Baja California Sur with Lindblad - Good Taste is the Worst Vice

Christmas 2025 found us in Baja California Sur, Mexico, aboard the Lindblad National Geographic Venture!

D and I joined his sister, brother in law, and nephew for a weeklong trip up and down the eastern side of the Baja California Sur peninsula, starting and ending in Loreto. We hiked the arroyos among giant cardon cacti, lizards, and beautiful desert flowers, swam with sea lions, and were surrounded by scores of dolphins. And then there were the sunsets – some of the most expansive pink and gold and blue skies I’ve ever seen!

In all we had five days on board. The trip was slower paced than some of our prior Lindblad expeditions, a relaxing way to wind down the year – in addition to hikes, kayaking, and snorkling, I did lots of crosswords and spent time simply watching the sea and sky.

Day 1: Isla San Marcos

Today we had our first hike along a winding arroyo (dry river bed) that stretched up from the beach. It was fascinating to see the varieties of cacti and all the little desert flora that had appeared after recent rain. Our guides, who live in the area, said it was unusual to see so many flowers.

It was a nice introduction to the area, and as the sun began to set we returned to the ship for cocktails and the traditional Lindblad recap before dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Day 2: Isla San Esteban & San Pedro Martir

Another day, another arroyo! This one was much broader so we spread out to examine the many varieties of cacti – not just tall cardons, but also prickly pear, organ pipe, hedgehog, and lots more that I can’t recall.

One of our guides – something of a wildlife whisperer who actually caught a rattlesnake later in the trip – spotted a pinto chuckwalla lizard and gently pulled it from beneath the scrub for us to see. Chuckwallas have an unusual defensive approach wherein they wedge into rock crevices and then inflate themselves so that they can’t be removed. Our chuckwalla was relaxed despite being manhandled, and you could see the loose skin around its midsection that would allow it to puff up. (Random aside, apparently some people keep chuckwallas as pets – yikes!)

Our afternoon excursion was a zodiac ride around San Pedro Martir, a “1,000-foot-high guano-covered
island that is home to thousands of seabirds”. Perhaps not the most appealing description, but it was really beautiful… despite the guano.

We saw lots of brown and blue-footed boobies, brown pelicans, and sea lions.

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was our zodiac rides to and from the island, accompanied by thousands of dolphins racing along our boats and playing in the wake. They lost interest when we slowed, but once we were at speed again they rushed back towards us and came so close at times that we were splashed!

It was just magical…

The day was capped off with another gorgeous sunset.

Day 3: Isla Tortuga

This was a pretty mellow day – we skipped out on the strenuous hike around the caldera of the Isla Tortuga volcano and stuck to zodiac cruising and relaxing on board. Rafts of sea lions, cormorants, more boobies, and even a sea turtle gliding peacefully along.

In the afternoon the ship repositioned to the south, so we watched dolphins and birds and enjoyed the views from the deck.

It was an overcast night so instead of the planned stargazing on deck, one of our guides produced a large pinata and we had an impromptu party complete with Mexican candy, of course.

Day 4: Isla Carmen & San Marcial

Kayaking in the morning was a good workout, though one foray was enough for me and then I was happy to be back on board.

In the afternoon, D and I joined an “aerobic hike” up the peninsula in a scenic area called San Marcial. The footing was tricky in spots and I slipped a bit on loose rocks, but no harm done. The hot afternoon made our evening cocktails even more delicious!

Day 5: Los Islotes & La Encantada, Isla San Jose

Christmas Day featured a swim with sea lions at Los Islotes national park. We jumped in from our zodiacs and snorkeled along the rocky coast, watching the sea lions sunning themselves and occasionally swimming beneath or past us. There was one absolutely enormous sea lion bull who I kept a watchful eye on as he went to and fro, and plenty of colorful fish.

My favorite part was seeing playful pups swimming up and down the anchor lines and playing around the boats as we came back to the anchored zodiacs.

Our afternoon was meant to be at Isla San Francisco, but it was too windy so we continued to a different anchorage off Isla San Jose. (During our sail, we were trailed by Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht that we kept encountering throughout the week.)

D opted for a rest, and I joined the hike up the arroyo and into a narrow, winding slot canyon.

Yet another beautiful sunset greeted us as we walked down to the rocky beach and made our way to the zodiacs to return to the ship.

Day 5: Punta Salinas, Isla San Jose

One final hike, first exploring an abandoned salt mining operation that created striking red and grey stripes of earth across a shallow ocean inlet. In addition to the salt ponds, there were a few abandoned buildings and some rusted-out vehicles from mid-1900.

Then we climbed up… and up… a steep hill that seemed comprised entirely of boulders and loose rocks. And more cacti. It was slow and careful going to pick our way up, but the views at the top were pretty great. The dark spot in the water is our ship.

The descent was trickier but we all made it down without incident, phew! This picture gives you some sense of the terrain, but it doesn’t really show how steep it was.