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Monitor green turtle populations on this hands-on voluntourism opportunity!
Day 1: Loreto to Conchalito Island
The extension begins this morning with a transfer from Loreto to Puerto San Carlos, on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. Our local guide meets us at the hotel to assist with our transfer arrangements, introducing us to our driver who will take us by private car to Puerto San Carlos, where we meet our guide.
This mellow fishing village is the entry-point for the blue expanse of Magdalena Bay, home to turtles, whales, dolphins and a host of other marine life. We head out by panga, a traditional open Baja fishing boat, for Conchalito Island, a tiny shell island that will serve as our camp and turtle-monitoring base for the next three days. We enjoy a hearty lunch on arrival, during which we’ll have an orientation to the adventures that lie ahead. This afternoon, we accompany the research team on the water to capture and collect data from foraging sea turtles before releasing them back into the wild. Wearing high wader coveralls, we help pull in the nets, hoping to find a turtle or two to take back for examination. Later, we relax over sunset happy hour drinks before enjoying dinner on the beach together. Fresh seafood and other local dishes are a highlight of our stay on the island, and we marvel at what our camp cooks can accomplish with a rather primitive kitchen!
Day 2: Conchalito Island
For those eager to start sea turtle monitoring, this morning you can awaken with the sunrise, grab some coffee, and help your fisherman guides set nets in the channel. Otherwise, you may sleep in, enjoy a relaxed breakfast and watch for birds who inhabit the serene natural setting of Conchalito. You may even see a whale or two gliding past.
Boats head out for monitoring every two hours. Throughout the day, you become versed in the biology of sea turtles, their important ecological function, and the threats they face. When you help weigh and measure the turtles we have collected, the data provides vital information to biologists who study their health, growth rates and movement throughout the region.
During the day, feel free to take a break a break from turtle monitoring to relax, read, or take advantage of guided walks and boat excursions through the mangrove channels to see local wildlife, including resident and migratory bird species, marine mammals and coyotes. If local fishermen are present, we’ll stop to chat and learn about traditional fishing methods. We may even pull up a crab pot or two. Learn from scientists and community members about the intricate web of life that comprises the local ecosystem, and how local people are working to improve and sustain the environment on which they rely. This evening, we unwind again with beachside drinks and dinner before returning to the water – for those who wish – to spend more time monitoring the turtles. If the skies are clear, a stupendous display of stars will provide a magical canopy for our work.
Depending on the tides, the monitoring team will work through the night into the early morning hours, but it is up to guests how much or how little they would like to participate. The research team can always use a helping hand, but there’s no obligation to compromise a good night’s sleep! If you do choose to accompany the researchers after dark, bundle up: the marine air can be chilly, and a brisk wind often blows. A warm jacket, hat and gloves are essential.
Day 3: Conchalito Island / Loreto / Home
After breakfast this morning, we pack up for the return journey. First, though, we’re whisked by panga to an impressive expanse of sand dunes, where we have a chance for a hike and a picnic lunch before we continue by boat to the mainland. Here, we meet our car and driver and transfer across the mountainous spine of Baja to Loreto on the peninsula’s east side. We arrive in Loreto in time to catch the late afternoon flight back to the U.S.
The extension begins this morning with a transfer from Loreto to Puerto San Carlos, on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. Our local guide meets us at the hotel to assist with our transfer arrangements, introducing us to our driver who will take us by private car to Puerto San Carlos, where we meet our guide.
This mellow fishing village is the entry-point for the blue expanse of Magdalena Bay, home to turtles, whales, dolphins and a host of other marine life. We head out by panga, a traditional open Baja fishing boat, for Conchalito Island, a tiny shell island that will serve as our camp and turtle-monitoring base for the next three days. We enjoy a hearty lunch on arrival, during which we’ll have an orientation to the adventures that lie ahead. This afternoon, we accompany the research team on the water to capture and collect data from foraging sea turtles before releasing them back into the wild. Wearing high wader coveralls, we help pull in the nets, hoping to find a turtle or two to take back for examination. Later, we relax over sunset happy hour drinks before enjoying dinner on the beach together. Fresh seafood and other local dishes are a highlight of our stay on the island, and we marvel at what our camp cooks can accomplish with a rather primitive kitchen!
Day 2: Conchalito Island
For those eager to start sea turtle monitoring, this morning you can awaken with the sunrise, grab some coffee, and help your fisherman guides set nets in the channel. Otherwise, you may sleep in, enjoy a relaxed breakfast and watch for birds who inhabit the serene natural setting of Conchalito. You may even see a whale or two gliding past.
Boats head out for monitoring every two hours. Throughout the day, you become versed in the biology of sea turtles, their important ecological function, and the threats they face. When you help weigh and measure the turtles we have collected, the data provides vital information to biologists who study their health, growth rates and movement throughout the region.
During the day, feel free to take a break a break from turtle monitoring to relax, read, or take advantage of guided walks and boat excursions through the mangrove channels to see local wildlife, including resident and migratory bird species, marine mammals and coyotes. If local fishermen are present, we’ll stop to chat and learn about traditional fishing methods. We may even pull up a crab pot or two. Learn from scientists and community members about the intricate web of life that comprises the local ecosystem, and how local people are working to improve and sustain the environment on which they rely. This evening, we unwind again with beachside drinks and dinner before returning to the water – for those who wish – to spend more time monitoring the turtles. If the skies are clear, a stupendous display of stars will provide a magical canopy for our work.
Depending on the tides, the monitoring team will work through the night into the early morning hours, but it is up to guests how much or how little they would like to participate. The research team can always use a helping hand, but there’s no obligation to compromise a good night’s sleep! If you do choose to accompany the researchers after dark, bundle up: the marine air can be chilly, and a brisk wind often blows. A warm jacket, hat and gloves are essential.
Day 3: Conchalito Island / Loreto / Home
After breakfast this morning, we pack up for the return journey. First, though, we’re whisked by panga to an impressive expanse of sand dunes, where we have a chance for a hike and a picnic lunch before we continue by boat to the mainland. Here, we meet our car and driver and transfer across the mountainous spine of Baja to Loreto on the peninsula’s east side. We arrive in Loreto in time to catch the late afternoon flight back to the U.S.
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