We took the trip near the end of January when the whales are known to be in the warm Baja waters. The Cruise West ship, Spirit of Endeavor, explores along the coast of the Sea of Cortez to see the whales and other wildlife, going either from Cabo San Lucas or La Paz. Our departure was from Cabo San Lucas, and to make sure that we got there on time, we flew in a day early and stayed at Casa Natalia in San Jose del Cabo, a small Mexican town about 20 minutes from the airport. A great beginning before a cruise. 

Casa Natalia is a small luxury hotel, 16 rooms, owned by Nathalie and Loic Tenoux, Europeans who moved to San Jose del Cabo and started the hotel after they met there on a business trip. The hotel is a tiny tasteful haven after traveling … well-designed, featuring a waterfall, pool, palm trees, tropical flowers, and art-filled walls. Rooms have hand-plastered walls, hand-hewn wood beams, and are colorful and bright with Mexican tapestries, pillows, art and crafts that capture the feeling of the land. At night candles and torches light the dining room and walkways. In the morning breakfast is brought to your private terrace looking out on the pool. If you can stay longer there is a spa for a massage, facial or aromatherapy wrap. The hotel is on the old town square so we wandered about tree-lined cobblestone streets to see the hundred-year old or more buildings and browse the shops. 

Los Cabos is actually the term for the entire tip of Baja, and literally means The Cape. The next day we went to the much bigger and busier town of Cabo San Lucas where we boarded the Spirit of Endeavor.  

Endeavor had 77 passengers aboard, mostly U.S. and Canadian couples, a few first-time cruisers, but predominantly people who had cruised in small ships previously and loved them, and many dinner conversations were comparing small ship experiences and itineraries. 

That evening we cruised first to the end of the Baja peninsula where the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez meet to see the famous arch at ‘Land’s End’, actually little rocky islands carved out by wave erosion. Then we got fitted for our complimentary snorkel gear and wetsuits, saw our first of spectacular sunsets, and got an overview from the exploration leaders of the days ahead. 

During the night the ship cruised around the Peninsula into the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) and headed northward to the islands we would be exploring.  

We dropped anchor first at the island Isla Espiritu Santo, one of the most diverse in wildlife, we are told, in the Sea of Cortez. Uninhabited, in 2003 the island was set aside as a nature preserve. Tenders took us to the beach where passengers could snorkel, kayak and hike. We went with a small group on a hike with a naturalist to explore and identify the bushes and cacti leading away from the beach and to learn the intricate ways that the desert plants have adapted to the unique conditions. This is one of the islands explored and written about by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts in their books Sea of Cortez and The Log of the Sea of Cortez. It was fun to think that we were looking at the same rocks and tide pools and desert landscape that they had. We saw the weirdly-shaped elephant tree, and agave, prickly pear, galloping cactus, organ pipe cactus and the tall cardon cactus, and signs of the jackrabbits that inhabit the islands.  

These islands are dotted all along the Baja coast and were formed as part of the formation of the Sea of Cortez as Baja split away from mainland Mexico due to tetonic plate activity millions of years ago. There once were volcanic eruptions and massive lava flows. 

Day two began at sunrise because we had to go by bus across the peninsula to the Pacific side to the lagoons of Bahia Magdalena. The sunrise was magnificent, color coming from the sea and streaking against the cliffs of the harbor while waterbirds swooped about over the quiet waters; and it was made even more tranquil because the captain, Jim Armstrong, stopped the engines to allow us to enjoy the silence of the dawn. It was very special, and from then on we got up every morning in time to see the sunrise and experience the quiet stillness without engine noise and feel the beginning of the day. 

After breakfast when the morning mist had cleared we boarded the bus and made our way inland to cross the peninsula over curving hairpin-turn roads, with great views of mountains and more cacti, and with occasional pauses for stray cattle to get out of the road. Mountain peaks (Sierra de la Giganta) are high and rugged, then the landscape changes from mountains to sheep ranches and agriculture areas, then sandy terrain and cacti as far as you can see. 

When we reached the Pacific shore, we boarded outboard skiffs called pangas, six passengers per boat, and headed out into the lagoon of Magdalena Bay where gray whales had been sighted. Every year thousands of gray whales migrate 6,000 miles from the cold waters of the Bering Sea to the warm waters off Baja to give birth and nurture their young. This is what we had come for! 

In about 20 minutes we sighted our first whale, and soon came across many more, sometimes two at a time. Mammoth, awesome. On several occasions the whales were close enough that when they blew, we were caught in the misty spray.

The next day we arrived at sunrise at Isla Coronado, also part of the national marine park. Fishing trawlers and commercial netters are forbidden to come within 20 miles of the shores. The desert island has a sandy beach with an extinct volcano in the background, and more opportunities to hike, explore, snorkel, and kayak. Baja is one of the rare places where desolate desert landscape meets the sea; you can walk off the desert and jump into the sea. In the afternoon we cruised, searching for more whales, but nary one was sighted. 

A town we visited was Loreto, the first Spanish settlement in Baja, established in 1697, the original colonial capital of the area until hit by a hurricane in 1829. The mission there, the ‘mother mission’ for others founded by the Spanish, has been restored and had excellent artifacts. The main village street, cobblestoned, had a series of arches formed from live trees that were an inviting welcome to an area of shops and artisans.  

Day 6 was sea lion day. We woke up anchored off Los Islotes (little islets) where bellowing sea lions basked in the sun and blue-footed boobies and sea gulls kept busy producing so much guano that the rocks look snow-capped. Some of the passengers went by small boats for up-close views of the sea lions and birds; braver ones were snorkeling amid the sea lions. 

The next morning we arrived in La Paz, the current capital, formerly a center for pearl fishing (remember Steinbeck’s The Pearl), now a leading vacation destination for both Mexican and foreign tourists. The Endeavor docked right at the downtown pier for easy shopping access. Scott found a dive boat and scuba-dived back at Los Islotes with the sea lions. 

We disembarked in the morning in La Paz, some of the passengers ending their trip and flying home from here; about one fourth of us went on to Copper Canyon. This meant flying from La Paz to the town of Los Mochis, where we boarded a bus and rode to the town of El Fuerte where we had lunch, a walking tour and spent the night at the charming Hotel Posada del Hidalgo, a former palatial home built around 1900 and filled with lush terraces and antiques. The next morning we boarded a train El Chihuahua al Pacifico, and began the ascent into the Sierra Madre Mountains, with grand views of mountains on the right and a river below, with the train going through 87 tunnels, past waterfalls, and curving through mountain passes. 

That afternoon we left the train and boarded an old-style school bus for a short ride to the Hotel Posada Mirador Barrancas, built on the edge of the canyon, our balconies jutting into the canyon. A few days ago we were at sea level, now we were at almost 8,000 ft. altitude. No more cactus landscape; we now had pine and juniper and two inches of snow on the ground, and were all bundled up in parkas. The lodge had a huge warm fireplace and our rooms had breathtaking panoramic views of Copper Canyon.  

Actually Copper Canyon refers to one canyon; there are several others. A maze of 200 gorges form six massive canyons that together are bigger than the Grand Canyon, and in many places deeper than the Grand Canyon. But the area is remote and not so much heard of or visited. 

Our two days there consisted of drives to lookout points to see various parts of the canyons. Several in the group hiked down to some Indian adobe cabins. This is the land of the Tarahumara Indians, who live in small family groups throughout the remote wilderness country. The men are noted for endurance running, sometimes competing in races of 100 miles. Indeed three boys had raced our train for several minutes as it pulled out of one of the stations on its way up the mountain. 

At the hotel and at every lookout point men sold carvings and women of the tribe, in traditional dress, sold baskets, made of agave strips. We bought as many as we could handle for the trip home, wishing we had space for more. 

Our last day consisted of a long bus ride from Copper Canyon down the mountain, then through ranch land and apple orchards, with stops in the small town of Creel for more purchases, and at a restaurant at an apple farm with the best apple cider we had ever tasted. We reached Chihuahua in midafternoon in time to visit Pancho Villa’s house. 

We overnighted at the Hotel Westin Soberano in Chihuahua, a bustling city in contrast to the remote areas we had been visiting. Out of jeans and sweatshirts, now not such a motley crew, we met for a Mexican folkloric show from a nearby dance school and a final dinner before heading home in the morning. 

Fares for the cruise include taxes and port charges. Dress is totally casual, a sweater at dinner the dressiest thing in sight. The Copper Canyon extension includes plane, train, hotels and meals.

 

 Book a Spirit of  Endeavor cruise click here.