Kerrick James

PUBLISHED IN: Alaska Airlines; Outside; National Geographic Adventure; Sunset. Arizona Highways; Texas Journeys; Voyageur; Las Vegas Life; VIA; San Francisco Magazine; Highroads; Woman's World; AAA Living; Delta SKY; LA Times; Arizona Republic; Virtuoso Life, Family Fun, Men's Journal, Home and Away.

SPECIALTIES: Active Adventure Travel-Rafting, Kayaking, Climbing, Hiking. People exploring Nature. All aspects of Destination Travel. Deep stock file of the American West, Alaska, Mexico, Pacific Rim. Staffed Stock Photo Library, Also with Getty Images. Active adventure text/photo features.

BOOKS: Primary photographer for five Compass American Guides (Fodors) to Arizona, New Mexico, American Southwest, Las Vegas, San Francisco. Contributor to Insight Guides to Arizona, Utah, Colorado, San Francisco. Shooting new book in 2005, 'Backroads of Arizona'. two NGS book covers.

AWARDS: Won multiple first place category awards in SATW annual photo contests 2003-2006; also won Silver Portfolio in Shootout Las Vegas-2005; Silver Writing Award for "Thar She Blows!" A story on luxury yacht cruising in Baja for Las Vegas Life Magazine.

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Thar She Blows!

by Kerrick James, Las Vegas Life magazine

‘Show us some tail!’ screams an overexcited Jenn Mendez, her distinctive Jersey accent carrying well over the deep sapphire waters of the Sea of Cortez. She was only saying emphatically what all ten of us in our skiff felt, as we matched the swimming speed of a mature blue whale skimming the surface a scant thirty yards off our bow. Ninety feet long, likely weighing close to 140 tons, the largest living thing on the planet, and all Jenn wanted was to see its tail.

And so very suddenly, inexorably, the leviathan answered her request. Its massive back arches up over the sparkling clear water, the great tail rises up, over twenty five feet from tip to tip, then angles down like a living wall of muscle, driving the creature deep below in search of food. Hearts pounding in our throats, we watch unblinkingly as the tail completes its fluid drive, an evanescent waterfall streaming off its perfect fluke for euphoric seconds, seconds that have lasted far longer in our memories.

This is why we came to Baja. To see and learn and truly experience its wildlife, its islands, its living beauty, the allure that drew Steinbeck here in 1940, and gave him insights like this, “The abundance of life here gives one an exuberance, a feeling of fullness and richness...Everything ate everything else with a furious exuberance.”

Of course a major part of the exuberant allure of this adventure was the prospect of exploring this magical sea on board the Safari Quest, a luxurious 120’ megayacht with truly gourmet food thrice daily, a crew that loves to please, a hot tub on the sun deck, and the wonderfully stocked 24/7 open bar didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings either. The crew of nine serves up to 22 passengers, but on this cruise just 18 of us basked in their attention. In very little time the crew knew our names, our dietary and drink preferences, and were ever attuned to the wildlife outside and the civilized life aboard.

The cruise actually begins on land, with flights into Los Cabos Intl. Airport, about two hours from Phoenix Sky Harbor, and then an overnight in San Jose del Cabo. Most of the guests stayed at the elegant Casa Natalia, near the heart of this old and truly Mexican town, relaxing and exploring its narrow streets, shops and the historic mission. Next morning a comfortable motor coach whisked us west towards Cabo San Lucas, then north towards Todos Santos, with miles of cardon and organ pipe cactus, ocotillo and palo verde forests and glimpses of the Pacific, and hidden quiet beaches.

A fine luncheon ensues in Todos Santos, followed by a few minutes of exploring, and then we’re off to La Paz. Here we embark near sunset on the Safari Quest, settle into our cabins, meet the crew and captain and then we’re casting off, bound for the Sea of Cortez. The first of many elegant dinners fills the evening and later we drop anchor off the west side of Isla Espiritu Santo, under an arching canopy of stars.

Next morning we are treated to a brilliant clear dawn, with glassy water and a small pod of dolphins rising and dipping in the warm yellow light. This is the first of many occasions when we feel gifted with the spectacle of life living free, unfettered, unhurried. Over time that example takes hold of us, slowing us, easing us from too busy lives. Later that morning we hike thru mangroves, then up cactus strewn ruddy hillsides to a cliff overview of waves crashing on the steeper eastern shore of the island. Isla Espiritu Santo, 37 square miles of matchless coves, beaches and habitat, is now preserved, thanks to the Nature Conservancy and the Mexican government.

After this the days blend and sift into sightings of fin, gray, pygmy sperm and blue whales, dolphins, manta rays, blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and sea lions, interspersed with guided hikes, kayak forays, lazy beach hours, a mule ride overlooking Bahia Agua Verde, and a succession of richly hued sunrises and sunsets lighting up the southern Sea of Cortez. On whale day, we motor coach from Puerto Escondido, (Spanish for Hidden Port), a few minutes south of Loreto, across the narrow peninsula to the Pacific side. Here is the southernmost of the three great lagoons, Bahia Magdalena, and in three pangas we go forth to see the gentle gray whales in their breeding and birthing winter home.

The gray whales are one of the shining conservation success stories of the 20th century. After their place of refuge was discovered by American whalers in the 1850’s, these three huge shallow lagoons ran pink with the blood of thousands of gray whales. The whalers began to call these 45 foot long baleen (toothless) whales ‘devilfish’, as the mothers wildly attacked the men harpooning their young. When hunting the grays was finally outlawed, their numbers had dwindled to the point that extinction was feared, but the hardy gray whales recovered over time and may now be as numerous as they were before being sought by the whalers.

Grays are my favorite whale, but not because they are the biggest (as is the blue), the most playful (clearly the humpback), or the most fearsome (as the sperm whale is to me). I love the gray whales most because they are the friendly whales, and here in the Baja lagoons I have been lucky enough to have touched their spongy, squeaky skin on a half dozen memorable days. Here the mother whales sometimes introduce their calves to we curious fragile humans, nudging them toward our small boats, triggering our squeals of delight. Perhaps they are forgiving our species for the decades of slaughter that finally ceased in time, though I have often wondered if there is a species memory that still lingers.

On our whale day, at least twelve of our eighteen guests touched and made that indescribable connection with the grays, touching mostly the new calves, new life quickly gaining strength and size to make the journey north to Alaska, where the mothers can at last eat once more. I don’t know if our people knew what a lucky day this truly was, as there are many days when one sees the grays, but the grays stay aloof. This day, and every other day on this cruise of pure delight, explain why I tell people that Baja California, where the desert meets the sea, is my favorite place on earth.

I’ll leave you with John Steinbeck’s words from ‘The Log Of The Sea Of Cortez’, which reveal a measure of his fascination with the mysteries he found here. “The very air here is miraculous, and outlines of reality change with the moment. The sky sucks up the land and disgorges it. A dream hangs over the whole region, a brooding kind of hallucination”.

If this was all just a hallucination, sign me up again, and I’ll join the crew of the Quest for another round of living the dream of the Sea of Cortez.

SIDEBAR: American Safari Cruises will be launching this cruise from Loreto in 2007, with substantially the same sites and sights. For details of dates and pricing go to www.amsafari.com, or call 888-862-8881.