Good evening from La Paz

Today was our last full day in paradise. We started the day bright and early with an egg and cheese quesadilla breakfast. After breakfast, we celebrated Coco’s Birthday (our chef) before heading back to our tents to finish packing and break down our tents. All too soon it was time to say adios to our home for the last week. As we boarded the boat, we headed out on an hour and a half boat ride searching for whale sharks. During our travels we came across a pod of dolphins who kept us company on our journey for a while. When we finally found the whale sharks, we split into 3 groups of 5; each group jumped in as the whale shark glided along. We did our best to keep up with them but our little legs were no match for the 15 foot whale shark. Even still it was a cool experience to be able to swim next to one of the largest marine mammals. As we were getting ready to return to the hotel we spotted a school of mobula rays. We jumped in and carefully swam alongside them marveling at the creatures we saw jumping along the horizon all week. When we finally made it back to the mainland we ate a quick picnic style lunch at the marina before checking in at the Hyatt and taking long awaited showers. Once everyone was showered and refreshed, we met in the lobby to begin our adventure into town. In town, we stopped at a local coffee shop, supermarket and a handful of artisan stores to shop for souvenirs. After shopping, we walked to Rancho Viejo, a local restaurant, for a delicious family style dinner. After dinner, we walked down along the Malecon (boardwalk) and finished our evening in paradise with some ice cream at sunset.

Back in La Paz

Hello Everyone!

We are back in La Paz.  All is well.  When we can figure out where our offline blog posts are, we will update the blog and add some pictures!

As you can see, everyone had sun and fun!  All have many great stories of their adventures.  Tonight we are touring La Paz for dinner and some shopping.

Our Day with Sea Lions

Today we got to take a glimpse into the magical world of sea lions. We snorkeled with them twice today, the first time we went out the sea lions were very playful. One of the sea lions followed us the whole time we were snorkeling; he brought us gifts of sea shells, feathers and some seaweed. When we went out after lunch the sea lions were a little less playful, I think we interrupted their nap time. But there were a couple that came out to play with us, they were just as curious of us as we were around them; they kept nibbling on our wet suits, fins and even our hands. This was definitely a once in a life time opportunity. -Ashlee

Today one of my dreams came true. I got to snorkel with wild sea lions… real, live sea lions. The first time we went out in the morning, one of the yearlings attached itself to my snorkel group for the whole hour and a half we were in the water. He brought us things to show off like a feather, some seaweed and sea shells. He snuck up behind me and nibbled on my fins twice. The second time we went out in the afternoon the sea lions were all napping but some of the yearlings woke up to come play with us. I got my wetsuit bit, just like a puppy would bit on your jacket. It was a dream come true to swim with the dogs of the sea. -Candace

For the first time in my life, I got to witness one of the events i’ve only ever seen on Animal Planet.  I got to snorkel in the clear blue water, with sea lions. The morning snorkel was the most eventful, with a single juvenile sea lion following our snorkel group.  He would swim all around us and appeared to dance under the water with us. At one point he swam in front of me and mouthed my hand like a puppy would. He stayed for a minute or so before splashing me, then going off to play with somebody else in our group.   This was an experience unlike any other I’ve had in my life, and I look forward to doing something like this in the future. -Trinity

Today was one of the greatest moments of my life. I was able to go snorkeling today with the sea lions and not just one. This morning I was so excited to be snorkeling with the sea lions but i was only expecting to be close but instead I was able to actually pet them and play with them as well. In the group that I was in, one sea lion decided to come visit us. This sea lion swam with us through the whole snorkeling session, playing with us and also would bring us different types of objects as gifts such as feathers and shells. As we headed to the boat one of the baby sea lions followed us and I decided to stay back and swim around with it. The next part that happens just blows my mind, The sea lion comes up to me and comes into my arms. I began to hold the sea lion in my arms and after awhile it started to swim between my arms while also blowing bubbles in my face. This will be one of the best moments and memories ever. -Alec

Early this morning and late this afternoon, I got to get eye to eye with the amazing California Sea lion. This has by far been one of the best moments and first experiences of my life. When I first got the word about the sea lions and that we would be swimming with them, I immediately smiled and got super excited. On our first adventure out to their colony, Los Islotes, I brought my go-pro and was able to catch some incredible videos and pictures of the sea lions along with the vast variety of fish that were around too. Near the end of our first hour and half snorkel, we came across a couple very friendly and playful juvenile sea lions and they were doing flips and nibbling on our fingers. We went back for a quick lunch and then right back at it at 3 for the sea lions again, but this time I did not want to bring my go-pro and I was focused more on interacting with them. The sea lions did not fail and were all over us from the minute we got into the water. This experience was definitely one that will stick with me forever and I cant wait until I get another opportunity to do it again! --Tanner L.

Today I did something that I never thought I would be able to do. I swam with sea lions, and it was magical. When we first got in the water I was so afraid of being bitten by a bull, or an angry female. But these sea lions were absolute water dogs. The baby sea lions kept coming up to us to play. I was really glad that I wore gloves though. It felt like teething puppies, but with much more force. All I had to do was put out my hand and wiggle my fingers and they would nibble on them. They also thought that my fins were toys to play with and chew on. Once I found the baby sea lions I was no longer afraid of anything bad happening. These sea lions weren’t looking for something to eat, they were looking for something to play with, and I’m glad that they chose me. One baby sea lion was chewing on my flipper and I waved out my fingers and it was so cool to have it swim up my body and basically hug me. They were sooo soft, and their eyes were so big. They were the definitely the cutest thing in the water, and I will never forget my new water friends. -Sydney

Every day of this trip as been amazing, but today I was able to snorkel with sea lions, not once, twice. Many babies swam with us, playing as soon as they saw one of us. They bit our hands (not too hard) like cute dogs. They are very soft and they have big sweet eyes. I’m so glad I came here and got to see some of the most incredible animals. -Irene

The sea lions have to be in my opinion the pinnacle of this trip.  They represent all the ocean has to offer. These mammals group in small packs around an island and many jump into the water to great the boat as we pulled up.  The first encounter i had was a pup swimming up to me at ramming speed. It was scary and funny at the same time as the pup was wide eyed and barking. This sea lion would follow us around the entire island as we snorkeled.  When we came back there was less playful pups and more large roaring males. We watched them wrestle with each other and bark out there feelings. These sea lions showed me that there is a whole entire world just under the water.  -Zach

As this being my first year in the club, this trip has been amazing. Today was a special day for all of us. We got to see and snorkel with sea lions. As we got to their island, they started to bark at us but as we got in the water and get closer to them, the juveniles came in and swam around us. We got to rub their bellies and have them nibble on our hands. Something I never thought I would do. But it was an amazing experience to have that happen. We also got to see adult male sea lions fight it out and bark at one another over territory (a rock).  Something that always startled me was when a giant male swam from underneath me or the two giant males fight right below me. It was scary but amazing. Today was the best day out of the trip so far and I’m glad I joined this club and had such a great experience with friends all around me. - David

Today was the highlight of the trip so far. I was able to check an activity off of my bucket list which was to touch a wild sea lion. I was able to do this multiple times today after two snorkels at Los Islotes here in the bay of La Paz. During the first snorkel my snorkel group had a juvinile sea lion follow and play with us for an hour around part of Los Islotes. It repeatedly came up to me and toothed on my hand and brought up shells to play with from the depths. During the second snorkel on the opposite side of Los Islotes it took a while for the sea lions to decide that they wanted to play with us. After about ten minutes we found a playful juvenile. After playing with the little guy for a few minutes we realized that the poor thing had a fish hook and line hanging out of his mouth. After he left we carried on for a little while until we found another playful sea lion. This time the mom came into the water and we noticed a ring around its neck, come to find out it was a gill net stuck around its neck. It was then that I came to realize that to feed ourselves we harm other magnificent creatures. All in all it was a great learning experience that I will remember for the rest of my life -Mike

Sea Lion Preview

The morning started with breakfast at 8 a.m., which consisted of fried eggs, bean dip, cheese quesadillas, and goat cheese with onion, all of which was delicious.   After we ate, we suited up and went out for a snorkel at Los Meullocitos(which translates to little docks, lost in translation there as there were little ducks). We saw a wide variety of beautiful sea creatures, such as parrot fish, moorish idols, crown of thorns sea stars, urchins, and even a octopus that Mike found hiding under a rock. Mike got free reign of the food on the boat after that!  Even though the water was cold many of us were jumping of the boat for fun just to stay in the deep blue water. When all of us finally stayed on board we returned to the camp for some lunch and R&R. The rest was needed because we headed out to sea in our kayaks with our sense of adventure. We stayed along the coast line observing the rock formations left over from the volcanic days of the island. This path took us to a island littered with male sea lions barking away.  We took a row around the island to see them jump off the rocks and swim up to our kayaks.

After this, we went back along the coast to venture around the caves and crevices formed by the ocean waves.  Some features were large enough that caves were formed and kayaks could venture inside to see little crabs scurrying along the rock walls.  It looked like a disney ride as a single file line of kayaks passed through caves and arch-ways along the shore. After rowing for another 30-45 minutes, we disembarked onto the larger boat to go observe a nursery island for sea lions, called Los Islotes.  The babies played in the water as their mothers lounged on the rocky shores. The big males roared out to their harems occasionally. On our way back to the camp we stopped to observe nearby jumping Mobulas, and we were even able to catch a slow motion video of them leaping out of the water.  We enjoyed the rest of the short boat ride back to the island, anticipating our upcoming dinner.

Before dinner, we got to enjoy some ceviche, or as Mrs. Brosnick calls it, “Mexican sushi”.  

Zach and Trinity

A Day of Land and Sea

Today we went hiking in the desert a few miles away from camp during which we saw white, black, red and sweet mangroves.  We also learned where each one grows. We also learned that they are nurseries for birds and most fish species that we eat.  Once we entered the desert, we learned about cacti including prickly pear, cardons, agave, and the salt wart.

After the hike, we ate lunch and then went snorkeling in El Coralito.  We saw at least 2 dozen species of fish including parrotfish, Sergeant majors, king angels and Cortez round rays.  We also saw some invertebrates such as sea urchins, sun stars and the crown of thorns star.

Next, we went to and old pearl farm from the early 1900’s.  On the way we saw green sea turtles, two bottle nosed dolphins and a few hundred frigate birds.  Once we reached the pearl farm, we found artifacts such as nets, nets, cans and bolts. We also saw fossilized oyster shells in piles next to where the native Indians had a look post in the mountains.  On the way back to the camp, we saw mobula rays jumping out of the water.

Next we had a spaghetti dinner during we a research team did a presentation on mobula rays.  After dinner we went into our bay in search of mobula rays, but only saw one. At the boat we saw needle fish, balloon puffer fish, Cortez round rays, crabs and billions of plankton and krill.  It was a great way to capture an amazing day in Baja.

Mike and Alec

Our First Snorkel

After breakfast we went to get fitted for our wetsuits and snorkel gear.  Then we took a 2 hour boat ride from La Paz to Isla Partida. On our way to the camp we saw a white little island called    Caca. That means poop island. It is called this because of all of the birds. We also saw two female sea lions playing in the waves.  Before lunch we had some free time on the island that each of spent in our own way: kayaking and napping. Lunch consisted of fresh fish or beef tacos with tortillas.

    After lunch we got our snorkel gear on and practiced in the water with our snorkel buddy.  We went snorkeling in the bay of our beach. We saw many different and colorful kinds of fish.  We even held three different kinds of starfish, urchins and sea cucumbers. The water was cold but the temperature varied depending on the microclimate. Thanks to our wetsuits we didn’t freeze. We reached the boat and peeled off our suits. (It sounds easy but it is not). We watched for marine mammals for about two hours. We didn’t see any but we did see Mobula rays jumping and flipping in the water.  There was also a manta ray that came right on the side of the boat.

    We came back to the boat and we had about an hour of free time to shower (an experience)   Then we had dinner at 7:30 which was chicken and amazing cheesecake for dessert. Coco’s cheesecake is delicious. We journaled and ended our day with star gazing, walking on the beach and being scared by black long tailed cats called babisuri.  

Irene and Sydney

Day 2 Puerto Lopez Mateos: A Whale of A Tale

Good Evening from the Hyatt Place,

Today we started with a early wake up at 5:45 to catch a quick breakfast before we went on our four hour journey to Puerto Lopez Mateos for a whale watch. Half way through the journey, we stopped at a gas station called Oxxo. There, all of us grabbed a quick snack and some of us got the chance to pay with U.S. currency and get pesos back in change (1 U.S. dollar = 18.25 pesos). Then we continued our journey and finally arrived at Magdelena Bay two hours later. From there we went on two separate motor boats and made our way to the birthing grounds of the wonderful Grey Whales. Right as we got to that area, we spotted a baby whale and her mom surfacing. For the next few hours we chased whales to try get a kiss, but sadly they fled from the bay to the Pacific Ocean were it is too dangerous for us to follow. During this chase we got the chance to see two Sea Lions which we were led to believe were following the whales. After the whale chase, we shored at an endless barrier island full of sand dunes. We then made our way back to shore and headed to lunch. We went to Baja Mar where we were served Halibut, fried shrimp and spiny lobster tails (Yes Mom and Dad we tried it all). After that delicious lunch, we made our way back to La Paz, which was four hours. To finish the day off, we stopped at Dairy Queen and got a cold delicious cone which we asked for in Spanish and went back to the hotel to settle down and relax for the night. Tomorrow we start our day to the remote island at 8 am......

Tanner and David trying lobster for the first time!

Tanner and David