Arriving in Baja this year was different. I flew instead of driving the van, so I planned to be a home dweller for a month at a simple AirBnB in Cabo San Lucas. However, upon arrival, I ran into problems. The studio owner didn’t want to host me unless I canceled with AirBnB and paid him directly. His behavior was bizarre, so I booked another place that was wildly out of my budget, but was available for late check-in.

A few other weird things happened with client accommodations, but I shook off the missteps and prepared myself for my BAJA DIVE EXPEDITIONS. Even though this is my third year running trips to Cabo San Lucas with the help of Dive Ninja Expeditions, I still get nervous anytime I’m bringing a group of people together. However, I will admit that this year, I experienced something I never anticipated.

When you bring a group together, you never really know what the dynamic will be. For me, there’s also an element of pressure to live up to whatever expectation people have of me based on what they see online.

I first confronted this imposter syndrome through a course called The Artists Way, which is a book designed as a 12-week course to help people reconnect with their creative side. I first completed the course about a year after moving into my van. The creation of my Patreon community the BAJA DIVE EXPEDITION were the direct results of that work. My biggest takeaway was to be brave. I’ve always considered myself a brave person, but all the loss of 2020 hit me hard. 

One of the quotes from the book has lived rent free in my mind ever since: Leap and the net will appear. Taking a leap of faith includes letting go of expectations of the result, but my leap led me to the net of guiding trips.

Of course, the benefit of running scuba diving trips is that we all have at least one thing in common, our love for the ocean. I didn’t have anything to be worried about though. This group was eclectic representing Hungary, Poland, Venezuela, and the United States, and we quickly bonded while enjoying the surprisingly cool weather.

The water temperature dropped early this year, down to a balmy 21C. With the drop in temperature, we were blessed with the most gorgeous visibility I’ve seen in the wintertime here.

On this trip I got more familiar with using the Insta360 camera. I’ve found that this camera is great for capturing footage of divers and any other large subject. It’s especially good at cleaning up underwater footage and making the subject pop when there is plenty of light.

When I’m guiding trips, I don’t tend to bring my larger camera setup because my focus is on my divers and their needs. Once I’m familiar with a group, I will bust it out, but I still deprioritize capturing footage because I don’t believe that’s why people pay to go out diving with me. I focus on finding critters and having a laugh. That said, I did take my Sony ZV1 on the night dive and we had a funny encounter with a moray eel who used our dive lights to unsuccessfully hunt the entire dive. Honestly, I think it was just on a mission to cause mayhem rather than actually have a meal.

Then we went to Cabo Pulmo and got a lucky draw with the dive site lottery. We went out to find the bull sharks. Cabo Pulmo works a little differently than other dive locations in Baja, so If you’re interested in learning more, check out this video. 

We also had a magical day in Gordo Banks. This isn’t part of the typical BAJA DIVE EXPEDITION itinerary but can be an add-on for Advanced divers in the group. Gordo Banks is tricky because it is a high-risk, high-reward dive location. There may be nothing and you dive in the blue all day or you could see hammerheads, whales, or any number of pelagic creatures cruising through the Corridor.

This particular day, we saw the hammerhead scouts on the first dive, which meant the school was in the area, so we planned to dive the same spot a second time. A shiver of hammerheads works that way. A couple of scout sharks will check out different sounds in the area to assess if it’s safe… then the whole group can show up. We had hundreds of hammerheads swimming around us, most of them too far for my camera to capture, so we all just enjoyed the show. 

A couple of things to remember about doing deep, blue water dives like this are your maximum depth and bottom time. During the first dive when we were waiting for the scouts, I saved my bottom time and stayed shallower than most in the group. Then, when we got the show during the second dive, I could hang with the sharks and still stay within my no-decompression limits. I will say if you can afford it and the dive shop can accommodate it, a day of technical diving out here could be super magical.

The Gulf of California is a vibrant hotspot of ocean biodiversity. Its unique geography—warmer water, nutrient-rich upwellings, and deep underwater canyons—creates the perfect environment for marine life. This biodiversity haven supports an incredible array of pelagic species, including various sharks, dolphins, and majestic whales such as humpbacks, blue whales, and orcas. Seasonal migrations bring these creatures here, offering unparalleled opportunities to witness ocean giants in their natural habitat. And that’s why the day trip to La Paz continues to be the crowd favorite on this trip.

Young whale sharks show up in the wintertime to feed in the bay of La Paz. Because of the strict regulations, it’s one of the only places I would ever go to swim with whale sharks.

The first trip ended before the holidays, which I worked through to prepare for my next trip and this is where I experienced something totally new. 

I wasn’t nervous about bringing this group together. 

This was my first ever LGBT+ trip where all participants identified as part of the community. The trip was actually created because I met another queer van lifer while camping on a beach in Baja last year. They expressed an interest in getting over their fear of water, so we devised a plan to do just that, and open the experience up to others.

I felt safe and comfortable leading this group. I had never acknowledged it before, but I’m always slightly on edge with people until I know they are an ally. I only just came out online last summer, and it was one of the scariest things I’ve done on this platform because of how emboldened people feel when protected by the anonymity of a keyboard.

Some people who aren’t part of a marginalized group will minimize the importance of trips like this. They will say things like, “This isn’t a problem in scuba diving. This doesn’t have anything to do with scuba diving. Shut up. No one cares.” And that’s why I wanted to run this trip.

I was, and sometimes still am, scared to be fully myself in the scuba diving community, even though I’ve been in the industry for over a decade. I’m sure that means there are tons of people who have probably never even considered trying the sport for the same reason.

During this trip, we had 3 people become divers, and the person who was terrified of water? Well, they bravely completed 3 scuba dives and ended the trip swimming with whale sharks. 

Helping people face their fears is one of my greatest passions… So, as the weight of hatred rains on my community in the United States, I am pushing myself toward bravery to speak up and create a safe space for people. We just want to exist and experience joy. And queer joy is exactly what this trip was all about.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.