SKA Blog

Orcas and the San Juan Islands became synonymous for many North Americans due to the widely publicized killer whales that live in these waters. ­ However, many people don’t realize that a much larger population of salmon-eating orcas congregate just a couple hundred miles north of the San Juan Islands, in Vancouver Island’s northern Inside Passage in British Columbia, Canada. These “Northern Resident Orcas” number over 200 strong – more than twice the size of the population found in the San Juan Islands – and with a territory much more feasible to kayaking with orcas. From mid-July through mid-September, most pods congregate within a 40 mile channel following salmon runs in the world’s best-kept-secret orca-viewing site: Johnstone Strait.  The strait is only 3 miles wide at its largest point, making it a perfect venue to camp and kayak with killer whales.  (This is far easier than trying to find orcas among a group of scattered islands).

Happy Valentine's Day from SKA!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and we have a number of special offers available to celebrate including our "Countdown to 20 Years" special: book ANY Baja or BC tour by Valentine's Day to receive a box of handmade chocolates and a bottle of champagne on your tour! We also have Early Bird Incentives!

News from the field: Baja High Season

Our gray whale/Sea of Cortez combo season is in full swing in Loreto, Baja California Sur, with sunny skies and happy guests. Gray whales are calving and congregating in Magdalena Bay with record numbers migrating down the Pacific Coast from their Alaskan home seas. Due to some cancellations, we have a handful of spaces still available on Feb 26-Mar 4 and March 4-11, 2012 combo tours. This is THE best time and place to see gray whales.

The city of Loreto is being considered for "Magic Town" designation by the Mexican Federal Ministry of Tourism. This designation indicates a place of national and international significance due to the preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Loreto Bay is already a national park and the islands are preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site - what a special place!  Join us for warm sea kayak getaways in March and April in the Sea of Cortez, or our classic Loreto area paddle to circumnavigate Isla Carmen.

Kayaking with whales is a “Bucket List” item for many outdoors enthusiasts. Floating on tranquil tide at eye level with a spy-hopping whale is an unforgettable experience. There is something special about meeting this intelligent, wild creature in its home habitat. Kayaks allow for a more intimate setting than commercial whale watching cruises, as you can observe the whales’ behavior without the sound of a motor or flocks of other guests jostling to a boat railing for a look. Additionally, the eco-minded will enjoy the low impact of carbon-neutral kayaks on the ocean habitat of these gentle giants. Best of all, Sea Kayak Adventures offers a number of tours to kayak with whales in a variety of the world’s most beautiful wilderness areas. Where would you like to go?

Call us with any travel questions and to check availability prior to booking flights: 1-800-616-1943 or 1-208-765-3116

Our Baja kayak tours operate out of Loreto, Baja. Travel to this supreme paddling and whale watching destination is surprisingly easy for a world class wilderness adventure. Like many national parks, the Loreto Bay National Marine Park and the islands in the Sea of Cortez UNESCO World Heritage Site remain pristine in part due to their geographic remoteness - and they are just as worthwhile to visit!  Fortunately for travelers, Loreto hosts its own small airport with several flights per week on a US carrier. Additionally, the international hubs of La Paz and Los Cabos ("Cabo") are just a short distance south down the Baja peninsula and offer easy transit to Loreto. The following travel options are well-tested and utilized by Sea Kayak Adventures guests every year.

Kayaking with orcas and meeting the majestic killer whale in its own environment inspires dreams among many admirers, and often a bit of awe for others.  Orcas hold both the reputation of a ferocious predator as well as a glamorized, friendly “Seaworld” performer and everything in between. As many companies advertise orca kayaking tours with stunning photographs of close encounters, many people acquire the impression that they will spend hours each day kayaking with killer whales. Such expectations do not take into account the laws which protect the orcas, the behavior of these animals, and the geographic location of the kayak tour.

Since 1996, Sea Kayak Adventures has operated tours off of northern Vancouver Island in Johnstone Strait, the best orca location on Earth to observe a unique congregation of specifically fish-eating killer whales found only here. Every summer we guide hundreds of guests to kayak orca waters and return to Telegraph Cove with glowing faces, happy customers, and stories of whale magic. Here are some helpful tips and clarifications to assist in a better understanding of your experience:

Sea Kayak Adventures visits many world-class locations on our kayak and whale watching tours.  Each year, as excited guests arrange the details of their trips, we receive the same question over and over: "How do I get there?" We do our best to provide up to date information about flights, buses, and other methods of transport.  While we are so fortunate that Loreto, where we kayak on our Baja tours, is easily-accessible by regular transit (no need to travel for 2-3 days to get there!), flights sell out quickly in advance of our tours.

We stumbled upon this link with some helpful tips for savvy travelers who seek ways to find inexpensive airfare: Top 10 Tips for Finding Low Airfare

Sea Kayak Adventures office staff member and first time kayaker Amber Crane recently returned from a tour in Baja (Oct 30-Nov 4, 2011).  She will chronicle her adventures in a new blog series:

Voyage of a Novice Kayaker

Part 4: Baja Bliss

The first few minutes of kayaking started, as with all new ventures, with adjustments.  It took time to figure out where to brace my knees, make the most of every stroke, and keep paddling while taking in the sights. However, even as we acclimated to kayaking, fortune smiled upon our group.  Within a few minutes and just a few hundred feet of our launch site, I spotted a sea turtle bobbing at the surface of the water, surveying us.  She lingered for a short time as we gasped, pointed, and fumbled for cameras, before deciding we were of little interest to turtles and diving out of sight.  “This group has good karma,” Alex remarked.

Just 15 minutes later, I stuttered and pointed again, trying to expel words faster than my brain could provide them.  A huge splash announced the leap of a flying mobula ray.  I was downright giddy with excitement at this point, as these strange creatures were at the top of my wildlife bucket list.  These rays often travel in large groups during the spring which are more easily spotted than single jumpers, so I feel quite privileged to have seen one leap in front of my eyes.

Sea Kayak Adventures office staff member and first time kayaker Amber Crane recently returned from a tour in Baja (Oct 30-Nov 4, 2011).  She will chronicle her adventures in a new blog series:

Voyage of a Novice Kayaker

Part 3: Isn't it time you talked about the actual trip?

My Baja kayak trip began with a 2:00am alarm to catch a 5:00am flight that would deposit me at LAX in time for the only flight to Loreto on Sunday, October 30, 2011.  Upon Sea Kayak Adventures’ recommendation, I took only a carry-on bag with my clothing and thus whisked through my connections without the concern of relinquishing my carefully-packed duffel to the vortex of lost airport luggage.

Red-eyed but energized, I plopped into my window seat for the LAX to LTO flight and watched, awestruck, as the scenery below blurred from chaotic Los Angeles to vivacious Tijuana to coarse desert.  Scrub and brush melted into flowing sand from which mountain peaks crawled to the sky, hues of red and tan bursting against the azure sea.  The deep turquoise of the ocean was interrupted where cream-colored sand flowed down from the mountain peaks to form a beach. In these picturesque places, the ocean appeared as a bright, shocking aqua, as if someone had poured a pool of blue highlighter fluid over the water. I could only marvel over nature’s surreal palette.

Our guests on our Dec 4-9, 2011 yoga kayak tour in Loreto Bay National Marine Park had the time of their lives! Yoga on the beach as the sun rose and set each day, kayaking and snorkeling in turquoise waters, hiking, watching frolicking dolphins!

We do still have a few spots on our YOGA GRAY WHALE CAMP Feb 10-14, 2012 - yoga, sand dunes, gray whale moms & babies - join us!

Extend your stay in Loreto before or after your kayak tour for a low key, sunny vacation spot. If you desire extra nights hotel stay in Loreto, we have preferred rates at two hotels in Loreto and we are happy to set up day tours exploring the greater Loreto area and Coronado Island. 

View our full list of our Loreto Day Tours.

(Click on the "details" tab for descriptions and pricing)

Here are a few options we offer:

Kayak and Snorkel Day Trip to Isla Coronado

Join us for a fun, action packed day kayaking around beautiful Coronado Island below towering cliffs, relaxing on white-sand beaches, walking on nature trails and snorkeling with reef fish. Tour includes lunch, drinks, experienced bilingual/kayak guide, snorkel equipment, single and two-person kayaks with paddling gear and motorboat support. No experience is necessary. Daily tours 8:00 am-3 pm.

Blue Whale Tour in Loreto Bay National Marine Park

Join us for a fun, thrill-of-a-lifetime day tour watching blue whales cruise the waters of Loreto Bay National Marine Park.   Words cannot describe the incredible experience of witnessing a 100-foot blue whale surfacing near your 25-foot boat, its blow is 25 feet high and its tail is the width of a 747 tail section.  You will stare gap-jawed when the massive tail comes out of the water as the whale prepares to dive.  Blue whales are the largest animal to ever inhabit the earth, with a body mass equal to 24 elephants and a mouth that could swallow a railroad box car.  They cruise the local waters near Loreto searching for tasty krill in February and March. Tour includes lunch, drinks, experienced bilingual guide, and motorboat.  Daily tours 8:00 am-3 pm (February and March only).

Sea Kayak Adventures office staff member and first time kayaker Amber Crane just returned from a tour in Baja (Oct 30-Nov 4, 2011).  She will chronicle her adventures in a new blog series:

Voyage of a Novice Kayaker

Part 2: Do as I say, not as I did – Trip Preparation

I didn’t do everything wrong on my Baja trip.  After all, I had the time of my life!  I just don’t recommend pinning the success of your tour on my misadventures. Consequently, I bestow this blog to fellow nervous-novices that you might glean from it the fruits of my foibles.

As mentioned in my last blog, took a proactive approach to my upcoming trip that worked quite well, initially. I familiarized myself with a sea kayak prior to my departure and increased my upper body strength.  I talked through my concerns and asked questions about anything of which I was unsure. (I must confess, I didn’t even know what a ‘dry bag’ was when I started working for Sea Kayak Adventures!)  I joined a trip that had motorboat-support, which was a luxurious addition and support to make up for my minimal camping and paddling experience.  I read through the pre-trip e-mail and thoroughly combed through every page of the trip guide with devotion and studious measure.

…Okay, okay, I actually just browsed through the first through pages, tore out the pack list, and then flipped through to look at all of the animal pictures.

If you are considering a kayaking and/or gray whale tour in sunny Baja, give us a call for friendly advice about the best trip itinerary or location to meet your needs.  We are happy to answer all of your questions, and please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-616-1943 directly - we're always eager to chat about all things Baja!

1.  Do you and your staff run the trip, or do you contract with another company?
We own the permits and operate the tours ourselves. Co-owners Terry Prichard and Nancy Mertz started as guides in the Baja area in the 80s, and are still very much in love with the area. One or both spend much of the season at their home base of operations in Loreto.

2.  What is the minimum/maximum number of people you take on each trip?  What is your participant to guide ratio?
We have the highest (that we know of) guide-to-guest ratio in the area, with a guide per every 3-4 guests.    We have a minimum of 6 guests and a maximum of 13.  Most of our trips have 3 guides on them, so that two can be preparing food while one is leading a hike, helping snorkelers, or giving a nature talk.

Vladimir "Vlady" de la Toba has been a cheerful, enthusiastic member of the Loreto Sea Kayak Adventures team for over 6 years.  A 3* British Canoe Union kayaker, Vlady also brings a wealth of local knowledge about the wildlife and wilderness of Baja to all of his tours.

Did you know that Vlady comes from a long line of lighthouse keepers at San Lazaro located at the southern end of Magdalena Bay?  Both Vlady and his father, Victor, contribute work towards sea turtle protection with Grupo Tortuguero.  Vlady spends his summers educating fisherman about preserving sea turtles and other important species and the dangers of bycatch.  Vlady perfected the art of safely catching sea turtles for biologists: he jumps into the water from a boat, swims after the turtle, and grabs the turtle by the shell just behind the head with one hand and just above the tail with his other hand.  He calls it "sea turtle rodeo."  After measurements are taken, the turtle is returned unharmed to the sea. You can read more about the sea turtle preservation efforts in Baja here.

Meet Vlady and our other wonderful Loreto guides on your next trip to Baja to hear more about his work and the beautiful animals about which he has so much passion to protect. If you would like to get involved in sea turtle recovery in a more "hands-on" way, consider joining our Sea Turtle Monitoring and Kayaking Expedition this March!

Sea Kayak Adventures office staff member and first time kayaker Amber Crane just returned from a tour in Baja (Oct 30-Nov 4, 2011).  She will chronicle her adventures in a new blog series:

Voyage of a Novice Kayaker

Part 1: Wait, what do you mean by ‘sea kayak?’

Kayak? On the ocean?  Like, where the big fish live?

I confess, when I first joined the office staff at Sea Kayak Adventures this past August and received the generous opportunity to join a trip this fall to Baja, my first thoughts were not of starlit sand or diving dolphins. 26 years of media influence and land-locked living ensured I possessed a healthy caution of open waters and the untamed inhabitants therein.  Consequently, the thought of strapping myself into a sliver of fiberglass and hovering like a delectable hors d'oeuvre above hundreds of feet of water containing what I could only assume would be a swirling mass of “things-that-might-eat-me” seemed, quite simply, impractical.

That SKA owners Terry Prichard and Nancy Mertz have led kayak expeditions in the Sea of Cortez for over 25 years (and operated their business there with thousands of guests since 1993) without anyone swallowed by a whale (most of which, I later learned, are of the peaceful baleen variety) didn’t soothe the stirrings of my survival instinct. As much as I aimed for intellectual suppression of my irrational fears, I remained committed the administrative end of the Baja sunshine: from the safety of my computer screen with my feet firmly on solid ground.

And then I saw the pictures.

Travel to Loreto's world class paddling/whale watching destinations, on par with the Galapagos and Patagonia, is surprisingly easy compared to other Latin American or South American destinations.  The latest information is provided below.

A simple direct 2 hour flight from Los Angeles LAX to Loreto LTO OR 60-minute flight from the Cabo area to Loreto will set you down in the sunny palm-tree studded relaxed seaside village of Loreto.  You will be met by our representative at the airport holding up a sign and whisked away to our tour hotel a 5 minute drive away in downtown Loreto, a short walk from all the restaurants, shops and lovely waterfront walkway. You can also fly into Los Cabos "Cabo" (on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, where the movie stars go for resort action) and fly Aereo Calafia to Loreto OR fly into the capital city of La Paz and travel by express bus or rent a car and drive 4-5 hours north on the main highway to Loreto (the tiny Loreto bus station is right across the street from our tour hotel).

For more information on flight schedules, click "Read More." (Or scroll down).

Sea kayaking and whale watching tours in Baja and British Columbia with Sea Kayak Adventures are fully-equipped and fully-catered, so all you need to bring is yourself! But don’t worry – just because you’ll be eco-camping doesn’t mean you won’t receive first-class fare. So how DO our guides prepare such wonderful, delicious meals in the middle of uninhabited wilderness?!

Dutch ovens are the first “ingredient” to our success.  Sea Kayak Adventures remains one of the few kayak tour companies that cooks with this authentic, versatile method. Dutch ovens are placed on or over a campfire or stove, often with coals placed along the lid to heat from the top as well.  While most people think of Dutch ovens as suitable only for slow-cooking, like roasts or stews, our specialty is dutch oven baking for savory main dishes like chili rellenos, baked salmon and vegetable lasagna.

We even make delicious desserts in these cast-iron pots, from brownies to pineapple upside-down cake. Want to test your culinary camping skills? See the recipe below – and let us know how it turns out!

Fabulous Dutch Oven dessert: 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (serves 7-8 people)

Ingredients:

• Yellow cake mix (1 box for 7 people)
• 1 Can of sliced Pineapple
  
• 2-3 eggs & vegetable oil for cake mix/box
• 1 small jar maraschino cherries
• butter & brown sugar

Instructions: Oil inside of Dutch Oven. Cover D.O. bottom with butter & brown sugar.  Arrange pineapple slices & maraschino cherries on bottom of D.O.  Mix cake mix according to box directions and pour batter over pineapples/cherries.  Bake 45 mins.-1 hour. Invert cake onto D.O. lid for serving.

Sept-Dec, spring in the southern hemisphere, is the "right" time see the southern right whale. Pods travel up from Antarctic waters to give birth in the sheltered lagoons of Peninsula Valdes UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Argentina. This offers an excellent opportunity to be in close proximity to these ungainly looking but acrobatic whales. They were called "right" whales by the early whalers because they floated once harpooned, making them easier to harvest.

We still have room on our Dec 3-10, 2011 departure to kayak with these whales and their calves, and view them also from our campsites and by small boat.   We also tour penguin colonies and view rheas and guanacos (a llama-like creature) in this splendid World Heritage Site.

Curious about these unusual whales? The following video clip is a research documentary on Southern Right Whales primarily in Peninsula Valdes: Whale Trackers: Southern right whales of Argentina

UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, founded 16 November, 1945. In pursuit of their mission, UNESCO designated 936 areas worldwide as places possessed of significant cultural or natural heritage for preservation for future generations. These sites receive funding and expert advice for preservation efforts from UNESCO, which has deemed them to have "outstanding universal value to humanity."

UNESCO World Heritage Sites & Sea Kayak Adventures

We operate kayaking/whale watching tours in two of only 32 UNESCO "Natural" World Heritage Sites in all Latin and South America. These areas are Loreto Bay National Marine Park (part of the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California UNESCO World Heritage site) in southern Baja California, Mexico and Patagonia's Peninsula Valdes World Heritage Site in Argentina.  We also operate tours in British Columbia, Canada's Johnstone Strait, home to Robson Bight Ecological Preserve, which, while not a UNESCO site, remains the world's only orca preserve. 

Loreto Bay became a national marine park in July, 1996, first by presidential decree then confirmed by the national congress of Mexico.  Loreto Bay then became part of the UNESCO World Heritage site July 2005; a culmination of concerned local citizens' efforts and Mexico's diligent actions to preserve important national natural sites.  This World Heritage site is home to 891 fish species, including 90 endemic fishes.  A third of the world's cetacean species are found in the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez.  According to UNESCO, this site is home to 695 vascular plant species, more than in any marine and insular property on the World Heritage List.  In addition to the biodiversity and wildlife value of the region, fishing for sustenance and for sport and eco-tourism such as sea kayaking, snorkeling, SCUBA diving and whale watching are widely popular, and greatly contribute to the culture and the economy that sustains the citizenry of Loreto.

Península Valdés UNESCO World Heritage site in the Patagonia area of Argentina is "a site of global significance for the conservation of marine mammals", according to UNESCO.  Peninsula Valdes also hosts the breeding grounds for critical populations of elephant seals, endangered southern right whales, southern sea lions, and sea birds. Sea Kayak Adventures guests may encounter Armadillos, ostrich-like rheas, maras (Patagonian hares) and llama-like guanacos that roam the sweeping landscape. Click here to view a photo gallery for this trip. http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0262-aca0-6b07

Read more about the process of becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the history of UNESCO's preservation efforts:

UNESCO World Heritage FAQ

History of World Heritage Sites

An interesting side note - countries must uphold the strict preservation standards of UNESCO to avoid being delisted.

In view of headlines about violence along the U.S. border, many people are wondering about the safety of visiting Mexico. Keep in mind that Mexico is a big and diverse country, so violence along the U.S. border towns won't have any effect on your vacation in Loreto any more than violence in Miami would affect people in Chicago. Most of the violence that has taken place recently is due to conflicts between drug cartels and the Mexican authorities in just four cities and there's no reason to condemn the rest of the country, especially Loreto and the surrounding state of Baja California Sur.

Patagonia: What is the best time to travel and see whales?

Patagonia offers a unique experience for whale watching.  Southern right whales choose the shallow coastal areas to give birth and are often visible directly from the beaches surrounding these coves. However, these whales are migratory and have only a limited window during which they calve in the protected lagoons of the Peninsula Valdes UNESCO World Heritage Site. The rest of the year they are at their feeding grounds in Antarctica - where most of us will never venture to view them!

So what is the best time to see the whales? RIGHT NOW! These right whales begin to arrive in mid-September and return southward in mid-December.  These three months host incredible sightings of right whale acrobatics, adorable baby antics, and a variety of other other interesting creatures.

Even better, this time frame is spring in the southern hemisphere and the lagoon is a sheltered, protected body of water. Thus the weather and location make it perfect for sea kayakers of most ability levels. Imagine kayaking near a family of frolicking right whales! Are you ready to sign up yet?!

We provide all gear and guides on this camping/lodge kayaking/whale watching combo (airfare not included).  To any of our kayak tours can be added an extension to explore the Fitzroy mountains and Moreno Glacier.  Call now to reserve your spot for this fall!  We only have a few spaces left for 2011 on Oct 3-10 and Dec 3-10, 2011 tours.