May 24 - 31 \ June 2 - 9, 2025
Baja California Sur
marine exploration
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Have you ever swum in a sea where, in such a short time, your eyes could observe orcas, blue whales, whale sharks, dolphins, sperm whales, turtles, hammerhead sharks, Mako sharks, sailfish, sunfish, and much, much more? Jacques Cousteau called it the aquarium of the world. After several years of research, I have finally realized this incredible naturalistic experience, a true photographic expedition in full respect of the living beings we will discover together. I will take you inside the secret treasure of the Sea of Cortez, where every day we will leave very early aboard our private boat in search of marine life. During this time of year, one of the most spectacular natural events in the entire underwater world can be observed, the migration of the Mobulas, where it will be possible to see the gigantic aggregations of the smallest species, the Munk’s devil ray, a protected species where the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the conservation status of the Munk’s devil ray as ‘vulnerable’ due to global warming; The Munk’s devil ray was first described in 1987 by the Italian ecologist Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara and named in honor of his scientific mentor, Walter Munk. Their enormous aggregations are due to the need to reach these food-rich waters to feed, where there is a lot of plankton, coming from the great depths through the phenomenon of upwelling, the rise of deep waters towards the coast, the natural phenomenon where cold ocean currents rise to the surface. In addition to feeding, the Mobulas will begin the mating phases, where under the surface it will be possible to observe the vortices formed by hundreds of thousands of specimens, a unique spectacle in the world, observing the great twists will be our priority. Get ready to experience one of the most spectacular experiences of your life.
We will meet directly at the destination, I will personally pick you up at La Paz airport, it will take about forty minutes of driving to reach La Ventana, where we will be based for the next nine days. The day will be dedicated to settling in, setting up the photographic equipment, and a bit of healthy relaxation after the long journey. We will have the opportunity to get to know each other, and the magnificent ecosystem of this extraordinary place will be explained to you.
At seven in the morning, right after the first light of dawn, we will head out to sea aboard our private boat. We will immediately start searching for the large aggregations of mobulas, where it will be possible to spot them directly from the surface with their acrobatic jumps; their jumps can exceed four meters in height. Spotting them won’t be difficult, you’ll see with your own eyes. The Sea of Cortez will delight us every day with its extraordinary surprises, the area we can explore will be quite vast with some very interesting points of interest, such as Le Reine, a rock in the middle of the sea that hosts a lovely colony of sea lions, where it will be possible to do both snorkeling and diving depending on the needs. When we are on board, all the procedures and various phases of how to enter the water depending on what we will encounter at sea will be explained to you. It is necessary to listen and follow the guidelines indicated for the utmost respect for marine fauna and other people on board. On board, we will be served a classic Mexican lunch, you will see that we will not let you miss anything. We will return to base in the early afternoon, where it will be possible to relax after all those hours at sea and start viewing our first shots to begin our post-production sessions, for all photographers it will be necessary to bring their own computer with installed programs (Photoshop\Light Room). If you like Mexican cuisine, I know some super cute restaurants to delight our palates. In the evening we will always have free time, it will be my pleasure to show you nice spots where to dine and enjoy the sunset.
We have a total of 8 days on a private boat, and every morning we will be picked up directly in front of our lodges. Based on our needs, we will decide the schedules; sometimes it will be necessary to wake up early, other times we will leave later to stay at sea until sunset. The days at sea will develop more or less in the same way; we go out, start the search phase, and as we discover the beauties of the Sea of Cortez, we will dedicate the right amount of time to them. The locals all have radios and always communicate the position in case someone spots something interesting. The mobulas will be our guardian angels and will accompany us throughout these wonderful days at sea. Our naturalistic experience will be based precisely on an intense search for marine fauna, so be prepared because a lot of energy will be needed; the sea requires excellent physical condition.
You will see that you will not regret it, your only concern will be when the day comes to return home at the end of these wonderful moments of sharing.
Today we will not go out to sea; it’s time to tidy things up and transfer to La Paz airport for the flight back home. I am sure that many of you will postpone the flight; getting an open ticket to have the possibility to change the departure date could be a smart move. If needed, I will give you maximum support and assistance to get you back to sea again.
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