WHALE SHARK OF A TIME-LA PAZ 2018

24 FOOT SPOTTED WHALE SHARK

8 FOOT WHALE SHARK
TAIL

Imagine swimming with the largest species of fish in the world! We were gliding alongside the whale shark and drifted above it "in awe" of this massive white mosaic spotted creature. When, I suddenly realized that I was no more than 2 feet above this fish and I recalled being warned by Mariana (our marine biologist guide) to 'beware of the 8 foot tail.". "One big swoop and it could knock you out!" She explained that although these were gentle giants, you need to pay attention to your proximity to them. They're hard to see at first; and I had accidentally floated directly above this 24' giant and was about to get whacked, when I turned quickly to avoid being struck with a whiplash by the tail. 

TORREY RELAXING BY 
THE POOL AT
COSTA BAJA RESORT

I was down on a 2 week trip to the beautiful sun drenched coast line of the Sea of Cortez, in La Paz, about 2 hours north of Cabo San Lucas. My first week was spent having a great bonding time with my daughter- Torrey. She loves the ocean and with her new underwater camera was first off the panga boat swimming with the whale shark with no fear.  Torrey captured some great pics and video footage. See her production linked on You tube below-- only a 1 minute and very cool.  

Whale sharks La Paz 2018 Torrey Trust

The whale shark is one of the mysteries of the ocean and recently added as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red list.
Only 7,000 have been identified in the Whale Shark Global data base by using their characteristic white spots and photographs.  A second method of calculating the population numbers is with genetic formulas using alleles of chromosomes in the mitochondria DNA, (Schmidth et al. 2009). His estimate was 103,572. They are still hunted for their fins for fin soup, caught in fishing nets as by-catch (accidental), and collisions with vessels. According to the IUCN RED LIST, this magnificent fish has sadly encumbered a population decrease of 50% in the last 75 years!! See the attached website below for the IUCN Red list -a great to reference to endangered species:http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19488/0

A LAZY WHALE SHARK
FEEDING IN A VERTICAL
POSITION

PLANkTON FEEDER

Whale sharks are not really whales.... They are actually "plankton feeding fish" and primarily eat krill (tiny shrimp like creatures).  In a suspended dangling posture, they can easily feed near the surface where the upwelling current brings in tons of krill and and sweeps the plankton into their mouth. These giants have 300-350 small rows of teeth and 10 filter pads that filter the plankton (floating organisms). New borns in the La Paz region, are produced in their surrounding outer islands. The baby whale sharks swim down 3,000' so they won't be eaten by predators. When they grow to around 7-9 ' they swim back up the surface. Female whale sharks produce one live baby at a time (ovoviviparous), and have been found with up to 300 embryos in their body.  They grow up to 11/2 ' a year and can get up to 40 feet or more! The one we saw was 24' and our panga boat was only 22' long! After the teenage years most of the whale sharks head up to Bay of Los Angeles in the Sea of Cortez, or off to the South Pacific. 

LORAINE GETTING READY TO
PLUNGE AND BE ONE WITH
THE SEA LIONS :)

ISLAND CAT CATAMARAN

Loraine Bradbury, my girlfriend, had come down to join me for the second week and loved the seeing the whales. But she really loved swimming with the sea lions on our second excursion. Loraine and Leo, our panga driving guide, (also known as the "Sea Lion Whisper") were doing acrobatics in the water to attract the fun loving sea lions. The teenage sea lions here have no fear of humans and were so playful swimming around us. At one point, you could reach out and touch them. One teenager came speeding right at me...and as he spun by looked directly into my eyes behind my mask, almost like saying; "hey let's play human". Along with the sea lions we swam over some healthy colorful coral reef full of

BALANDRA BAY!!! 

schools of brightly colored fish engulfing us like a blanket. There must have been 20 species of fish, and 25-30 species of invertebrates including the majestic azure sea fan waving at us. The final moments I spent watching Leo free dive to 60 feet and spiraling up to the surface with the Sea Lions, (he really is the "Sea Lion Whisper"), and it was awesome!

LORAINE RUNNING DOWN
THE SAND DUNE BEACH

We took a short cruise to see the nearby protected Balandra Bay. It has silky smooth white sand and crystal clear teal blue water, with visibility over 100'. You can drive to this bay too, and paddle out to a small outcropping to see some coral and fish. At one point we landed the panga for a few minutes, climbed up to the top of the softest sand dune I ever seen and ran down it hooting and hollering.
Back on the Catamaran we took out paddle boards and kayaks and paddled around the quiet inlet, while the chef was making a delicious enchilada dish before we headed back. 
La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur, with 200,000 people and is becoming an exciting tourist destination, while retaining some of its quaintness. The newly created Malacon Promanade is loaded with statues and is an intriguing place to stroll, bike, or just people watch. Evening hours are especially nice on the Promanade when the parents come down with their kids. It's a festive family affair with a local zing of music and a bar atmosphere.  Another fun thing to do is bike or walk to the coconut shack at the north end of the strip for some refreshing juice & coconut meat.

SUNSET ON THE MALACON

La Paz is full of restaurants that had excellent seafood, stunning views of the bay, and some of the best Mexican beer -Indio (by the liter and ice cold) great to help you quench your thirst and take in a stunning the sunset.

MALACON PROMANADE

LA POSADA HOTEL
AND BEACH
CLUB

INSIDE HUMPBACK
WHALE -55' LONG

If you are up for dancing...Friday and Saturday rocks...we visited 5 establishments on a Saturday and ended up Salsa dancing with all the locals at Perla hotel nightclub. What a night! We caught an Uber ride back to the hotel around 2 am.The whale museum is not to be missed with its 55' humpback whale skeleton displayed out in front. The museum has an established collection of skeletons, some showing the pelvic legs bones of the whales (whales were land animals 60 mya).
The last day from our balcony of the hotel we had to say good bye, and we were blessed with sight of natures goodwill creatures- "dolphins" swimming by. As they were jumping, we imagined they were waving good bye, and saying, "come back and visit us in La Paz and we will swim with you".
TIPS:
1. It is is very safe in La Paz to walk and drive around.
2. Uber is well established there, use your App on the smart phone and no money is involved, plus cost 50% less than taxis. 
3. Get a SIM card at Tel Cell for @ $5.00 it makes it easier to get Uber etc. 
4. Island Cat Tours $$$, did a real nice job with professional guide, nice catamaran and a cook: www.islandcatbaja.com

5. Exchange rate: divide by 2 and take off a zero 
6. La Posada Hotel and Beach Club. $$: use Booking.com
Breakfast included...little noisy, since it is right on the beach.
7. Take an Uber ride to Costa Baja Resort and enjoy a dinner at the marina, any restaurant is excellent, and some with sunset views $$

8. Rent a car...Hertz etc. and drive to Balandra bay, (and up to Tecate) or Todas Santos (magic town) to see the waves.
9. Water is safe to drink in La Paz-filtered at the restaurants, we still used bottled H20.
10. Walking the CBX border crossing goes directly to Tijuana airport $15. We flew Calafia airlines from there straight to La Paz-- great! and cheaper than SD.