The clear, brillant waters in the Gulf of California off the coast of the Mexican state of Baja California between La Paz and Loretto provided a wonderful ecotrip locale for an adventure led by Gail Cheeseman and her son, Ted.  Aboard the 80-foot vessel, Don Jose with its crew of 6, we and others saw 9 species of cetaceans, many seabirds, and learned about the desert flora and fauna during excursions ashore.

Sunset on the Bahia de La Paz from where our tour commenced

A typical Mexican folkloric dance performed at Los Arcos Hotel in La Paz

Our boat/home for 6 nights, the Don Jose, while it was still moored in La Paz

A Humback Whale dives into the Bahia de La Paz near our vessel on the way to Los Ilotes Island

                                    GOOD-BYE!

A Brown Pelican in breeding plumage near Los Ilotes Island

Califronia Sea Lions bask on the rocky shore of Los Ilotes

Rich in his snorkeling equipment as Dean awaits some friendly CA Sea Lions to observe and photograph underwater

Here comes a young one

This is an adult

WHOA!  This one is "almost" TOO close

Sally-Lightfoot Crab (there's very little meat in the foot) races along on Los Ilotes

Yellow-footed Gull poised to take off

A male Magnificent Frigatebird soars above our pangas in the mangroves

A White Ibis observes us warily from a mangrove tree

A Blue Whale, the largest living thing on Earth, 'blows' near Isla San Jose

It surfaces, at times so close we could hear them inhaling as well as exhaling.

We enjoyed Bottlenose Dolphin 'riding' the bow of the Don Jose, too.

Here a 'baby' Blue (left) surfaces with it's Mother.

Pods of Common Dolphins delighted us several times; this one producing a rainbow

They lept out of the water or porpoised as they fed on sardines and squid

At times, they were accompanied by their progeny

A nesting Costa's Hummingbird (female, as the males do not assist) on Isla San Jose

A Barrel Cactus begins to flower on isla Catalina

This close-up shows the beauty of their flowers which attracts its pollinators

A Male Gila Woodpecker on top of a young cactus

Lantern Flowers which will darken as in the background as they 'go to seed'

Elephant Island near Catalina

Don Jose at anchor prior to traveling our final leg to Puerto Escondido near Loretto