Welcome to Baja California Sur!
Today you'll arrive at the airport in San Jose del Cabo where you will be met by your guides for the 2.5 hour transfer to La Paz and Hotel Catedral. You'll get settled into your hotel then head out for a welcome dinner and trip briefing with your guides. Let the fun begin!
Engage in Local Conservation Efforts in La Paz
Efecto Arena and Las Guardianas are two local conservation groups that are part of a paradigm shift in the way conservation work is getting done in Baja. Local groups like these are taking the lead on preserving their natural patrimony and way of life, no longer interested in having outside groups tell them how things should be done. The NGOs are taking note, and working to support their incredible work in different ways than in previous years, taking their cues from the wisdom of these groups rather than the other way around.
Today we'll engage in hands-on activities with Efecto Arena and Las Guardianas:
Efecto Arena: We'll start off the day by participating in Efecto Arena's coral restoration project. Efecto Arena retrieves coral fragments from busy dive sites and replants them to help keep the sites healthy. Our program today includes a discussion of corals and their importance to ocean health, then we actually get to help plant coral fragments in beds, see the coral nursery and snorkel to see where they grow. It's totally cool!
Las Guardianas. There's a recent film about women in politics titled Bad Ass Women Doing Kick Ass Shit, and Las Guardianas qualify for that title! They are a group of amazing local women who have reclaimed their local mangroves from the drug dealers/poachers/driveby lovers/trash dumpers, cleaned them up, made them a public space where women feel safe to walk and where they are restoring not only the mangroves but their bivalve population of scallops and oysters. They have run off the poachers, learned how to scuba dive (fishing here is done by diving) and have turned around their neighborhood and local economy in a way that others couldn't. This afternoon we'll spend some time with them, learn their stories, walk the mangrove area and share a meal.
Camp Cuevas!
Camp Cuevas is TOSEA's program with the famous Cuevas Family of El Pardito in the Sea of Cortez. The Cuevas brothers Juan and Felipe are 4th generation shark hunters who have turned their unique marine life knowledge and tracking skills into a wildlife protection program. Juan and Felipe will accompany the group on this 4 day/3-night program and share their extraordinary, bred-in-the-bone knowledge of the islands, the Sea of Cortez and its many diverse inhabitants. We will go with them to find hammerheads, swim with sea lions, night snorkel in bioluminescence and meet the large population of Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Turtles in the mangroves near their home that first inspired their journey into conservation. Our camp is on a secluded beach on the breathtakingly beautiful Isla San Jose where we enjoy chef-prepared meals, daily happy hour, large dome tents with real beds, and plenty of kayaking and paddle boarding. A dreamy retreat into the luxury of nature – with some of its most passionate protectors.
Today we'll depart La Paz in the morning for the beautiful boat ride to El Pardito. There the extended Cuevas family will welcome us with a lunch and your guides will give a program orientation. In the afternoon we'll transfer to our secluded camp on a beautiful beach of nearby Isla San Jose. Afternoon activities could include a hike, snorkeling and most certainly happy hour and a chef-prepared dinner. Pure island bliss.
Camp Cuevas
We'll start the day with a fantastic breakfast at camp, followed by a trip to Las Animas, a local seamount that attracts hammerhead sharks, fur seals and a vast array of other wildlife that we don't always see elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez. We'll enjoy a fabulous morning of marine life encounters with the Cuevas brothers sharing their deep knowledge of the area. We'll have a nice lunch and siesta at camp, then a wonderful kayak paddle in the afternoon along the coast of the island, taking in the incredible geological features of the island and the spectacular birdlife. Happy hour awaits us upon our return, followed by dinner. Stargazing tonight (and every night!)
Camp Cuevas
This morning we'll take in one more great activity from camp, maybe a hike, maybe some paddleboarding, maybe more kayaking - we'll see how we feel! After lunch Juan and Felipe will escort us to their home on El Pardito where we'll jump in the kayaks there and head to the lush mangroves near their home where they will introduce us to the population of Eastern Hawksbill turtles that they discovered and have been protecting from poachers ever since. They had the mangroves declared a no-catch area for fishermen as part of their effort to aid the recovery of fish stocks and species in the Sea of Cortez. They will be sharing their journey from hunters to conservationists along the way.
This evening Juan and Felipe's mother will lead a tortilla-making class and host us for dinner with the family. Afterwards we'll go night snorkeling with the Cuevas family and check out the bioluminescence. A truly spectacular day.
Camp Cuevas / Return to La Paz
We'll have one final breakfast at Camp Cuevas then transfer to La Paz via boat with wildlife viewing along the way. We'll be back in La Paz around 12:30 PM, have lunch, then check into Hotel Catedral. This afternoon we’ll enjoy a walking tour of the murals of La Paz that tell the local stories. Free time for exploration and shopping then dinner at a great local restaurant.
Camp Cecil de la Sierra and the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve
Camp Cecil de la Sierra is a luxury tent camp in the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve of Baja California Sur. It is on the property of the Rosas Family, who are leaders in preserving Baja's ranchero culture through ecotourism. The patriarch, Don Cata, is a one of the most widely known and respected curanderos, or healers in Baja, as well as a famed leather artisan, and wild pig and bull hunter (no guns involved). The matriarch, Doña Luz, runs the ranch and the kitchen, and their son Rogelio is at the forefront of organizing Baja Sur's rancheros to actively conserve and expand their way of life. The family is an integral part of the experience of the Camp Cecil de la Sierra experience. Don Cata conducts leather working workshops, Doña Luz conducts tortilla-making classes and their ranch provides most of the meat, cheese, and produce for the camp. Rogelio and Don Cata are always happy to share their knowledge of medicinal plants.
The Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is one of Baja´s most beautiful but least explored areas. Part of an island off the coast of Baja 10 million years ago, the Reserve is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. Reflecting it's long history of island isolation, almost 25% of plants and 10% of animals found in the Reserve are endemic to the area, i.e, they are not found anywhere else on the planet. Activities at the camp include beautiful hikes in the reserve, swim in watering holes and picnic by waterfalls. There is fantastic birding in the early mornings, amazing star gazing at night, and plenty of opportunities to interact with the ranch family and work with them making cheese, tortillas and other products in the traditional manner. You can also just hang out in the shade of the trees and enjoy the books in the library, perhaps while sipping a margarita.
Perhaps we'll start the day with some birding around camp early in the morning, enjoy an amazing ranch breakfast, then head out for a great hike through the mountains, taking in some spectacular views. Upon our return we can enjoy a dip in a mountain pool, then take a leather-working workshop and/or tortilla-making class with Don Cata and Doña Luz. Afterwards we can indulge in happy hour, followed by a great ranch dinner prepared by our chef. And if you're awake late enough, we'll enjoy the stars in the clear mountain air. A magnificent day.
Say adios but not good-bye. Breakfast then transfer to the airport, about a 90 minute drive.
