Mike Lever, President of Nautilus Dive Adventures, is currently at San Ignacio lagoon putting the finishing touches into our new wildlife glamping adventure. The new adventure tour will allow guests to experience comfort never seen before in San Ignacio lagoon, while experiencing some of the greatest whale interactions on earth, bringing adventure travel in Mexico to a whole new level…
True Adventure in San Ignacio
What am I doing here?? It’s cold. It’s damp. It was windy for the last couple of days, although it’s flat calm today. It’s sandy and services are limited. And it’s a super difficult place to get to by car, with washed out roads that are full of potholes and washboard bumps…
Well. This remote desert halfway down Baja California in Mexico is one of the last places in the world where gray whales migrate from vast distances to mate, breed and prepare new calves for the long journey north to feed and become strong. San Ignacio Lagoon is the first and primary stopping off spot on their southward migration and boasts a much greater density of friendly whales than the other lagoons further south. What makes this desolate spot worth visiting is the incredible behaviour of the whales once they are in the lagoon – these giants of the sea literally swim up to our pangas to be petted and stroked and have us scratch them between their pectoral fins.
This is the most incredible whale interaction on the planet.
Is It Worth the Tough Living Conditions?
Yes, for sure in my opinion. I thought about this a lot as I bundled up in the cold and damp for an evening walk along the beach in front of our camp last night. Interacting with these gray whales is a life experience, and the desert has a primal beauty that I can feel touching my soul. The sunrise over the mountains to the east of camp was spectacular this morning. The night sky under millions of bright stars is almost indescribable. The moon is shining so brightly away from city lights that I don’t need a flashlight to walk around camp.
I don’t want to leave. I am very glad that I am here.
But it’s also time for change and to bring luxury and excellence in guest experience to the lagoon. After 28 years of running a basic eco camp, we are working with the local panga captains and fishing families to build a brand-new camp that will combine eco sensitivity with luxuries never seen before in at the lagoon.
Luxury Wilderness Camping in San Ignacio
What does this entail?
Super high end heated and insulated glamping tents that are completely impervious and silent even on windy days. Super convenient one hour and 40-minute charter flights from Cabo San Lucas landing directly at our camp. Real beds and mattresses with beautiful linen, as well as private bathrooms and showers in all the tents. A private porch outside each tent with lounge chairs situated for both privacy and to get the best view of the sunset over the lagoon. Hot tubs, fire pits, 24-hour internet access and 24-hour silent AC power. Phew.
We also feature the only loaner mountain bikes for biking and hiking trails. Not to mention a spacious diving tent alongside another large tent for a bar and lounge – including an excellent selection of craft beer, wine and single malts – and a third large tent at the other end of the camp that is family friendly. I’m here helping put the finishing touches on camp.
We’ll be ready for our season opener on January 25th. Our whales tell us that they will be ready as well.
Covid Friendly Travel
Most importantly for these difficult times during the virus crisis, we have developed a 60-page document of virus protocols and procedures to keep everyone as safe as possible. The icing on the cake? We’ve introduced a special 2021 value package for this difficult year.
