Trip Reports

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

Hello Whalewatchers!

Another fantastic morning here on the Searcher! We started our day with fluking blue whales and flat calm seas! We also had a close encounter with a red-billed tropic bird. We headed to Isla Santa Catalina for the afternoon to snorkel, as well as a stroll up  the arroyo.

The snorkeling was wonderful with some of the best visibility I’ve seen in a long time. Snorkelers had the opportunity to swim with Eared Grebes –

Rattleless rattlesnake Isla Santa Catalina

watching them dive to grab krill under water. During our walk up the arroyo the whole group was able to see a rattleless rattlesnake which is endemic to Isla Santa Catalina.

We ended our day with our traditional back deck BBQ, complete with Captain Ryan’s famous margaritas. Tomorrow we are headed for Isla San Francisco for our final walking adventure and snorkel session before the trip ends.

Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Hello whalewatchers:

We’ve had a great morning walk this at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose with a red cliff sunrise, followed by a nice walk up the arroyo to check out all the desert plant life and birds.

Afternoon update:

Today was definitely “the day of the dolphin.” After our very large group of long-beaked common dolphin, we traveled north to find another group that was engaged in feeding. We used the hydrophone to hear the dolphin communicating. There were lots of frigatebirds and yellow-footed gulls getting in on the feeding as well.

We’re anchored in a calm spot for the night to go whalewatching in the morning and be at Santa Catalina island for the afternoon.

Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Hello whalewatchers!

We’ve had another fantastic morning here in the Sea of Cortez!  Everyone saw a whale shark or two when they went out snorkeling here in La Paz or even if they were just an observer.  We’re on our way looking for wildlife as it comes, and to be snorkeling with sea lions this afternoon at Los Islotes.
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Sfter leaving whale sharks this afternoon, we headed north to the upper part of La Paz bay and en route we saw a blue whale, some bottlenose dolphin and even a turtle. Once we got to Los Islotes, the passengers went on a skiff ride around the small island where they got a treat of jumping mobula rays. After returning to the Searcher the snorkelers got to go swim with California sea lions and all kinds of fish. We’re headed up further into the Sea of Cortez to be at Punta Colorado on the eastern side of San Jose island.
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Hello Whalewatchers!

It was a fantastic morning for whale watching. Our first encounter was with four humpbacks fluking and  coming to the surface very often for air.  In addition to our humpback friends, we also saw a striped marlin sunning itself on the surface as well as a hammer head shark! Shortly after, we had a second sighting of humpbacks, this time it was a group of three that came up under the boat, then showed us there flukes. The ocean is very calm today, and we’ve seen several turtles hanging out on the surface, like this little guy pictured on the right. We also spent some time with a breaching whale on the bow before heading off to Los Frailes for a walk along the shore and then a snorkel session.

The shore excursion was quite enjoyable, and there were many bird sightings. After a warm walk in the sun, the group went for a snorkel at the reef, where they saw a variety of fish. Throughout the afternoon there was a cow and calf humpback whale breaching close to the beach. We’re traveling up into the Sea of Cortez tonight, and our whalewatchers are excited to swim with the whale sharks in the morning.

– Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers:

This morning’s weather was very nice with little to no wind. We had lots of birds in good viewing condtions this morning including pink-footed shearwaters, Craveri’s murrelets, and red phalaropes, and some magnificent frigates. We also had a large pod of long-beaked common dolphin, and during the “dolphin show” a blue whale was spotted. So we spent some time with the blue whale as well. We are currently headed south in search of more wildlife.

Afternoon update:  We had a great afternoon looking around in calm seas! We had a chance to view a blue whale several times with really nice conditions. It was a very large animal and it even fluked for us.  A masked booby came to visit, along with a couple of pomarine jaegers.

Seas are still calm and we’re headed south to be around the Gorda Banks looking for more wildlife.  The forecast looks good for weather and we will take it.

Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew