Sperm Whales & Advanced Diving at Tortuga

As Isla Tortuga begins to grow large in the horizon, all eyes continue to scan the smooth waters of the Sea of Cortez. Although we are all tired from a four hour crossing from the mainland of Mexico, we have seen many pods of dolphins, jumping sailfish, and even pilot and sperm whales warming themselves at the surface between deep dives.

Often our first sign of whales will be the burst of spray from their blow-holes as they breathe, or the sight of a massive fluke breaking the calm of the water surface.

The south point of Isla Tortuga is a steep and rugged cliff face formed by the lava flows of many eruptions of the nearby volcanoes. The entire Sea of Cortez is a strongly volcanic region, and is itself formed by the slow march of two of Earth's plates diverging.

Below water, the rugged volcanic face continues into a steep wall where scuba divers may encounter any of the treasures of the Sea of Cortez; from the tiny but beautiful Cortez rainbow wrasses, to the majestic arcing wings of manta rays with wingspans exceeding twenty feet. Drawn to the south tip of Tortuga by strong currents, they are much better equipped than humans to handle the conditions here. The south tip is probably the most advanced dive site at Isla Tortuga, and can only be dived when currents are at their most mild.

Best Baja Invertebrate Guides

Now the fish are the favorites of most travelers to the Sea of Cortez, but I've always been most taken with the invertebrates. Unfortunately, the best guides to the Sea of Cortez invertebrates are no longer in print. However, there are still some worthwhile contenders out there, and the old classics can still be found on occasion.

1) Common Intertidal Invertebrates of the Gulf of California This is the classic invertebrate work for the Gulf of California. It can occasionally be found used, but the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is reprinting this work. I'm not sure if it can be purchased online, but it is available in their gift shop. It's $75, but well worth it if you're serious about your marine invertebrates. (and who isn't - right?)

2) Brusca, R.C., E. Kimrey and W. Moore. Seashore Guide to the Northern Gulf of California. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Also available at the Desert Museum, this is basically a lite version of his earlier work above.

3) Sea of Cortez Marine Invertebrates - 2nd Edition (Revised) In this, the second edition of the beautiful little guide to many of the invertebrates of the Sea of Cortez, are numerous images by the naturalist and photographer, Alex Kerstitch. Sadly, Alex has passed on, but his contributions to the understanding of the Sea of Cortez are innumerable. Hans Bertsch has done a fine job of updating the work while keeping with Alex's flair for documenting the uncommon.

Best Baja Fish Guides

Continuing on with my best guides to Baja are the guides nearest and dearest to my heart - the critter guides!

Fish Guides:
1) Reef Fish Identification: Baja to Panama This one isn't first on my list just because it has a few of my photos in it... but it doesn't hurt! The Baja to Panama edition of Paul Humann's Reef Fish series also contains more easy to use pretty pictures and concise descriptions than any other reference I am aware of. It is a very good work although I do find the organization a little frustrating - it's by general shape / color etc, rather than by family. I think this probably more of a pet peeve of mine and I can see how it would be useful for most individuals wanting to ID a fish.

2) Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez: The Rocky-Shore Fishes of the Gulf of California This work is THE bible for ichthyologists working in the Sea of Cortez! My first trip into Baja (1992) was with two of the authors, Thomson and Kerstitch, for 5 weeks. Their guidance and friendship is what inspired me to continue along my chosen path. When we first traveled in 1992, the first edition was out of print and we were working from photocopied pages in a ziplock, but the new second edition is out and has been expanded with many new sections. It's not a lightweight guide, but it goes into the marine fishes of the region like no other.

3) Sea of Cortez Marine Animals: A Guide to the Common Fishes and Invertebrates Baja California to Panama This guide is quite the opposite of the first two. It is indeed lightweight, covering only the most common organisms, both fish and invertebrates. For a casual scuba diver or snorkeler wishing to find out the name of a critter that they have encountered, it is generally sufficient and is well illustrated to boot.

Best Baja Travel Guides

These next few posts may be a bit different than my usual, but I wanted to put out a list of my current favorite books about Baja and the Sea of Cortez. I'm a compulsive collector of field guides, travel guides, and scientific works about the region. I hope I'll be able to narrow down my collection to a few of the best and help out your holiday list-making if you're as interested about Baja and the Sea of Cortez as I am.

So, here are a few of my favorites for general travel guides.

1) Lonely Planet Baja California & Los Cabos (Lonely Planet Baja and Los Cabos)
The Lonely Planet guides are hard to beat for ease of use, and are kept relatively up to date. The new edition of their Baja guide is no exception, but as they are updated, they seem to be shrinking with less information about the history and biogeography of the region. However, for a straightforward "where to go and how to get there" type of guide, these are ideal travel companions.

2) Moon Handbooks Baja The Moon Handbooks Baja is a very enjoyable book - a bit more like what the Lonely Planet guides used to be. It is large (640 pages!) and packed with information about the history and sites of Baja. Some of the travel information is more dated than the Lonely Planet guide, but this is a wonderful compliment to the smaller guide. Having this along will definitely increase your enjoyment and appreciation of the Baja Peninsula by providing a worthwhile narrative to the little known history and culture of Baja.

3) Diving and Snorkeling the Sea of Cortez: The Most Complete Guide to Baja California's Best Sites - Includes the Islas de Revillagigedo (Socorro Islands) This diving guide by Susan Speck and Bruce Williams is a good introduction to diving in the Sea of Cortez. It is far from comprehensive, but does cover some of the better known sites as well as a few "secret" sites. Although there is much more to scuba diving in the Sea of Cortez than can be contained in 92 pages, this guide will give a very good general idea of what to expect in the various regions of the Sea of Cortez and Islas de Revillagigedo.

4) The Rough Guide to Baja California (Rough Guide Travel Guides) The Rough Guide to Baja California is another worthwhile guide. I don't find it to be quite as useful in "getting there" as the Lonely Planet guide, but stylistically it's a lot more fun to read and is still packed with good info, especially with regard to hotels, restaurants, and clubs.

5) The Baja Adventure Book The Baja Adventure Book by Walt Peterson is a true Baja classic. Much of the travel info for developed areas is FAR out of date, but the general info about the destinations and "off the beaten path" sites are still valuable and interesting. A good blend of destinations, history and factoids.