Baja: Where Desert Meets the Sea

Wednesday, February 1, 2017 – Arrive in Cabo, Mexico
Welcome to Baja! Bordered by both the wild Pacific Ocean and the protected Sea of Cortez, this finger-like desert peninsula is a haven for exotic plants, birds and animals (both terrestrial and marine), and is home to friendly and welcoming people.

Your guide will greet you at the San Jose del Cabo airport (SJD) and transfer you to Los Colibris Casitas in Todos Santos. Tonight’s Welcome Dinner and trip briefing is at Santo Vino, Chef Dany Lamote’s “love letter to Baja.”

At Santo Vino Bistro, Chef Dany Lamote has created an intimate dining space in the traditional style of a European bistro. He will transport you to the comfortable elegance of Baja food with his own creative, culinary twists. Fusing different cultures and knowledge into unique inspirational recipes, he lovingly takes traditional Mexican recipes and then personalizes and adapts them by mixing in his life experiences…and you, the diner, win! What better way to begin your week in Baja!
Welcome Dinner

Overnight at Los Colibris Casitas in Todos Santos
www.loscolibris.com
Los Colibris—The Hummingbirds—is located in Todos Santos, just a ten-minute walk from the area’s beautiful beaches. The property features two big casas (houses) and two casitas (little houses). Each building is configured and decorated in a unique way. The accommodations all include a kitchen or kitchenette with appliances, a dining area, a balcony, porch or patio, ceiling fans, and lovely views of the Pacific Ocean and lagoon.

Thursday, February 2 – Tortilla Making Class / Surfing / Punta Lobos / Cooking Class
Todos Santos is an undiscovered gem, back-dropped by the Sierra de Laguna Mountains and rimmed with gorgeous beaches and lush gardens. It’s an official Pueblo Magico, one of Mexico’s 50 off-the-beaten-path towns known for their “magical ambiance.”

Start off your first day with a terrific Mexican breakfast prepared by Los Colibris Chef Iker Algorri, then move straight into a tortilla-making class to ensure that you have plenty of tortillas on hand for your cooking class tonight.

It’s then time to hit the waves at beautiful Playa Los Cerritos, one of the best surf breaks in Baja, where veteran instructors guarantee that you’ll ride the waves – at least for a moment! A spectacular crescent of sand, Los Cerritos is one of the best surf breaks in Baja. And with a smooth, sandy bottom and small waves breaking close to shore, it is the perfect place to introduce beginners to the joy of surfing. Haven’t you always wanted to try this??!!

After a delicious picnic lunch on the beach, and once everyone has had a chance to shower off, head to Playa Punta Lobos to greet the local fishermen as they come in with the daily catch. There, Chef Iker will instruct the group on the local fish and how he makes his buying decisions, and of course purchase the fish for the cooking class to follow. Then it’s back to Iker’s Colibris Café at Los Colibris Casitas to learn how to make the perfect margarita and Punta Lobos Fish Stew. A perfect Baja day!
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight at Los Colibris Casitas in Todos Santos

Friday, February 3 – Isla Espiritu Santo and the Sea of Cortez Adventure
Espiritu Santo National Park in the Sea of Cortez is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of the best marine life viewing destinations in the world. Whales, dolphins, whale sharks, sea turtles, manta rays, and plenty of beautiful tropical fish call the surrounding waters home, while a terrific range of bird species including Blue-footed Boobies, Reddish Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and Yellow-footed Gulls frequent the island’s skies and shores. The island itself is stunning, with magnificent towering cliffs, spectacular sandy bays, amazing lava rock formations, and rock art left by the now-extinct Guaycura and Pericu Indians. There’s even an endemic ring-tailed cat, the babisuri. It’s a remarkable place to explore.

You’ll spend the next two days kayaking, snorkeling, whale watching, hiking, swimming with whale sharks (if they are here), stand up paddle boarding, bird watching, and exploring hidden lagoons and desert beaches. Swimming with sea lions is magical, with unforgettable nose-to-nose encounters. Grab some snorkel gear provided and jump in with them.

The Sea of Cortez is home to 39% of the world´s total number of marine mammal species, a third of the world´s marine cetacean species, and 891 fish species. Jacques Cousteau once called it the “Aquarium of the World” and “the Galapagos of North America.” It really IS a treasure trove of marine vitality!

You will LOVE our base camp on one of the island´s most beautiful beaches! It features walk-in safari-style tents with twin beds, mattresses, pillows, sheets, and lamps. The accommodations are so comfortable and beautiful that you won’t want to leave. This is GLAMPING (glamorous camping) at its best! There is a kitchen tent where the on-site chef makes wonderful meals for you every day, and there is a separate tent for the sun showers. There’s even little cabañas for the compost toilets.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight Glamping on the Beach!

Saturday, February 4 – Isla Espiritu Santo and the Sea of Cortez Adventure
Today you’ll continue our exploration and fantastic activities on Espiritu Santo Island.

Late Saturday afternoon you will return to shore and La Paz, a laid-back little city that is draped along a beachfront boulevard, the Malecon. Old colonial buildings, small markets and relaxing cafes make it perhaps the most “Mexican” city on the Baja.

Spend tonight at the Seven Crown La Paz, and have dinner at a terrific local joint on the Malecon, El Bismarkcito – a La Paz institution. Listed as one of the Top 3 Restaurants in La Paz, it grew from a small taco stand to one of the most notorious restaurants in La Paz. Located right on the Malecon, it specializes in Mexican seafood dishes (and they only buy sustainable locally-caught fish).
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight at Seven Crown La Paz Centro Hotel
http://www.sevencrownhotels.com/english/our-hotels/seven-crown-la-paz-centro/
The Seven Crown La Paz Centro Hotel is located in downtown La Paz, Baja California Sur, just two blocks from the Malecon. The hotel features 50 guest rooms and suites, a swimming pool, wireless internet, and exceptional service.

Sunday, February 5 – Magdalena Bay (Bahia Magdalena)
On Sunday morning you’ll drive the four hours from La Paz to Magdalena Bay, the largest wetlands ecosystem on the west coast of Baja and one of the most important in North America. The World Wildlife Fund ranks it as one of the most important coastal habitats in Mexico. Magdalena Bay also has mangrove forests, barrier beaches, and sand dune islands, all of which contribute to the incredible scenery and biological diversity of the area. The Bay is also the prime calving ground for the gray whale, and January to March it is possible to see – and often pet – a large number of whales, including mothers and calves.

On the way to Magdalena Bay, stop for lunch at one of the delicious local restaurants, then head out onto the water for three hours of interacting with whales. Highly experienced local staff will ferry you through the waters of Magdalena Bay to whale watch from motorized skiffs, perfect conveyances from which to have a “whale’s eye view” of the Great Grays!

The Gray whale is the largest animal to have ever exhibited friendliness towards humans. There is little to compare with the experience of closely observing a mother nurse her calf, or seeing juveniles leaping exuberantly out of the water. They frolic, breach, spyhop, and lobtail, while spouting heart-shaped clouds of mist into the cool midday air. The young calves are especially curious, following and sometimes even nuzzling up to the whale-watching skiffs. Sometimes they catch a ride on their mother’s backs!

Each year California Gray whales migrate an astonishing 12,000 miles, round trip, from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, to their winter home in the warm Pacific lagoons of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. In the quiet Baja waters, they give birth to their one-ton calves who must then grow and learn the skills necessary for survival before making the return journey to the Arctic the following Spring. This gray whale migration is beyond compare in the mammalian world!

After communing with the whales, have dinner and spend the night either in San Carlos or Lopez Mateos at a simple hotel on the waterfront.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight at a waterfront hotel (to be determined)

Monday, February 6 –Magdalena Bay (Bahia Magdalena)
This morning you’ll head back out onto the water for another three hours of whale watching, then return to Todos Santos and Los Colibris Casitas, where you will enjoy a final Baja sunset from your patio or balcony, and end your spectacular week with a Farewell Dinner at the fabulous Restaurante La Casita Tapas and Wine Bar. One reviewer said   “…each dish exceeds in every way what taste buds expect of well concentrated and carefully prepared dishes. ‘Succulent’ as a description doesn’t do the food justice. Think ‘excellent’ and you’ll be close.”
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight at Los Colibris Casitas in Todos Santos

Tuesday, February 7 – Say adios but not good-bye!
After breakfast you will be transferred to airport, where flights should not be booked earlier than 12:00 noon.
Breakfast