our panga driver this morning! This reminds us how lucky we are to have such good relationships with the hard working people of Laguna San Ignacio. Here Celia pointing out the gray whale calf that visited us this morning.

Looking forward to tomorrow with a trip to the mangroves and the beach. Along with plenty of whale watching trips too!

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

Another great day aboard the Searcher. We explored Isla San Benitos with a beautiful hike around the island. There were elephant seals aplenty with more females returning to molt. We also sighted about two dozen Guadalupe fur seals indifferent locations around the island. The wild flowers are still in bloom and the agave’s are on the verge of blooming too. All the usual bird sightings with Osprey’s on the nest, horned larks on the plateaus and ravens.

Guadalupe fur seals on the rocks at Isla San Benito.

Headed south to arrive in Laguna San Ignacio after breakfast tomorrow.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!

We cleared customs and immigration in Ensenada early this morning, and then traveled to Isla Todos Santos. The island is very green with a lot of yellow enclias flowers in bloom. There were also quite a few northern elephant seals on the beach, about 25 moms and pups, as well as several harbor seals with pups as well.

There was some great bird watching on the island too! Lots of double crested cormorants nesting, and a few pelagics as well. We also saw a peregrine falcon on the highest peak and a few black oyster catchers. We left the island headed and headed south with hopes of some wildlife sightings today.

We came across a big group of common dolphin and the conditions allowed us to stay with the group for a while. We estimate there were about 500 dolphins in the group! Continuing south we saw lots of shearwaters, bonapartes gulls, royal terns, phalropes, loons, and a black-footed albatross.

We didn’t have many sightings this afternoon, but we did have another group of common dolphins join us for sunset and dinner. Dinner was awesome! We enjoyed beef stew with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh bread and ice cream sundaes for desert.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers!!

We made it to Isla San Francisco, our last stop before heading to our final destination. It was a wonderful morning, the group went for a walk around the salt marsh and then headed up the ridge at the top of the island. The light breeze kept everyone cool and happy. A first for us on Isla San Francisco, hikers spotted a rattle snake! Afterwards, a group of snorkelers headed to the rock wall, and were able to see garden eels.

This afternoon, heading south toward Cabo San Lucas, we saw smooth tailed mobula leaping effortlessly above the water, as well as a group of bottlenose dolphin. As we continue south we are hoping to see some toothed whales before we bid our new friends farewell tomorrow.

Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew