This 3 sentence summary provides the key details about the whale shark encounter and overview of the Baja California trip: The narrator has a close encounter with a whale shark in the Sea of Cortes near La Paz, Mexico, observing the giant fish up close while snorkeling without touching it per the guide's instructions. The summary then shifts to introduce that the trip involves exploring different areas of the Baja California peninsula over the course of a week, including the Sea of Cortes side, Pacific side, and rugged desert interior. Overall the document sets up an experience with whale sharks in Baja California and previews the varied locales to be visited on the peninsula.

1. ★
A trip around
the tip of Mexico’s
Baja California reveals
The shallow waters of
Balandra Bay near La Paz
a laid-back beach escape
with some quirky
surprises.
★
Baja
Behind-the-Scenes
By David Hanson | Photographs by Michael Hanson
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2. I ’m staring into the four-foot-wide
jaws of a whale shark. Naturally, I
think of Moby-Dick. The classic
story of Ahab being dragged down by the
giant whale always seemed like a brilliant
epic fairy tale. But now I think in realistic
terms: I’m floating, in only bathing suit
and fins, within arm’s length of a proud
member of the world’s largest fish species
club. While she feeds. Melville’s story no
longer seems so fictitious.
Lorenzo, our guide for this daylong Fun Baja boat
tour, bobs above the sea-green water, snorkel dan-
gling against his cheek, and reminds us of the
golden rule: “Do not touch the whale shark.” It’s From far left:
snorkeling in
for the safety of the whale shark, they had told us Balandra Bay;
the first time, on the boat. But now we’re in the Hotel Casa Tota
water and it has in Todos Santos;
heading for
become a bit obvi- the waves in
ous, like ordering Pescadero; and
someone on a safari catch of the day
at Punta Lobos
picnic not to seek
the shade beneath
an elephant.
So we dog-
paddle and gape
and do not touch,
and the two whale
sharks paddle and
gape and do not eat
us, all on a sunny
afternoon at the
southern end of the tailbone of California, a narrow strip of brown the Baja 1000 off-road race, in which modified peratures in the 70s and 80s and cool, starry desert
Sea of Cortes near and orange and tan desert, as dry as it is desolate. dune buggies blast across the desert in a mad dash nights in the 50s. And, as any good peninsula
the town of It didn’t have a paved road until 1973 when the for the southern tip. should, it offers three distinct options for a week-
La Paz in Baja Mexican government completed the 1,100-mile But I had no interest in either of the two. I like plus tour: the Sea of Cortes side, the Pacific side,
California Sur. Mexico 1 Trans-Peninsular Highway. Baja for other reasons. In fact, it has become an and the rugged desert in between.
On a map, the Since then, Baja has been known mainly for annual winter escape from my wet and cold home
Baja Peninsula two things: Hollywood poolside sightings and in the Pacific Northwest. Except during summer, Sea of Cortes
looks like the long spring-break shenanigans in Cabo San Lucas, and Baja practically guarantees sunny days with tem- Our road trip begins at the Sea of Cortes, where
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3. windows, and I bite into one of Like the old-timer longboarders carving
Mexico’s greatest gifts to the
world, the Michoacán paletas, a up the San Pedrito waves every morning,
chunky popsicle of sugar, cream, the sleepy agricultural town of Pescadero
and fresh coconut or fruits.
Todos marks a step in the is committed to its laid-back pedigree.
Americanized direction from the
authentic, quietly bustling charm
of La Paz. But its Americaniza-
tion has been informed with a
clear, artistic, mostly careful
conscience.
Take the new Hotel Casa
Tota, for instance. Opened last
October, the 15-room property
was created from Doña Tota’s old
home and general store (which,
From left:
we trade car for boat to reach the Espiritu Santo Todos Santos for decades, was the only place
flautas at La Islands, the whale sharks, and a colony of sea lions. The best road in all of Baja connects the 50 miles in town to buy a bra). The Tota
Santeña in The uninhabited UNESCO Biosphere Reserve between La Paz and Todos Santos. Such a smooth family was the eccentric intelli-
Todos Santos;
tequila delivery
islands show their geology in slanting rock layers four-lane highway in a land of rutted, bone-jarring, gentsia of Todos for generations.
at Rancho that ramp out of the turquoise water like some packed-sand roads makes the drive a carefree jaunt Doña was the beloved and feisty
Pescadero; shipwrecked chunk of desert. through the empty expanse of green cactus, brown matriarch. So feisty that Chris-
hats and horns;
and the beach
Our tour originated at CostaBaja, the newest earth, and blue sky. Todos, as it’s known locally, tine, Hotel Casa Tota’s manager
at Pescadero and shiniest resort and golf club on the Sea of nestles into a green valley about a mile from the and all-around Baja concierge,
Cortes near Baja California Sur’s state capital, La Pacific Ocean. insists she haunts the place.
Paz. Like the nearby smaller towns of Los Barriles To give you an idea of Todos, here’s what we Surrounding an intimate
and Buena Vista, La Paz manages to retain its happened upon in one day. Vogue Paris had a courtyard pool, the hotel’s rooms
rustic, authentic charm. It’s a mix of small-town production army of 20 on a cobblestone street are sleek and clean with polished
Mexico with a type of American tourism that photographing a few wiry models on a teal moped concrete-gray walls and white
harks back to the midcentury when Air Force — Todos apparently has that fashionably raw sort linens that lend a cool brightness
pilots and salty sportfishing gentlemen (think of look. Two boutique owners, Euva and Patricia, to their small spaces. Christine
Hemingway) flew down from the U.S. and landed watched the spectacle from the wrought-iron side- can point guests to the best surf
their small planes on dirt airstrips. walk railing outside their adjacent shops. breaks, the latest gallery opening,
CostaBaja makes for a balanced new addition Euva wears a long salsa-dancing skirt, a brightly the best hamburger-and-fries
to the Sea of Cortes scene. We could stay on the colored woven shawl, and a felt hat with a wide joint (Shut Up Franks), the best
resort’s premises all day, bouncing between the brim that flops over half of her face and covers sushi (Carlito’s), or a morning
multiple restaurants at the marina (sushi, Italian, most of her jet-black hair, which is woven, with red yoga class.
Mexican), the private beach club and pool, or the cloth, into looped pigtails. She’s native to Mexico, She also might encourage you
golf course. But instead, the day after swimming but has lived all over the world, and her shop, to take a walk to visit Carmelo, the 600-pound pig of food. Punta Lobos is an oxymoron: one of those
with the whale sharks and sea lions, we spend an Mixtica, is a sort of vintage thrift store for every- that chugs nonalcoholic beer. Carmelo was going well-known secrets, common enough for any curi-
afternoon at Balandra Bay, less than ten miles thing from Oaxacan fine-art statuaries to second- to be butchered by his owners, but Christine ous visitor to hear about it, yet still authentic and
north. Arcs of white sand broken by a few umbrella- hand Prada and Gucci. Patricia, from Canada, swooped in and suggested that they could make cool enough to feel like you’ve just made the big-
size palapas connect rocky points of black basalt. wears a gray and white wool poncho she sewed money by turning the pig into a tourist attraction. gest discovery on the Baja coast. You can buy fish
The farther we explore by foot or by snorkeling in herself in the tiny shop beside Euva’s store. She Of course, a tourist attraction like this could only fresh off the boats — red snapper, mahimahi,
the waist-deep crystal-clear waters, the more sells blankets, clothes, paintings, and salvage furni- work in a place as carefree and imaginative as yellowtail tuna — for a few dollars a pound.
secluded and pristine the beaches become. ture out of the open-air courtyard. Their business Todos Santos. The beach extends north seemingly forever,
We spend the evening perusing the bustling hours are, of course, as predictable as a roulette with nothing on it save for an oddly placed defunct
streets of La Paz, picking up fish tacos from a food wheel and as imaginative as their attire. Pescadero lighthouse. It seems you could be anywhere along
cart on the sidewalk near the main waterside avenue On the same street, local kids chase a dog, a The pelicans here look like short, sharp-featured the thousands of miles of Baja coastline. But even if
(Avenida Obregón). We end the day posing as locals dusty truck drives past with surfboards poking out reporters at a celebrity press conference. They you don’t buy fish at Punta Lobos, you can find the
by eating ice cream on a town plaza bench. the bed and two tanned, bearded faces in the open crowd up to the beachside tables looking for scraps fresh catch on most menus in Todos and Pescadero.
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4. school, and a few cantinas.
Across the highway, in the arid mile between
pavement and beach, the houses of Canadians and
Americans dot the horizon in the same color and
shape as boxy sand castles. Baja Beans has become
this area’s epicenter. A Canadian couple, Alec and
April Tidey, started roasting Mexican coffee beans
in an antique roaster in 2010. They opened Baja
Beans in a shaded courtyard at the edge of some
bean fields, and their venture has proven to be a
resounding success.
On our final day, after a morning surf session at
nearby Cerritos Beach (the best spot for beginners
like me), we check out the action at Baja Beans’
Sunday market and brunch.
It’s hopping with produce vendors and
craftspeople selling their wares under shade trees.
On the patio stage, a band called Ben and the
Men play a fusion of jazz, funk, and blues. The
band consists of a family from Michigan — Ben
and four of his sons, ages 11 to 17.
Detroit-style funk music, Mexican, Canadian,
and American surfers sipping lattes, and a rural
community bordered by immaculate beaches
make for a curious mix. And a fitting example of
the anything-can-happen possibilities at the dead
end of one long and amazing peninsula.
Such as the restaurant at Ran- David Hanson is a writer based in Seattle.
cho Pescadero, the three-year-old
beachfront villa hotel where chef
Rodrigo Bueno relocated from
the kitchen of San Jose del Cabo’s U.S.A.
world-famous Palmilla Resort.
While shoestring travelers can
find surf shack–style bungalows mexico
near the beautiful San Pedrito
break (best surfing in Baja), Ran-
ba
cho Pescadero steps it up a notch
ja
with its loungy-chill poolside bar
pe
and fire pit and the towering,
se
ni
clean-lined villa rooms.
ns
a
Like the old-timer longboard-
of
ul
ers carving up the San Pedrito waves every morn-
co
From top:
a
Pa
ing, the sleepy agricultural town of Pescadero is
rt
ready for
ci
loungers at getting
committed to its laid-back pedigree. The palm-
es
fi
CostaBaja and there
c
lined fields of basil, snow peas, beans, strawberries,
Oc
Baja Beans US Airways
brew and flowers have been there a long time, and offers direct
ea
● La Paz
they’ll be there whenever you go. On the inland flights to Los
n
Cabos from ● Los Barriles
side of the highway, locals live in a small rural Phoenix and Todos Santos ● ● Buena Vista
village of modest homes, a dirt ball field, an Pescadero ● ● San José
Charlotte.
Cabo San Lucas ● del Cabo
amazing skate park, a small plaza around the
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