On the fourth day of our week-long Lindblad-National Geographic trip we awoke sailing south along the southern Baja California peninsula in search of humpback whales. They gather here in the winter to breed and spend their summers in Alaska. Amassed on the bow of the ship, we eagerly searched the skyline for signs of the whales. Suddenly a humpback whale breached full out of the water right in front of the ship! What an introduction to the humpbacks! We spent all morning watching them breaching, tail slapping, waving pectoral fins and spy-hopping; near, far and all around. They are among the most surface-active whales which make them so much fun to watch.
This youngster must’ve breached 20 times within a circle of fishing boats. They had a great show even if the fishing wasn’t good!
After spending the afternoon ashore in San Jose del Cabo, we sailed around Land’s End, the tip of the peninsula. The sun set behind the stone arches and we headed north into the Pacific Ocean. Our expedition leader advised, “We are now entering the open ocean and while the seas seemed fairly quiet, it is the open ocean. So if you take something for sea sickness, now would be a good time to do that”. There have been occasions where the sea was so rough that the guests were bused up to Magdalena Bay and met back up with the ship there to by-pass the turbulent open ocean. Yikes!
As we entered the south end of Magdalena Bay, we encountered our first gray whales. They are reminiscent of manatees in their body, with relatively nubby pectoral fins, a rounder shape and shorter, squatter tails. They are very different from the sleek Blue and Humpback whales we’d already seen. Through the bay we followed a shallow channel, almost a rivulet, called Hull Canal, into the Gray Whale calving grounds. We picked up a local pilot, Alejandro, to navigate the ship through the shallows. The ship draughts 8 feet and we are following a narrow, curving, 9 foot deep channel at low tide. Before Alejandro piloted the Lindblad boats through here, his father did it. He buoys milk jugs in the canal to markt he path. Even so, it takes a unique skill. One year, the pilot didn’t show up on time. The SeaBird captain said he’d been through the canal so many times before that he could do it. On they went. He ran the ship aground 3 times in the first hour, cursing the whole time, before they went back and waited for the pilot.
The waves in the picture above are from our wake rolling over the sandbar next to a fisherman who is standing in the channel. No wonder they need a local pilot! Along the way I saw a family of coyotes hunting in the tidal zone, several fishermen and all kinds of tropical birds.
We made it through the canal into the San Ignacio Lagoon, the birthing groundsof the gray whales, , where we anchored for the next two days. Los Titeres, the narrow barrier island between us and the ocean, is comprised of pristine sand dunes. They are horseshoe shaped dunes with great geometry called barchan dunes. It was very windy and the sand was blowing when we arrived in the evening. Zodiacs took some people ashore to stretch their legs.
I did not go ashore this evening, but stayed on the ship watching the gray whale cow/calf pairs swim past the ship. Without the gentle rocking of the seas that I’d become used to, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep in such a calm bay!
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I feel like I am traveling with you.
It’s nice to have you along!
This was a fun trip … love the sea critters, especially the whales. What beauties1
It was a fun trip! Glad you enjoy the critters