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The
Best of Baja California, Mexico!
Experience
Baja California, Mexico's Personalized Natural History
including boating
with Scammon's Lagoon's friendly gray whales.
Since 1966: Our
greatest natural History learning adventure!
1 Departure: March
2-10, 2009!
Reserving now...Call us
for information...(520) 887-2340
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BFT's guests look
at
whales...not for
whales!
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We're not looking for
whales, we're looking at whales! Scammon's Lagoon, located on the Pacific
Coast of Baja California, Mexico, roughly 400 miles south of San Diego,
California, is the largest and best-protected and regulated of the
California Gray Whales' calving and mating grounds.
These leviathans have
traveled 4,000 miles from the Bering Sea to mate and to bear their young
in the safety of these protected waters. They are at peace here. It is
truly amazing to share their waters as they go about their natural
business of life undisturbed.
Our Best of Baja
tour is easy-going and especially created for natural history-oriented
guests seeking a learning vacation. Informal natural and cultural history
interpretation abounds, and is rooted in Piet's 46 years in Baja
California (42 years since founding BFT) combined with Mary's vast Sonoran
Desert botanical and interpretive skills. This unique learning vacation is
personally operated by Piet & Mary Van de
Mark with comfortable new passenger vans and includes
time off the beaten track to stop and smell (and photograph) the spring flowers
and meander some of their favorite special spots in Baja's deserts and sea coast.
Very comfortable hotel
accommodations are included throughout. Very fresh seafood, plus Mexican
and American specialties are always available from familiar restaurants we
and our guests have enjoyed since most of them first opened decades ago.
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This
unique learning vacation is offered one time only this coming season.
Reserving now. Still only $1995. |
Guests & cardon cactus in 2007.   
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hole in the rock
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Old friends in Guerrero!
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EMAIL: piet@bajasfrontiertours.com |
BROCHURE?
ITINERARY? QUESTIONS? RESERVATIONS
We're pleased
to speak with you to discuss your interests and what we have to
offer you.
520-887-2340
(Tucson,
Arizona) |
Please call or email to
make your reservations well in advance. Space is limited.
Please
click on their image to be directed to Travel Insured's website to learn
more and to purchase travel insurance for your learning vacation with
us.
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We recommend the
purchase of travel and trip cancellation insurance.
Travel Insured
International has provided our guests with excellent service for many
years.
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Another
unique educational travel experience from Baja's Frontier Tours, co-sponsored by
Tucson's world-famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Whenever you're in Tucson, be sure
to plan a day to enjoy this special place to enhance your experience in
our Sonoran Desert.
Our
brochure with more details of this trip is yours for the asking. Call Mary & Piet Van de
Mark today.
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Many of us are touched
by whales!
A whale of a holiday card! Photo by BFT guests Stan & Mary Lou
Holmes
BFT's
guests don't look for
whales...they look at whales!
And about half
of our guests are touched by friendly California gray whales!
These photos are shot by BFT
guests and by Piet & Mary Van de Mark |
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When a friendly California gray whale comes
over to your boat to visit - even to hang out for a few minutes -
you can actually watch (and hear!) her breath. Baleen whales have
two blowholes at the top of their head. |
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Here is a close look down
at a gray whale's blowholes, open wide to draw in air. The other
objects on the whale's skin are barnacles and large whale lice
that blend together to give the animal a gray appearance at
distance.
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Baja Whale Watching
&
Sonoran Desert Natural History
 
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Our
specialty Since 1966 |
The
Best of Baja!
March 2-10, 2009!
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| Ellen, our guest from Tucson, writing about Pacific
Coastal birding on her 2005 trip with us -
It was marvelous - and if you got tired of watching the whales,
you could watch the seabirds: a Caspian tern, more gulls and pelicans
and cormorants, eared grebes, snowy and great egrets. After several
hours when our boatman headed us back to the launching dock, we passed
by bobbing channel markers and huge metal mooring buoys used by salt
barges, covered with lounging sea lions or pelicans, and sometimes both.
Several early evenings we went bird-watching along the shore and tidal
inlets. Here’s where my bird list took a great leap. There was a lot
of marshy grass and little islands with great numbers of birds feeding.
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We saw willits, godwits, and whimbrills with their curiously long beaks,
a blue-footed booby, reddish egrets, long-billed curlews, cormorants
with their wings spread to dry, pintail ducks, greater and lesser
yellowlegs, red-breasted mergansers, semi-palmated and Western and least
sandpipers, common goldeneye, brants, lesser scaups and American
widgeons. In the long grasses, we saw tricolor herons, yellow-crowned
and black-crowned night herons, little blue and great blue herons, each
spaced equally apart for nesting. At the lighthouse point closer to the
sea, we saw black-bellied plovers, oyster catchers and Western gulls.
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We were struck by the number of ospreys on nesting platforms built
all around town, including two within view of our motel. Since it was
spring, some chicks were ready to fledge but were still being fed by
their parents. It became a daily ritual to check on the two nearby
nests. There was great excitement when one of the youngsters finally
flew, a sense of shared accomplishment among us, even to delaying our
departure one morning. The great shaggy chick looked like an improbable
flyer, but fly he did from nest to telephone pole while we stood and
applauded. There was another osprey platform near the bakery we
frequented and there was as much interest in that nest as in the
contents of the bakery.
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Experience
the Natural History of the Peninsula's Unique Central Desert and Pacific Coast,
plus
the Gray Whales on Scammon's Lagoon!
Exciting
Daily Discoveries and Comfortable Nightly Hotel Accommodations. And the freshest
seafood you've enjoyed in a very long time!
Personally
produced, operated and hosted by Piet & Mary Van de Mark.
March
2-10, 2009
- one tour
only
Call
us at 520-887-2340
(in
Tucson)
outside
Arizona call 1-800-726-7231
EMAIL: piet@bajasfrontiertours.com
Please call us with
your questions and let's talk about our program.
Comfortable
new passenger vans roundtrip
from San Diego, California.
Still
Only $1995 per person, double occupancy
limited
single occupancy rooming available at $595 additional
Your
$300 deposit assures your reservation now
Space
is limited. Please reserve early!
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The Best
of Baja
is
a comprehensive and diverse natural history vacation created for guests with a
wide range of ages and interests. Desert delights—Boojum forests, immense
cardon cacti, brilliant spring flowers, plus the lovely Pacific seashore alive
with marine and bird life—are but a part of the fascination you’ll
experience on this leisurely learning vacation.
Piet (who
pioneered Baja eco-tours in the 1960’s) and Mary Van de Mark (with 20 years at
the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's Education Department and Tucson Botanical
Gardens) will personally share their passion for Baja’s natural history with
you throughout this comfortably paced vacation. You'll also enjoy two days of
boating on Scammon’s Lagoon, always with many hundreds of California gray
whales. During our visits in 2004, biologists counted over 2,000 gray whales in
Scammon's Lagoon! Such numbers are common. About half of lucky BFT guests actually
exchange touches with one (or more!) of these magnificent
mammals!
This is the
gray whales' migratory destination; we're not looking
for whales, we're looking at them! They have always
been there for our guests in great numbers since Piet began whale watching tours
forty years ago. You'll have time for leisurely
exploring, photography and always-optional walks about Baja's springtime desert
and shore. Picture pristine places by the sea and great desert forests of the
peninsula’s wondrous plants.
This very
personally hosted learning vacation features travel
in comfortable brand new air-conditioned passenger vans round-trip from San Diego, nightly hotels, several meals,
knowledgeable nature interpretation and the most outdoor enjoyment and learning
you'll find anywhere! The rear seats are always removed from our vans for comfort and
luggage, and radios connect the us for sharing information en route. Limited
to twenty-some congenial guests. Reserve now. Call or e-mail to
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Dennis
Winsten photo
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Mary Van de Mark's
nearly three decades of natural history education experience, include 14
years at the Arizona-Sonora Desert
Museum's Education Department and six years with the Tucson Botanical Gardens. BFT's guests
are always assured of both
enjoyable itineraries and a professional interpretive focus by the Van de Marks
and often by a selection of the very best guest interpreters. Mary's informative
nature interpretations continue to be enjoyed by all. |
Piet
Van de Mark’s passion for Baja
California, Mexico's natural beauty bloomed on a personal odyssey in the summer
of 1962. Baja's Frontier Tours began as adventurous four-wheel-drive camping expeditions in 1966. As
paved roads and hotels slowly came to Baja California, BFT gradually evolved into the
Personalized
Natural & Cultural History Learning Vacations that Mary & Piet share today in
the peninsula and
other selected locations in Mexico and the American Southwest. |
From our guests about The
Best of Baja…
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| "I just want to say what a
really wonderful trip it was. You made the trip so personal.
It was like going with a group of old friends. Seeing the whales
was an amazing, unforgettable experience, but also so enjoyable were the
walks in the desert and on the beaches, the picnics, and driving to and
from. I loved it all. Just got my pictures back, so I
enjoyed it all over again! You guys know how to do it!
Thanks for sharing your love and knowledge of Baja so generously."
Best regards, Gail,
San Francisco. |
| "I know we told you how
much we enjoyed our time with you but thank you again for beautiful memories.
We want you to know that if you ever write a book, we will be one of the first
to buy it. Bob and I place this tour at the top of our list as being the
very best." Thanks again. Nancy & Bob, Indiana. |
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arrangements were great—fun hotels and wonderful food! We were amazed
at the lushness and beauty of that part of Baja, and the wild flowers were
incredible!! And the whales—We were so lucky to encounter two friendlies right
off the bat! We just couldn’t imagine seeing so many whales, and so close. It
was fantastic!"
Bobbie & John, Arizona.
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| "The
Baja trip was by far one of my best! Great folks interested in science! I have a
new puppy…her name is BOOJUM! Never stop exploring!" Kathy,
Wyoming
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| "We
want to thank you for a marvelous Best of Baja trip. We enjoyed it immensely and
were especially appreciative of your efforts to acquaint us with Baja—from its
people and history to its plants and whales. You gave us wonderful memories of
delicious picnics, beautiful canyons and beaches, and good fellowship."
Ivan and Venice, Arizona |
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have relived my
whale-petting event many times--each time I tell it. Thanks for the
wonderful adventure." Carol,
Colorado
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| Watching
the California gray whales in
Baja was first widely reported to the outside world by that prolific mystery
writer and Baja aficionado Erle Stanley Gardner in his 1960 book Hunting The
Desert Whale, an account of his early adventures at Scammon's Lagoon. Named
after a Nineteenth-Century American whaler, Scammon's Lagoon is the largest
destination point of the gray whales' awesome 8,000-mile migration from the
Bering Sea. This spectacle was witnessed by very few until 1967, when Baja's
Frontier Tours began land-based programs to Scammon's Lagoon. |
Another
turning point came a decade later with a simple act of trust by one curious
whale: she swam over to one of our Zodiacs filled with people and watched—and
touched our outstretched hands! Other whales must have watched her, for
succeeding years have blossomed with friendly whale encounters. The story
of Baja's Frontier Tours' early encounters with Grace, the friendly whale appeared
in National Geographic World in 1978 and in Newsweek in 1979, and
resulted in BFT's participation in the production of PBS's TV special The
Great Whales. |
While
we cannot assure you a touching encounter with a friendly whale—acts of
nature are not often guaranteed, are they?—perhaps half of our guests share this most
memorable experience. On our tours, two boating journeys are planned on
the waters of Scammon's Lagoon with lots of gray whales—often over 2000 animals! They can be seen relaxing, mating and caring for their young.
Photography can be breathtaking! Our guests find many memorable experiences with
us in Baja both on and off Scammon's Lagoon! |
For
most folks, while whale watching may be the journey's high point, most guests
find that getting there
with Mary & Piet on The Best of Baja is even more than
half the fun! Comfortable accommodations, the freshest seafood you can imagine,
and traveling companions who truly get along and make fast friends, characterize
the BFT experience. We hope you'll join the fun and learning on our next
adventure during the heart of the whale season. Please feel free to
call any time to chat with Piet and Mary about your questions and your
interests. |
Value
Whale Watching
for your group?
Value
Whale Watching is a wonderful, quick and economical custom program for your club, group,
institution or extended family and friends.
Please plan as far in advance
as possible; one or more years is most welcome. Call, write or email us to discuss options.
Boating Excursions with Baja's California Gray Whales on Scammon's Lagoon!
Luxury
Full-Size Motor Coach and Round-trip Sightseeing from San Diego, Tucson,
or your home town.
Contact
us for cost & details for your group
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Value
Whale Watching features
the magnificent California
gray whales including two or more days that feature up-close observation outings
by boat on famous Scammon’s Lagoon during this comfortable motor coach
excursion. Experience the whales’ largest and best-protected migratory destination lagoon, where
adults generally number two-thousand or more and several hundred calves are
born each season! Lots of our lucky guests actually
share a touch with a friendly whale—truly one of life’s most
memorable experiences!
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This
fully escorted learning vacation represents a terrific travel value in
education, comfort & fun! Comfortable hotels and
wonderful food are enjoyed by all.
This short and easy-going educational program requires no hiking and very
little walking. Just relax in your comfortable full-size, air-conditioned U.S. Motorcoach
and enjoy the unique beauty of Northern and Central Baja’s Pacific
seacoast, deserts
and villages passing by outside your window. |
Your
trip may begin with your hotel
on the evening of the first day in San Diego (or your chosen location), and normally ends there
on the morning of the last day, allowing travel time from home on both of these days. This escorted
eco-tour includes direct travel by luxury U.S. charter motor coach (bathroom
aboard!), five (or more) nightly hotels, two (or more)
whale-watching boating adventures on Scammon’s Lagoon and your choice of
meal plans. Call
or e-mail for details. And please plan this one a year or two ahead.
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QUESTIONS &
RESERVATIONS?
Contact Piet & Mary Van de Mark by phone:
520-887-2340 (Tucson, Arizona)
Toll
Free: 1-800-726-7231
©Baja's
Frontier Tours LLC Tucson, Arizona 2005
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When the rains come, you'll
experience great spring
flowers in Baja! 
