Magdalena Bay Whales
05 February 2020 | San Carlos Anchorage, Magdelena Bay, Baja Sur
Judy | Cold enough for the cockpit enclosure to be zipped in !
Gertrude the Gray doing a spy hop.
Why in the world would anyone pay money to watch whales when you have your own boat? I wasn't quite sure how to answer that, I just knew I wanted to and besides, maybe I would learn something and it might help me get over my under lying fear of whales.
So what better place than Magdalena Bay. We are at anchor for a few days waiting for the wind to ease up so we can continue moving north. Mag bay boasts one of the best places to whale watch in Mexico. The Grey whales stop here either to mate or calf in the lagoon this time of year.
We were picked up in a Panga at 7:30 AM and zipped at full speed to a whale camp where we picked up a few more whale watching enthusiast. We were one of the first two boats out in the entrance of the bay. Miguel, the Panga driver, cut the engine. A white glow came between the two boats and ever so slowly a whale surfaced giving a hearty blow. She then swam under the boat, never touching it and re- surfaced on the other side. She did this several times, each time getting closer and closer. She seemed as curious about us as we were about her. She was gentle and majestic. We were all mesmerized.
As more tour boats came the whales became less apt to approach us. Maybe they were busy taking care of business. We did witness what we thought to be two males in hot pursuit of a frisky female. (She did funny things with her tail.)
We watched the whales for hours, feeling privileged. The wind started picking up and it was getting time to go. We were one of the last boats to leave. One final approach to a surfacing whale, she, like the other whale we saw first thing in the morning, slowly came up to the boat as if wanting to be petted. She came up several times as if to tease us. I tried to touch her but she was too deep. She then swam away, arched her back and dove, giving us a tail high five. So we began to pack it up. Then all of a sudden she trusted her head straight up out of the water. This is called a "spy hop". I was so happy Torben hadn't put away his phone just yet and captured this incredible moment. She obviously was saying good-by.
Small album with pictures posted