The Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez are arguably the best places in the world for whale watching, with a wide range of cetacean species found here. The journey by boat down the Pacific side of the peninsula can be rough, but we were blessed with unusually, but very welcome, calm conditions. We visited Isla San Benito to view Elephant Seals and Guadalupe Fur Seals, and then experienced some wonderful “friendly” encounters with Grey Whales in San Ignacio Lagoon. Humpback Whales put on some splendid shows for us, both along the Pacific coast and off the southern tip of the peninsula, where we watched a lot of rowdy breeding behaviour, with females calmly swimming along while their primary male escorts stayed close by and fought with other interested males. Sadly the weather in the Sea of Cortez was windy and rough which precluded any whale watching, although there was some shelter in La Paz Bay. Many thanks to Mark Carwardine and Rachel Ashton for the usual excellent organisation and information, and also to Evan, Brian and the crew of the Spirit of Adventure.

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