Adventures Off the Beaten Path: Birding and Whale Shark Snorkeling in Los Cabos
Birds and Whale Sharks!
While I certainly enjoy being pampered at an all-inclusive resort or on a small luxury ship for a cruise, sometimes I get the itch to get away from my fellow vacationers and reconnect with nature. Truth be told, it’s in my blood to find a slice of the natural world wherever I go. As a lifelong naturalist and armed with a biology education, it’s what I do!
So after enjoying a few days and nights cavorting at the Giggling Marlin, touring El Arco, and dining at some of the most amazing restaurants overlooking Los Cabos with my wife Julie, it was time to get our boots dirty. And in this case, throw in a dash of salt water, too!
We signed up for a day tour with Birding Los Cabos, a local ecotourism organization that, you guessed it, specializes in looking at the local birds of the region, with a few fun options to boot! They have guided tours to fit anyone’s needs, from a quick 4-hour tour to nab a few birds found nowhere else in the world before heading to the airport, to an overnight trip to the local mountains to look and listen for owls. We knew we had most of a day, so we settled on an intriguing looking tour, “Cabo Birding and Snorkeling with Whale Sharks”. Since neither of us had ever looked at birds in the area and certainly had never seen a whale shark, this looked awesome!
Our guide, Maria, picked us up at our hotel at first light and we quickly made our way through the sleepy city. Soon, we found ourselves on the newly repaved highway headed north to La Paz. On the way, we made a stop at a local roadside restaurant for a delicious breakfast and hot cup of coffee. As we drove, Maria pointed out birds along the highway and discussed the challenges of growing this small ecotourism company. Perfectly bilingual, we chatted away the miles as we neared La Paz and stopped at the “Planta de Tratmiento de Aguas de La Paz” outside of town.
Now, this may sound strange to most, but birdwatchers around the world know that if you want to see birds, one of the best places to go is somewhere with water, and a water treatment plant in a desert environment is just the ticket to see lots and lots of birds. We spent the next hour or so marveling at over forty species of birds, from Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with their bubble-gum pink bills to White-faced Ibis probing the edge of the water for tasty morsels while showing off their iridescent green and purple feathers.
From there we headed to the harbor of La Paz for the second part of our adventure, snorkeling with Whale Sharks! For anyone unfamiliar with Whale Sharks, they are the largest fish in the world! With a maximum length of over forty feet, they rival whales in size, hence their name. Now normally, when one says they’re going to swim with sharks, visions of “Jaws” and shark cages spring to mind. In this case, however, these sharks are completely harmless, despite their five-food wide mouth! Their diet consists of tiny floating plankton that they filter from the water, and in areas with lots of plankton, there could be lots of whale sharks, as is the case in La Paz!
We boarded a small skiff, or panga, with a family of four and our captain for the adventure, Manuel, and soon were darting across the bay in search of the gentle giants! It didn’t take long, as the sharp-eyed Manuel pointed out the large shadow moving slowly in the shallow water. Our instructions were simple — don the provided snorkel gear and slip as quietly as possible into the water and swim slowly in the direction of the behemoth! Manuel also instructed us not to touch the sharks to avoid spooking them. The family was a little hesitant at first, so Julie and I were first up!
Once we had slipped into the comfortable 78 degree water, it was immediately evident why whale sharks liked this area. The water was filled with plankton! And while a delectable treat for sharks, it left the visibility with a bit to be desired. But we knew which way the shark had been and slowly swam in that direction until its hulking mass emerged from the green water. What a thrill! The shark fed lazily in the water, in a tail down-head up position slowly gulping in the food-filled water, completely disregarding us as we did our best to get a few photos with our waterproof camera and avoid bumping into the shark. After a few minutes, the shark started making its way to a different area, so we retreated back to the panga to let the others have a go. In all, we saw about sixteen sharks and swam with about a dozen of them. Most were “teenagers” of 20-25 feet, but we saw one big mama that was probably closer to 30-34 feet! Now that’s a BIG fish!
After all the swimming and climbing in and out of the panga, we were sad when Manuel said it was time to go, but glad because it was time to grab some grub. We met Maria back at the beach and after a quick rinse, she hustled us over to a local lunch spot overlooking the water. They had an amazing taco buffet with all the fixings. Once our bellies were full, Maria asked if we were up for another bird stop before heading back to Los Cabos. Of course we were!
We stopped at the immense mud flats just north of La Paz to watch sandpipers probe the mud for hidden worms and plovers make quick dashes to nab fleeing fiddler crabs. One of the most comical acts was that of the Reddit Egret, one of the most energetic members of the normally stately and regional heron family. Rather than sitting quietly at the edge of the water waiting for an unsuspecting fish to swim too close, these birds take a much more aggressive approach. They run, jump, and zig zag along the shallow water, wings out, shaggy crest flopping from side to side as they chase their quarry like an over-caffeinated commuter trying to catch a train! I’m sure the rest of the stoic heron family just shake their collective heads at their crazy cousin!
After an amazing day, it is time for us to head south back to Los Cabos. The conversation was lively at first as we recounted our adventures, but as the sun slowly arced to the west, the car grew quiet as we enjoyed some quiet contemplation as the desert began to turn various hues of orange and then pink. Maria brought us back to our hotel, and after a hug and a thank-you, Julie and I got cleaned up and were soon off for dinner and a celebratory drink! As we raise a glass to our day, we were struck with the realization that just a few hours ago, we were swimming in placid waters, eye-to-eye with one of the giants of the sea! It’s an experience that we’d never forget and one we could recommend for any traveler willing to venture off the beaten path!
