SO WILD… The Final Adventures of the Year.

View fullsize

As I prepare to wrap up the 2024 season, I am on the boat, motoring out to Tiger Beach as I write this.

The familiar sight of the open ocean and the anticipation of seeing my old friends (the tigers), fills me with excitement and gratitude.

This year has been nothing short of extraordinary. From unforgettable wildlife encounters to the incredible people I’ve shared these adventures with… 2024 has been a season to remember.

I’m deeply grateful for the moments that made it so special—the wildlife, the people, and the experiences that stay with you long after the trips are over.

These final two trips are my chance to soak in every last bit of the magic this year has to offer.

I’m looking forward to sharing what we see out here with all of you—I love bringing a little piece of the wild back to everyone following along.

While I’m excited about the possibilities of a new year and all the adventures to come, right now, I’m focused on savoring these last moments of the season.

Here’s to making the most of 2024’s final days, and to saying goodbye to an unforgettable year.

Stay tuned for updates from the field, and thank you for being part of this journey!

Life Will Not Wait For You!

There is a sad reality on how many people go through life stuck in a routine. They wake up every day, go to work, come home, feed the kids (if you have kids), walk a dog, eat, then go to bed. 

Wash, then repeat. 

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with routine; we all need them. I have mine. But if this is your whole life, without any twists and turns in it - no adventures, no fears, then yes, there is a problem.

I knew a guy who was fifty-five years old, and lived his whole life in my home town, as a freelance carpenter. He was terrified of driving 40 miles out of town to get to a potential job, so he wouldn’t take it if he had to go by himself. 

View fullsize

I have trouble understanding that mindset. But hey, the guy seemed happy, always had a smile when I saw him. So, if this is how you want to spend your life, good for you. You know what you want... and that is all that matters, knowing what you want and living the life YOU want to live. 

But if you are reading my blog, or subscribe to my newsletters, you probably want something more out of life, because that is what I write about... Travel, adventure, the magical world filled with wildlife, and the total unexpected.

I always wonder how many people live out their lives wishing they were doing something else with their lives? Or living somewhere else? Or just traveling more. I will be bold and say 90-95% of us do. 

So it leaves me thinking... Why are we slaves to routine? 

Why are we afraid to step out our doors without the certainty that we are coming back? Why are we all afraid to do something new or totally out of character?

This a harsh truth for some people to hear, I know and I am sorry. But sadly life will not wait for your "one day, I am gonna..."

Life will pass you by.

I know this is deep for a Tuesday morning, but I was thinking about this over the weekend, and I realize that people sometimes need a wake-up call - this one is yours.

Have an amazing week my friends!

The Final Two Days at Sea!

May 29, 2021 - What an exhausting, amazing, and surprising trip this was for our guests and me. No words to express how grateful I am for having the privilege of bringing people out into nature and showing them the beauty of the natural world.

This trip was not perfect, but it was a great trip. The O’s sadly never arrived for us. They were always a bit too far, showing up in other areas that were many miles away. However, the ocean did provide an abundance of wildlife for us to enjoy, and if you were only here for the O’s, then you are missing the forest for the trees.

The Sea of Cortez is a magical place - we encountered three different species of whales, including the biggest of them all, the blue whale. Along with two species of dolphins, tens of thousands of Mobula rays, baitballs, sea lions - it was so much fun. The ocean just kept surprising us and bringing us gifts.

On our final two days in the water, we spent an hour with a friendly pair of juvenile humpback whales. One of them was breaching over and over again. It would breach, then flipper slap the surface, right next to our boat. We stayed with them for about an hour and left them to try and find the O’s. Reports came back that they kept playing for over three hours after we left. Insane.

Breaching right next to our boat, I did not have the right lens.

We also encountered a super pod of coastal bottlenose dolphins. We got to jump in and play with this pod as they swam around us, some of them coming in close to see what we were. It was a lot of fun. After we were done with our time in the water, we watched them breaching and jumping in our boat’s wake—many opportunities for stills and video. What was unique about these dolphins was their size and color. They are massive dolphins, and their skin is a charcoal grey, and when the sun touches them, they look black—such beautiful dolphins.

View fullsize

On our final day, we had flat calm seas and found a mating group of mobulas. Easily over ten thousand mobulas were in this mating ball, and it was a sight to see.

They kept popcorning all around - even when we were in the water, a fantastic way to end the trip.

THE FOLLOWING DAY…

I dropped off Mark, Parag, and Boud at the airport, said goodbye, and then dropped off our trusty steed Alice at the rental shop. Garin, Sara, and I went to Cabo to jump on an afternoon session with my buddy Jacob and Cabo Shark Tours to try and find some sharks.

The conditions were horrible, absolutely horrible. When we jumped in the water, we spent most of our time chasing the boat being pushed by the wind in giant swells. It was worth it; we ended up swimming with four silky sharks, including one that was heavy with pilot fish.

Finally, I asked Jacobo to untie the baitbox from the boat and let it float free. We no longer had the swells pushing us around and the ocean, despite the rising swells was nice and calm. It was nice!

After that, the silkies were a bit shy but still stayed around. We also had a small school of young mahi-mahi hanging around - behind them, a seawolf came in. A huge marlin swam by us. It was magic and a hell of a great way to end this epic two weeks here off Baja.

Mahi-mahis.

A huge thanks to our friends who joined us these past two weeks - and to my buddies who helped me out in Baja during our time at sea. Thank you for sharing this adventure with me - these amazing experiences are forever engrained in my soul. Until the next one!!!