We returned Thursday to Arizona after spending nearly three weeks in Baja—including a full week with a group of fellow naturalists, nature journalers, and adventurers who joined us the first Baja Field Arts Bootcamp.

We spent three days at a private whale-watching camp on Magdalena Bay at the mouth to the Pacific Ocean, where we had whales and their babies greet us right offshore as we sipped our morning coffee. We spent several hours each morning and afternoon in open boats called pangas—the captains are all fishermen in the local coop and are excellent guides; we even witnessed pretty epic whale sex (several times), including some eye-popping views of the male’s member, which the guides call “Pink Floyd.” Suffice to say I never thought I’d sketch a whale willy!

Returning to Loreto, we then spent a magical, calm and cool day cruising out to Isla Coronado to snorkel with sea lions and test out the underwater sketch kits I made (see below). Conditions were very difficult—really cold water, ill-fitting and malfunctioning PFDs causing serious delays and difficulty swimming—but six brave souls joined me for our attempts at drawing underwater!

The next day we heading up into the Sierra la Gigantic and more adventure, this time to climb up to “Cueva de la Serpiente,” Cave of the Serpent, a 4000-year-old rock art site on a private ranch. Jonathan and our guides took the main group up the very steep, difficult ascent over large boulders, while I lead a small group on a nature hike up the road where we had some great wildlife tracking and bird life.

The last day was mostly a free day, and some of us visited the Eco Alianza de Loreto, a community-based conservation group that has been building strong programs in the region for over ten year. Executive director Carlos Posadas Solano hosted our group and we joined a program for 40 grade schoolers who were learning that day about mangrove estuaries and birds. We brought three Spanish language copies of John Muir Laws’ Guide to Nature Sketching and Journaling for the Alianza’s environmental educator team, and we brought 40 journals and art supplies for the kids. Our group had a fun half-hour journaling with the kids as they decorated them with nature stickers and drew their favorite animals.

The team from ROW / Sea Kayak Adventures—Rafa Escalante, Mario Escalera, and Dianna, the primary guides, along with the camp support team (Amaranta, Kellee, and the amazing cook, Shelly)—made the whole experience enriching, fun, and deeply rewarding.

Our most adventurous bootcamp yet, we practically need a vacation to recover from all the experiences!