We departed on our whale watching tour around 0800 amidst chilly morning in a dense fog. Our boat captain said that the weather here is either windy and choppy or calm and foggy in the bay, so I was happy we had the latter. Magdalena Bay is the 2nd largest bay on the Pacific Coast and measures 32 miles long. There are two main bays in Mexico that serve as the birthing grounds for 90% of the ocean's grey whales. The reason I planned this trip this time of year is that the grey whales start arriving in Mexico in December and January and give birth mid to late January to their 16 ft long calves. The whales come to the bay because it is a warm and protected place that is devoid of their two ... read more

We booked a full day snorkel and boat tour through Hector and left about 1030 after having a morning jog along the malecon. We boarded a boat on Pichilingue beach, one of the many gorgeous caribbean blue and white sandy beaches on the peninsula about a half an hour to the north of La Paz. We took the boat from Pichilingue out to Isla Espirtu Santo, which is a world UNESCO heritage site because of the many ruins and artifacts left from the Pichilingue Indians that inhabited this area a few thousand years ago. Our boat ride was about 1 1/2 hrs past the north island Isla Partida to Isla Lobos – essentially sea lion rock. We passed scenery that if I was dropped here with my eyes closed I would swear I was on Lake ... read more

Jacques Cousteau described the Sea of Cortez as the "aquarium of the world" due to it's large concentration of sea creatures ranging from tiny reef fish, great white sharks, enormous Humboldt squid, and whale sharks as well as five of the world's seven types of sea turtles and several types of whales. John Steinbeck also visited the area and described the area around Cabo Pulmo "clinging to the coral, growing on it, burrowing into it, was a teeming fauna...one small piece of coral might conceal 30 or 40 species and the colors on the reef were electric." We headed to breakfast after being sleep deprived the previous night due to our work schedules and sleeping for almost 12 hrs despite some roosters crowing in the distance. We met with our dive group and launched off the ... read more

After a few fitful hours of sleep and numerous bites from either mosquitoes, bedbugs or most likely both, we stumbled out of bed and quickly left in search of clean sit down bathrooms and coffee. We followed the recommendations for the Lonely Planet “1 day in Bangkok” walking tour and barely made it one block before a Swiss girl invited herself to be our company for the day. She also was in the midst of a multi-month tour all by herself throughout SE Asia like everyone we have met. We walked to the Royal Palace, one of the most famous of all the sights in the city and home to the Emerald Buddha. We all opted out to go inside after seeing the admission was $15, when all else was only a dollar or two. Really ... read more

For our last full day on the island we booked a 3 dive full day trip with Island Divers ($137). We have never done 3 dives in a single day, the normal day is 2, but we hated to miss out on anything by opting out after we heard there have been some recent Whale Shark sightings. We left at 0730 and rode 1 ½ hours to the King Cruiser wreck site through the roughest seas I have been on. I struggled not to get seasick so early in a long day as the boat pitched back and forth, practically capsizing as far as I was concerned. Entering and exiting the boat was a treacherous affair, but once we were in under the water it was calm and peaceful. The King Cruiser lies in 70 ft. ... read more