Sea lions and whale sharks, a Baja safari under the stars Nov. 21-28, 2020

Hi Friends,
It’s been a crummy morale-crushing year. The pandemic, natural disasters, the politics! and living with day to day uncertainty.
For me, life has become quieter and smaller and more focused on what’s important-nature, health and friendships.
But I can’t quiet the urge for adventure!  I found something I’m excited about. It’s close, it’s reasonable and it’s in nature.  I’ve put together a small group to Baja combining life’s essentials….great food, good friends, being in nature and snorkeling! I hope you want to join me.

Concern about health and safety are issues on all of our minds right now. This trip is operated by ToSea adventures.
A link with the safety protocols can be seen here:  https://tosea.net/traveler-information-for-covid-19/

ITINERARY:
November 21 Upon arrival in San Jose del Cabo, we will be met and transferred Casitas Colibris hotel in Todos Santos (90 minutes).
In the evening we’ll have dinner in the Colibris Cafe.
Each artfully designed casita has a view of the Pacific Ocean. Los Colibris is just a 10-minute walk to 70 miles of pristine, virtually empty beach, and a 5-minute drive to the delightful restaurants, artists’ galleries and shops of Todos Santos.

November 22-27 This morning will transfer to La Paz (one hour drive) where we will board our private boat to Isla Espiritu Santo, centered in a national marine park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our home for the next five nights is Camp Cecil de la Isla. Upon arrival we’ll settle in to our beautiful tents before enjoying the first of many creative and delicious island meals.

Located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Espiritu Santo National Park, award-winning Camp Cecil Base Camp is on one of the island´s most beautiful beaches and features large tents with real beds, lovely linens, and other comforts of a more traditional accommodation, including daily housekeeping. There are two sun showers and two compost toilet cabanas.
An on-site chef creates wonderful meals, and a daily happy hour.

Over the next 5 days we’ll have the opportunity to view the marine park’s residents that could include dolphins, sea turtles, rays, schools of tropical fish, and a range of bird species — blue-footed boobies, reddish egrets, great blue herons and yellow-footed gulls.

Espiritu Santo has dramatic towering cliffs, sandy bays, lava rock formations, and rock art left by the now-extinct Guaycura and Pericu Indians. There’s even an endemic ring-tailed cat, the babisuri.

The days are ours to do what pleases us: kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, swimming with sea lions, stand-up paddle boarding, bird watching, and exploring hidden lagoons and desert beaches.
Bilingual naturalist guides are at our service. The personable guides are all interpretive naturalists, so not only are all the activities fun, but we’ll have a font of information on everything from marine mammals, to local ecology to Mexican history and more at our disposal.

The days will wind down with conversation and drinks as the sun sets and we’ll savour our gourmet chef-prepared dinner on the beach.

Excursions will include going to the permanent sea lion colony of Los Islotes for the awesome experience of swimming with sea lion pups. Staying on the island allows us to arrive early and have the area to ourselves. These playful marine mammals are curious and interact readily with humans. Once we’re exhausted, we return to camp for a hot, delicious brunch and round out the morning snorkeling along the nearby fish-rich reef.

At San Gabriel Bay we’ll see a magnificent frigate bird colony in an exposed stretch of mangroves with males strutting with their enlarged red gular sacs, downy chicks huddling with their mothers, and the wild cacophony of colony life surround us.
During hikes we’ll learn about the geography and natural history of the island from our naturalist guides.
We’ll have a Thanksgiving to remember on our private beach.

November 27 In the morning we will depart Camp Cecil.  We will travel back to La Paz, for an opportunity to swim with whale sharks! Fingers crossed we’ll get lucky.  We’ll  enjoy lunch at a seaside spot before our afternoon return to Todos Santos, where we have the afternoon free to explore the town.

Our last night is spent back at our casitas in Todos Santos. We have a farewell cooking class with chef Iker Algorri, author of Cooking Adventures in Baja California Sur and chef-in-residence at Los Colibris. In his lively “Mexican Survival Cooking Class” the emphasis is on fun, delicious food and learning to make the perfect margarita.

November 28 We will be transferred back to San Jose del Cabo to catch our flight home.

Price:
$3700 based on double occupancy
$4200 single occupancy

Price Includes:

• Roundtrip airport transfers
• 2 nights at Los Colibris Casitas
• 5 nights at Camp Cecil de la Isla
• All meals from dinner on day 1 through breakfast on final day
• All adventures and related equipment, including swimming with whale sharks, swimming with sea lions, snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, bird watching
• Mexican cooking class

Price Excludes:

• International Airfare
• Insurance
• Any purchases of a personal nature

I’m really excited about this opportunity to ease back into a travel and share it with you. Call or email me if you have any questions or if you’d like to join the group.

 

 

 

 

Wendy Simon
Founder/CEO
Snorkeling Etc. Inc.
Santa Cruz, CA.
831 254-5001
Wendy@SnorkeingEtc.com