Todos Santos Eco Adventures

We start off this feast of a day by visiting the whale sharks in the Bay of La Paz*. Each year the whale sharks congregate here from roughly late October through late April, and we have the opportunity to observe and even snorkel with them. DYK: whales are mammals, sharks are fish, and the whale shark gets its moniker from being the largest fish on the planet. At up to 59 feet and 15 tons it is definitely a whale of a shark!

From the Bay of La Paz we head north a few miles to Isla Gaviota, a Blue-footed Booby rookery, to check out our azure-footed friends. Many people think you have to go all the way to the Galapagos to find the boobies, but there are several colonies right here in the Sea of Cortez.

Just a little north of Isla Gaviota is the sea lion colony of San Rafaelito, where we’ll have the indescribable joy of snorkeling and playing with the fun-loving young sea lions. When we simply can’t keep up with them anymore, we’ll head straight to the calming beauty of Balandra Bay, dazzling with its white beaches and crystal-clear waters.

Once at Balandra Bay, we’ll enjoy a picnic lunch on one of the beautiful beaches and take our time to snorkel or walk if we’re so inclined. The van will pick us up at Balandra for the transfer back to Todos Santos. A remarkable day.

We depart Todos Santos for La Paz, get our gear, hop in the boats, then it’s off to the unbelievable joy of swimming and playing with the sea lion puppies at the permanent sea lion colony of Los Islotes.

These fun-loving marine mammals love playing and interacting with humans, and are always disappointed that we can never keep up a game of tag as long as they can. Getting to the sea lion colony is half the fun of the day, as we regularly see dolphins, whales, mantas, sea turtles, coastal birds and more on the way there and back.

We cap off this wonderful day with a delicious picnic lunch at one of the gorgeous beaches on the incomparable Isla Espiritu Santo. It’s an absolutely fabulous day!

Todos Santos’ unique tropical setting between desert and ocean means it has a fantastic array of birds, and over 150 species have been spotted here!

We’ll observe birds in fields, deserts, and saltwater marshes, in the early morning and late afternoon when many species are most active. Just bring your walking shoes and a bottle of water.

It’s possible to see the following birds in pristine surroundings on our tours:

Gila woodpeckers, roadrunners, nighthawks, hummingbirds, egrets, blue herons, frigatebirds, ospreys, pelicans, orioles, warblers, finches, turkey vultures, hawks, tanagers, mockingbirds, wrens, doves, flycatchers, ibis, sparrows, ducks, owls, caracaras, terns, gulls, cormorants, vireos, avocets, quails, and kingfishers.

Each year the magnificent gray whales migrate 6,000 miles south from the Bering Sea to mate and give birth in the warm water lagoons of the Baja peninsula. From Todos Santos we have the wonderful opportunity to spend a day in Puerto Chale on Magdalena Bay, connecting with these amazing fellow mammals and travelers. Things that often happen to us when we visit the gray whales:

• Gray whale
• Mothers bring their babies up to the boat to say hello
• Gray whale babies present themselves for a good rub or a pat
• Gray whale males sidle along the boat and spout water on us –they clearly think it’s very funny
• Gray whale couples roll languidly by, completely ignoring us as they enjoy some Baja romance
• Gray whales of all types bring their huge heads out of the water and look us straight in the eye

And that’s just to give you an idea! The connections possible with our fellow mammals in the lagoons of Magdalena Bay are absolutely wondrous and should be at the top of any bucket list you may be creating.