We are enveloped in blackness and we are silent. In the distance, in every direction we hear the explosive 'whooosh' of blowing gray whales surfacing in the lagoon. Above, a pollution free sky glows like a celestial cityscape, mirrored by the bioluminescence of innumerable sea creatures shifting in the swells around our boat. It was a quiet moment, a special moment of tranquility, shattered a moment later as a gray whale spy-hopped beside us, rising like 'Jaws' out of the darkness within yards of our group and scaring all of us half to death! Welcome to the Baja!

The Gulf of California is home to one of the largest populations of whales and dolphins in the world, with at least six species of great whales and several species of dolphins regularly spotted. It is, of course, most famous for the wintering population of Gray Whales, many of which gather at San Ignacio Lagoon to give birth before beginning their northbound migration along the west coast to their arctic feeding grounds.
The focus of our trip is to visit with and to photograph the Gray Whales, although we're likely to see and to photograph several other Cetaceans as well. On our last trip several years ago we had a wonderful view of two BLUE WHALES, the largest animal ever to have existed on this planet. For nearly forty-five minutes the whales floated nearby and when they finally swam off we followed, capturing their thirty-foot wide flukes when the whales dove deep. One evening, as we anchored for the night, a pod of killer whales (Orcas) appeared, slowly swimming about only a few hundred yards away. We hauled anchor and sailed out, and within minutes we were among the whales.
The next hour or so were among the most magical we've had with wild animals. The pod circled around our boat, dipping beneath and surfacing on either side, with individuals sometimes turning on their side to pause, obviously watching us as they did so. While I'm sure I'm only projecting my feelings of 'oneness' here, we all had that feeling, one of mutual curiosity and harmlessness. As stupid as this may sound, I was sorely tempted to just slip off the boat and to swim among the whales, but fortunately caution (or common sense) overrode that urge, as Orcas could mistake me for one very pale seal! This anecdote, however, illustrates my point -- the Baja, the whales, are magical, and the experience of encountering and interacting with the whales is more than simply special.
Interaction is, indeed, a reality, as you may discover when a female Gray Whale purposefully pushes its calf towards your panga (an outboard-powered skiff). As incredible as it may seem, whales often swim up to and investigate a panga, and females will often bring their babies up close as if introducing their young. Sometimes, over-enthusiastic whales will actually swim beneath a boat and slowly rise, gently lifting their cargo (the folks in the skiff!) out of the water. I've never been in a skiff where that has happened, and I'll pass on that if I have the choice, but it happens and the experience, though scary, is exhilarating and benign.
One has to ask why do Gray Whales do this? An animal that was nearly hunted to extinction less than 80 years ago exhibits a curiosity; one could say a friendliness, that completely contradicts the very negative experience Gray's have had at the hand of man. Gives one a sense of hope!



Mysticism almost seems to be a theme. On another night we were treated by a 'light show' when a sea lion appeared and began to play around our boat. It would dive and jump and streak through the water, with its progress completely unseen to our eyes if it were not for the bioluminescent trail its path stirred up. Like a living comet the seal would race past us, creating a wave of turbulence of glowing green microorganisms. Like kids at a great fireworks display, all of us spontaneously 'oohed' and 'aaahhhed' and clapped as the seal went through its routine. Neat, you might say, but what was so mystic about this? We hadn't even seen a seal in this area earlier in the day or on the following day. Our seal appeared, gave its show, seemingly responding to our applause, and disappeared. Truly, a gift of nature.

Humpback whales winter off Cabo San Lucas and we're usually lucky enough to encounter a few. Males are prone to breach at this time of year, the breeding season, and it is thought that this explosive demonstration of raw power serves as an advertisement for the health and vigor of the male.
Fin whales, the second largest species, sometimes appear but most views of these are fleeting. Fins rarely breach or spy-hop, but instead just sail passed, the nuclear-powered submarine of the whale world, the fastest swimmer of the fleet.

Our journey will begin in San Diego and we'll cruise along the western coast of the Baja Peninsula, stopping en route at San Benito Island where herds of enormous Elephant Seals haul up on the beaches to rest. Males, with huge, pendulous noses they can inflate into a swollen trunk, may rise like giant sandworms (a Dune analogy here) as they jostle each other to establish or maintain a dominance order. Unlike areas in the United States where Elephant Seals haul out, San Benito's seals are often within yards of fishing shacks and getting close, for intimate photography, is not an issue. Safety is, and we'll be careful!

One of the absolute highlights of every Baja trip is our encounter with the Bottlenose and Common Dolphin. Dolphins regularly ride the bow waves generated by a fast moving boat, and our boat captain, Captain Art Taylor, absolutely loves this. At times we've had schools of several HUNDRED dolphins swimming in tandem with our boat, riding the waves and leaping out of the water. It is incredibly exciting, and, in the past, it was a real film burner. Today, with digital, we can only imagine how many frames we'll be firing since the capture rate on jumping dolphins is always incredibly low and disappointing. But it can be done with film -- we've proven that, it's just that we're now looking forward to blasting off images on digital.

Truly one of the most spectacular events we've ever witnessed was a huge school of Common Dolphins swimming en masse, skimming in repetitive leaps that made each dolphin resemble a skipping stone across the sea. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Dolphins were churning the sea. Images from this encounter have been published in several places by a number of photographers on our boat, including one that was a runner-up in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.
Although we'll have an opportunity to snorkel in several places, on one of the last days of our journey we'll have a chance to snorkel at Los Islotes, a California Sea Lion area. Typically we'll have seals swimming about us, zooming in at incredible speeds on a dead-on, crash collision course, only to veer off at the last instant in an arching swoop. If seals laugh, they're doing so, for it is both scary at times and exhilarating. It's always fun.

Fun, and magical. Have you heard of the Green Flash? You'll see it if you don't blink, when at the exact moment the sun dips beneath the horizon the light rays refract in a way that creates a momentary flash of green light. It is subtle and fleeting, and visible only where one has a chance to see the sun set behind the earth's curvature in pristine atmospheric conditions. Of course, the trip is also photographically productive. Unlike our whale trips to Alaska where we may cruise for days before we strike gold and catch Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding, the Baja generally offers something great every day. We'll explore several islands on foot, photographing cactus, lizards, and birds, and we'll have a chance at some real quality shooting of pelicans, frigatebirds, gulls, and, if we're lucky, nesting ospreys.

The trip is limited to 24 people on a boat that can easily sleep 30. If you're interested, inquire ASAP!

If you own a digital camera you will be especially interested in our BONUS and FREE Digital Workshop that we will informally conduct in our 'free' moments. If you do not shoot digital, you might be interested in sitting in and learning what digital is all about. Of course, both FILM and digital shooters are welcome and expected on this trip, but we figured this would be the perfect time and place to help all the digital shooters along. As any film shooter knows, digital photographers have issues!
Whale cruises provide plenty of downtime while sailing or at anchor in the evening and we'll maximize that time to provide you with the basic skills to maximize your digital potential. We'll cover all the basic workflow issues -- importation, creating files, backing up, and organization, and the even more important image editing. We'll be demonstrating one of the most powerful programs for Image Editing and Processing of RAW captured files-- Capture 1, as well as Adobe Photoshop CS's RAW conversion program.
Whale and dolphin photography, and the world of digital imaging, go hand-in-hand in a perfect match. Peak moments when a whale spy-hops or fleeting instantaneous opportunities as a dolphin breaks a wave crest to leap into the air, these times and more are potential 'film' burners, and what better way to inexpensively blast through images than with digital? You'll learn the importance and versatility of shooting in a RAW format and basic image enhancements via Photoshop. Shooting on water often produces canted, sloping horizons, and we'll show you a quick, simple remedy for correcting and leveling those horizons! Tweaking color, increasing saturation, removing unwanted distractions, getting rid of dust, and sharpening an image -- you'll maximize your digital images and you'll learn how.
You'll need to have your own laptop computer and an image processing software program (we recommend Photoshop CS), and if you shoot RAW, you might wish to obtain
Capture 1's RAW conversion program. Free trial downloads are usually offered.

Day 1: San Diego
Travel to San Diego. You will be responsible for getting yourself to the harbor at Fisherman's Landing no later than 7PM. We will board our boat, the Searcher at Fisherman's Landing, and be assembled by 8:00pm for a passenger orientation delivered by the crew and captain of the Searcher. Depart 11:00pm, as we set sail for the south.

Day 2: Islas Todos Santos
This is a sailing day with stops at Ensanada harbor to clear Mexican Customs and Immigration. We'll be cruising along the Todos Santos islands to view nesting seabirds, rocky reef and cliff life, and harbor seal adults and pups. Throughout, we'll be whale watching for migrating gray whales, dolphins, and seabirds aboard the Searcher. This is the area we're most likely to have Pacific white-side dolphins swimming with us, and there's always a chance of hunting Orcas in the area.

Day 3. Islas San Benito
One of the trip highlights, San Benito is home to a huge colony of Northern Elephant Seals. Once very much in danger of extinction, the Elephant Seal has returned en force and virtually every cove and beach has seals. Amazingly, for such a large animal (males can reach over fifteen feet), it's actually easy to overlook and almost trip over a seal sleeping on the beach! We're quite likely to photograph seals fighting dominance bouts, as well as getting close to resting cows and pups. For those with the energy there will be an opportunity to hike to an old lighthouse where, on the sea stacks en route, ospreys often nest. We'll observe nesting birds, such as osprey and ravens, and enjoy unique desert plants.

Day 4-5: Laguna San Ignacio
We'll be spending two days at the most famous and productive lagoon for Gray Whales, Laguna San Ignacio. Whale watching and photography is done from small skiffs, called pangas, which gives us near water-level viewpoints. This is the area where we may have adults investigating our pangas, and mothers with young. It is quite likely that one or more whales will come close enough that you'll actually touch, or pet, their rubbery skin as they swim by. Or you may be showered by 'whale breathe' when one exhales from its blow hole, covering us with a fine mist. Whales, by the way, could use breath mints!

Spy-hopping, where a whale rises vertically out of the water like a Polaris missile to investigate its surroundings before slipping back beneath the sea, and breaching, where adults make huge leaps, are two activities we usually have luck with in San Ignacio. And, of course, we'll be on the lookout for babies!

We'll also have time to explore the area's pristine beaches for macro shots of shells and surf-polished stones, blooming plants, and tidal animals and to observe feeding birds in the mangrove channels.

Day 6: Offshore Bahía Magdalena
We'll spend the day cruising the Pacific around the mouth of Magdalena Bay where marine mammals can be especially common. We'll have a chance at observing and photographing blue and humpback whales, herds of common dolphins, and pelagic seabirds with the rugged peninsula as a truly scenic backdrop for photography

Day 7: Cabo San Lucas & Los Frailes
The Land's End rock formations can be spectacular, as the orange-red rock glows on fire in early morning light. Frigatebirds and pelicans circle the formation in the thermals, creating an almost prehistoric atmosphere. Afterwards, we'll cruise to the Gorda Banks where humpback whales gather. Humpback whales are very acrobatic - spectacular to observe, photograph, and listen to with our underwater microphone. We won't be seeing bubble-net feeding -- that's a summer activity off the coast of Alaska, but we may photograph adults as they breach. Later in the day we'll go ashore at Los Frailes to walk along a beautiful beach and bird watch.

Day 8: Isla San José
Our boat, the Searcher, will arrive at the spectacular red sandstone cliffs of Punta Colorado for photographing at sunrise. On a typical day -- a clear day, the quality of the light is incredible as the rocks catch the first sunrays clearing the earth's curvature. We'll take a skiff ride into a cave and along the cliffs for up-close views of nesting brown and blue-footed boobies, pelicans, yellow-footed gulls, osprey and white-throated swifts. Afterwards we'll take a desert plant and bird walk through an arroyo formed by the scenic red cliffs. Wide-angle and macro possibilities abound, as the cliffs remind one of a flooded Zion -- a particularly odd combination! As the day heats up and we finish our photography we can enjoy snorkeling to observe the tropical fish in the reefs and the sandy coves. For the afternoon, we'll have plenty of time to whale watch for blue, fin and sperm whales, as well as the large pods of bottlenose dolphin that frequent this area.

Day 9: Isla Santa Catalina
This island is famous for the 12-foot "wavy" barrel cactus and the saguaro-like cardon cactus and other desert plants that grow along the canyon, where an early morning walk is an enjoyable option. Birdlife is abundant and we should see and hear cardinals, Gila woodpeckers, ravens, and verdin. Other famous residents include the rare endemic Santa Catalina rattleless rattlesnake and the abundant emerald-tailed lizards. This particular rattlesnake is the only species that lacks a rattle, but otherwise, in every way it is a rattlesnake and a member of the Crotalus genus. I've yet to see one, but I'm hoping to! There will be snorkeling opportunities at this island, where the shallow reefs are home to many species of fish, sea stars, sea fans, and more marine life. Again we'll spend time aboard the Searcher for the afternoon whale watching in this productive area.

Day 10: Nopoló and Islas Los Islotes
In the early morning we'll do some photography and bird watching at one of the Baja's best locations of Nopoló. Later, we'll travel to Los Islotes, two islets with underwater rocky reefs that are used by sea lions as haul-out sites. We'll do skiff rides around the islets to obtain great views of the sea lions, fishes and invertebrates along the reefs, as well as nesting boobies and other birds. For the adventurous, you'll be able to dive in for some great snorkeling among the sea lions!

Day 11: Cabo San Lucas
This is our departure day. We'll disembark the Searcher in Cabo San Lucas at 8:00am. Vans are available for transport to Los Cabos (also called San Jose del Cabo) airport for return flight connections to the U.S. or for a downtown hotel stay in Cabo. Any stay in Cabo San Lucas will be on your own.

Itineraries and schedules subject to change based on weather conditions, captain's discretion, and the uncertainties operating within foreign preserve guidelines.

A quote from Art Taylor, the Searcher's owner/operator: "I've found that there's a common misconception about our late March trips to Baja: many people fear that the whales will be gone. I'm happy to say that that's never been the case! Sure, some of the adult gray whales have left the lagoons to begin their northward migration, but hundreds of mothers and calves remain, and these more mature calves are among the most inquisitive that we've seen. Plus, we see tons (literally!) of other toothed and baleen whale species, which are quite common in Baja this time of year. Another plus for late March trips: we get the benefit of some great weather and warmer water for snorkeling. My advice: don't limit your Baja calendar to our early trips. Late spring in Baja is fantastic!" Art Taylor and Celia Condit

Trip includes:
· All food and beverages (including beer and wine) on the boat, from breakfast on day 1 to breakfast on day 11
· Mexican tourist Visas

Trips does not include:
· Transportation to dock in San Diego
· Flights from Cabo San Lucas back to the States
· T-shirts and other sale items purchased aboard the Searcher

· · A fuel surcharge will be imposed on the charter price only if there is a substantial rise in the cost of fuel. The amount will be determined at the time of departure. As we all know, gasoline and diesel fuel prices have risen significantly in the last few months. While we do not anticipate a surcharge, one could be levied and this will be added to your trip cost at the time of departure and payable at that time.

Trip Requirements:

· Proof of citizenship, a valid passport, is required of each passenger.
· Each participant must sign a Acknowledgement of Risk and Release of Liability form for both McDonald Wildlife Photography and Searcher Natural History Tours prior to joining the tour.

A deposit of $1500 is required at time of registration. Due to the upfront costs of this trip, $500 of the deposit is non-refundable.

Trip Costs:

Cost of the trip is $2975.00 based on a minimum of 18 participants, double-occupancy.

Cost of trip for 15 - 17 registered participants: $3525.00
Cost of trip for 18 - 24 registered participants: $2975.00

Final payment due: November 11, 2004 - 120 days prior to start of trip

Due to the nature of today's travel atmosphere, with the uncertainty of terrorist attacks, rising fuel costs or a sudden crash in the travel industry, we strongly recommend purchasing trip cancellation insurance. An insurance application will be included with the acknowledgement letter to all registrants. Please note, if for any reason, at any time, we have to cancel this trip due to unforeseen terrorist threats and the subsequent lack of registrants, the following cancellation policy applies.

Cancellation policy:
120 days or more before your departure: $500 Cancellation fee.
91-119 days before departure: $500 Cancellation fee, plus $500 for fees charged by suppliers providing services included in your tour.
61-90 days before departure: $500 cancellation fee, plus $1,250 for fees charged by suppliers providing services included in your tour.
60 days or less before departure: No Refunds Available.