Tourism firm says the rest of the state offers wonderful nature
Baja California Sur tourism company Todos Santos Eco Adventures (TOSEA) is inviting those visiting the region to play hide and seek of sorts with some of the state’s mighty but on-and-off -again residents.
Co-owner Bryan Jauregui says among TOSEA’s offerings are seasonal whale-watching boat excursion adventures during which people search for large grey whales and even larger blue whales, something Jauregui says can be a challenge.
“You would think that the largest animals that ever inhabited the Earth would be easy to find but they’re not,” she says of blue whales.
Grey whales in turn are often curious and sometimes follow whale-watching boats.
And enabling people to sight whales and other wildlife are among the many offerings by TOSEA, which showcases those parts of the state of Baja California Sur found outside of popular Los Cabos, which Jauregui jokes her company tends to avoid “unless there’s a dire emergency or we have to go to the airport.”
The Los Cabos’ twin destinations of Cabo San Lucas, which Jauregui labels “the Baja California Sur equivalent of Cancun” and nearby and quieter San Jose del Cabo have seen remarkable growth in recent decades, and tend to overshadow the rest of Baja California when it comes to Canadian vacation plans.
(Jauregui is aware that all-inclusive vacations are popular with those who holiday in Mexico and frequently lead to people spending their entire vacations on resort grounds, a type of holiday she doesn’t condemn. “We’re not the vacation police.”)
But transplanted American Jauregui — who met her Mexican husband when he led her and her sisters on a kayaking trip that had them in search of “cold beer and Mexican guides” and today runs the company with her — says that part of Baja found outside of Los Cabos is well worth tourist attention, among other things offering 9 different eco-systems, including mangroves, which might surprise some who would think it’s all desert.
Among intriguing cultural sides to Baja California Sur is its ranchero culture, practiced by descendants of people who left southern Spain to take up ranching in Baja and whose lifestyles led to the cowboy culture of the American west, she reports.
Jauregui adds that Baja is “getting more known as an amazing wildlife destination,” in part because of it’s bordering the Sea of Cortez, which famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau alternately labelled the “aquarium of the world” because of its rich marine life and the “Galapagos of the North,” with Jaurequi noting that the largest colony of blue-footed boobies — birds commonly associated with the Galapagos — is actually found in Baja’s Sea of Cortez.
Other Sea of Cortez marine creatures include sea lions, dolphins and manta rays.
TOSEA is based in the quaint community of Todos Santos, known for its many art galleries, expatriate population and quiet ambiance. (“Midnight comes about 9’clock” in much of Baja, Jauregui reports.) The company actually has a boutique hotel — Los Colibris Casitas — in Todos Santos that Jauregui notes overlooks both sea and land. Hotel features include a cafe, pool, hot tub, gardens home to birds, with the Los Colibris name translating as The Hummingbirds.
Mexican cuisine cooking classes are available for guests.
The hotel helps fund the Zero Waste Alliance, which is working to transform Todos Santos into the first zero waste tourism destination in Mexico.
Also available from the company are three tented camps in different Baja settings, including mountains, with roomy tents, and chefs and guides on hand. One camp is on an island in the Sea of Cortez, right by salt water.
“The stars are right there and the water’s right there and you’re in the elements,” Jauregui says of the waterside camp, adding sleeping in a tent by ocean water is safe. “We actually have a zero floating away record.”
Meanwhile, Jauregui says TOSEA clients don’t need to be overly fit or energetic to enjoy its island tours.
“Grandpa and grandma can do as much or as little as they want and still be out in this beautiful nature,” she reports.
TOSEA in May and June can take guests to El Pardito, a small Sea of Cortez island that for decades has been home to a family that were shark hunters for decades but now practice marine conservation. Nearby sightings of eastern hawksbill sea turtles are available. Kayaking, snorkelling, birding and hiking are among available activities.
More information can be found at LosColibris.com and TOSEA.net.
