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Searcher Natural History Tours – Baja Love Stories!

As we began our 2016 Searcher Natural History Tours Baja Whalewatching season, we proclaimed the following:
“Our hearts are full – and we want to share the Baja love!”

(Click here to see our “We Can’t Help Falling In Love” video)

We asked passengers to recall moments when they fell in love during one of our Searcher Natural History Tours.

Here’s what our Searcher friends replied:

My “love affair” with that long, narrow peninsula, Baja, began in 1976, but it turned into a life-long commitment with my first Searcher trip in 1981. That first look into a gray whale’s eye changed my life in so many ways.

-Rafe Payne

I fell in love with Baja my first time working on the Searcher… So much so that I vowed to go back and work intimately with the gray whales in La Laguna San Ignacio! I spent the next two seasons working down there.

-Julie Kondor
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Photo Credit: Michael Larsen

 

Seeing a newborn gray whale riding on its mother’s back in Laguna San Ignacio on my Searcher trip is a memory I hold dear to my heart always.

-Ann Parker

I fell in love with the Searcher on the first evening as we left San Diego, watching the seals on the pontoons in the dark with the city lights behind. I knew then it was going to be the trip of a lifetime – then we hit the harbour bar and an exhilarating sea! We haven’t booked a holiday this year as nothing seems to match the Searcher and the wonderful Baja wildlife.

-Linda Riseborough

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Photo Credit: Chris Shields

Two years since my Searcher adventure and I still get a buzz thinking about it. I definitely fell in love with the ocean on that trip – its rhythms, colours and inhabitants will stay with me forever. I loved – literally – simply going with the flow.

-Carol Morris

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Photo Credit: Rob Nawojchik

As we planned early (2010) for our 25 th Anniversary (April 11, 2012), we were targeting the Galapagos Islands for our special nature trip. But then I read a book called “Whales Touching the Mystery” by Doug Thomson. It is a fascinating book about San Ignacio Lagoon and the friendly gray whales (I’ve read it twice).

Larry and I have been fascinated with nature and in particular whales for a long time. We had observed whales in Cape Cod, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. As I was reading the book, I kept asking myself if it was “for real”. How cool to be able to really interact with a gray whale. But who do I contact? So I went back to the first page of the Introduction where the author talked about his first encounter with a gray whale while travelling on a vessel called “The Searcher”.

The internet being a wonderful thing, I searched for “The Searcher” and lo and behold, I found “Searcher Natural History Tours”. I contacted Celia, who provided great information and answered all of our questions. From that point on, Galapagos was out the window and we were going to do a once in a lifetime trip in Baja for our 25th Anniversary to see the gray whales up close and personal!

I still remember my excitement going out in the pangas, especially when I touched the smooth back of my first young whale. It’s hard to express the feeling in words. I was so thrilled, the first thing I did back at the Searcher was give Captain Art a great BIG hug. As Art famously says, I didn’t just touch the whale, the whale touched me.

Larry’s dream was to see a big blue whale. We didn’t see just one – but 20 of them – including a baby blue that thought we were its nanny! This is just a small taste of the natural wonders experienced in the 12-day adventure. I’ve learned about birds (thanks, Paul Jones!), pinnipeds (thanks, Marc Webber!) and many species of whales and dolphins.

We enjoyed it so much that we went back in 2014 and we just returned from our 2016 trip. Words cannot begin to express the amazing trips that Captain Art, Celia and the Searcher crew provide.

Thank you for memories of a lifetime (times 3!).

– Sue (and Larry) Schott – Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Did YOU fall in love during a Searcher Natural History Tour?  Tell us about it!

Email your “fell in love” story to searcher@bajawhale.com

🙂

 

2020-07-15T16:34:42-07:00April 22nd, 2016|News|
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2016 Tour 5 San Jose del Cabo

Howdy whalewatchers,

Today marked the end of our last Searcher Natural History Tours trip of the 2016 season.  We had an excellent time with this group – such a great bunch – with the magic touch added by both The Travelling Naturalist leader Ian Rowlands and Searcher naturalist Rob Nawojchik.  After we said our goodbyes, the group disembarked and boarded the shuttle for San Jose del Cabo.  They had a few hours to explore, visiting the estuary for birdwatching or local restaurants for breakfast.

San Jose del Cabo square

San Jose del Cabo square – photo credit: Mark Underwood

Some stayed on and extended their holiday in this laid-back Baja beach town,  while the rest boarded the shuttle for the SJD airport where they started their journeys home.

We wish them safe travels and send our gratitude for a wonderful shared experience to close out a spectacular 2016 season.  Already looking forward to next year!

Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

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2020-07-15T16:34:43-07:00April 20th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Isla San Francisco

Howdy whalewatchers,
We had some good bird watching yesterday afternoon. We saw some small sharks as well. We then headed to Isla San Jose to do our traditional back deck BBQ in a calm place.  En route, we did enjoy watching some bow-riding bottlenose dolphin.  Last night was fun – this group is all smiles 🙂  Chef Charley’s signature barbecue sauce was excellent, as usual!
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It’s a nice morning here – we had a humpback whale sighting right off the bat – before we got to Isla San Francisco we got to see a fluking humpback.  After dropping anchor in the caldera-shaped bay, the passengers went ashore for a two-hour exploratory walk.
Half the group hiked the trail along the knife-edge ridge leading to the mountain peak framing the south side of the bay.  From this vantage point the group had a spectacular view of the Searcher anchored in the clear blue circular bay, against the backdrop of the multi-layered and -colored mountains of the peninsula.  During the rest of the hike, we observed the plants and animals within at least six micro-habitats comprising this small but diverse island.
The other half of the group focused on birds.  Many species were seen, including least sandpiper, peregrine falcon, red-tailed hawk, and osprey.
BWospreynest.LasnierPhoto credit: Osprey nest/J. Lasnierbwtrip5sanfranboat
Later in the morning, everyone enjoyed a snorkel or beach swim.  The water was the warmest and clearest we’ve had all season!  Highlights included HUNDREDS of Cortez garden eels in the sand flats, and a huge school of spottail grunt.  Nice way to spend our last full day together with our fun-loving “The Travelling Naturalist” group – and a great end to another wonderful Baja whalewatching season aboard Searcher!

Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:43-07:00April 18th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Isla Santa Catalina

Hello whalewatchers: Today we had a wonderful visit to Isla Santa Catalina, one of the most iconic visitor sites in all of Baja California.  santacatalina.2016 Passengers spent three hours ashore exploring the arroyo at the southeast corner of the island, enjoying the bird life and amazing array of cactus, including the giant cardon.

Santa Catalina is home to the endemic rattleless rattlesnake. Few in number and cryptic in color, we often have trips where we don’t see any. Today we saw five of them, including both the brown and gray color morph.  catalinarattler.leemorgan

In addition to the snakes, we saw fantastic examples of the island’s plant, bird, and lizard life.  Following the hike we had a snorkel session in the cove beneath elephant rock, where all sorts of reef fish and invertebrates were seen. Lunch was duck confit salad with fresh bread.

We’re headed south now to find even more wildlife. The wind is up a bit so wish us luck!
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:43-07:00April 16th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Isla San Jose

Hello whalerwatchers: What a great morning here at Punta Colorado! We got it all started with a great sunrise on the island’s sandstone cliffs.

tour 5 punta coloradoThen passengers went ashore to go for a desert plant and bird walk. But they also found a speckled rattlesnake, Isla San Jose whiptail lizards,  in addition to the endemic gray thrasher, phainopepela, and a Costa’s hummingbird.  After the walk passengers went to a nice sandy beach for a swim or snorkel with the fantastic variety of fish and invertebrates here. We’re headed north to look for wildlife this afternoon.

This afternoon, we had a beautiful ride and the sunset was great. We found just a few bottlenose dolphins and the crowd-pleasing red- billed tropicbird. Tonight’s dinner is cornish game hen with stuffing and fresh bread. Dessert is a peach cobbler. cornish game hen dinner

We’ve got our anchor down at Isla Santa Catalina so we’re ready to go ashore for a walk and a snorkel in the morning.
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:43-07:00April 15th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Trip 5 La Paz and Los Islotes

Howdy whalewatchers,

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning, followed by the arrival of the pangas for whale shark encounters.  BWlapazam

Those that got in the water got to swim with whale sharks and those that stayed in the pangas got a great view of these massive creatures from the surface.  The water temperature was warm with good visibility.

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After heading north, we went to Isla Lobos, where there is a blue footed booby population which we observed and photographed.  Shortly after leaving there we found a humpback whale that was in nice water conditions and it fluked EVERY TIME it dove! We’re headed up to Los Islotes to swim with the playful sea lions and lots of fish.

Our adventure continues – more later,

Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

2020-07-15T16:34:43-07:00April 15th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Offshore Cabo San Lucas

Howdy whalewatchers,
We saw something new and exciting today – a group of manta rays just swimming around in circles on the surface in flat, calm blue water.
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We also saw bottlenose dolphin riding the bow again, then we went ashore at Los Frailes this afternoon to go on a walk led by Ian Rowlands and Rob Nawojchik, and then into the water for our first snorkel of the trip.
tour #3 los frailes
This is an amazing location for snorkeling, part of the Cabo Pulmo National Park. The passengers saw a variety of colorful and active reef wildlife during the swim.  After our snorkel we went north into the Sea of Cortez to make our northbound trek and saw a couple of humpbacks – one even jumped off in the distance.  Chef Charley capped off our day with rack of lamb for dinner – it was delicious!
We are headed to La Paz to go look for whale sharks and swim with sea lions at Los Islotes.  Should be another great day on the water tomorrow!
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher
2020-07-15T16:34:44-07:00April 14th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Offshore Bahia Magdalena

Howdy whalewatchers,

It’s been a great morning here on the water.  The day started with some bow-riding long-beaked common dolphin and then we saw a couple of blue whales – one fluked for us and got the tail way up in the air for some great photos.  (Click the link for some great photos and details about blue whales!) We have also have seen some sea turtles and Magnificent frigatebirds,  Brown boobies and some Sabine’s Gulls.

© Lehman

Sabine’s Gull © Lehman

We are headed south to look for some more wildlife.

(evening report follows)

Howdy whalewatchers,

It was a slower afternoon for whalewatching,  but really good for watching birds and common dolphin.  Sightings of Cook’s petrels were abundant with lots of Black-vented shearwaters and Magnificent frigatebirds, too.@ McGrath

We are headed south to begin our part of the trip in the Sea of Cortez.  Here’s a shot of some fun folks caught enjoying some wine at sunset 🙂
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More tomorrow,
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher
2020-07-15T16:34:44-07:00April 13th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Laguna San Ignacio Day 2

Howdy whalewatchers,
Well, we had another amazing day in San Ignacio Lagoon. Our passengers had a great morning observing gray whales (Click the link for more great information about gray whales!) with multiple opportunities to touch and get up close with friendly cow/calf pairs.
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They had a panga trip into the mangroves as well, with great birdwatching and photography. It was a full day of San Ignacio wildlife, with another whale watching trip in the afternoon and a nice walk on the beach to finish our day.  After we left the lagoon there was a blue whale waiting for us to watch into the sunset.
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Headed south to look for wildlife – wish us luck!
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher
2020-07-15T16:34:44-07:00April 12th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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2016 Tour 5 Laguna San Ignacio, day 1

Hello whalewatchers: We are enjoying a great morning today in the lagoon here! On the first trip out, all the passengers got to touch a gray whale and some even kissed a whale today. There is a little bit of wind, but still plenty good for whale watching. We’re offering two more trips this afternoon before we call it a great day. Before we got into the lagoon we saw another blue whale just out side the entrance.

We had some good whalewatching this afternoon. The wind has picked up a bit but the forecast looks good for tomorrow. We’ll do some star gazing tonight and go for more whales to watch tomorrow!
Capt Aaron and Team Searcher

2016-04-21T06:03:21-07:00April 10th, 2016|Trip Reports|
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