Whales, Whales, Whales

February and March is peak whale watching season in Baja. Each year, thousands of whales migrate to this part of Mexico from all over the Pacific. Many larger species, like Blue and Fin whales, go in to the Sea of Cortez. On the Pacific side, the sheltered lagoons of San Ignacio and Magdalena Bay are the preferred breeding grounds of California Grey whales.

We went down to Baja in March to see and, with a little luck, interact with California Grey whale mothers and calves.

Our first stop was Loreto, where we hoped to see some blue whales. Alas, when we arrived, we learned that the Orcas had arrived a few weeks earlier and so most of the whales had left (orcas prey on baby whales). Also, a winter storm had just passed through the area leaving a low, dark, overcast that hampered visibility and taking photos.

In the end, we did see several fin whales. Since they are the second largest whale species, after blue whales, it wasn’t a bad consolation prize.

From Loreto we also took a day trip to Coronado Island, just offshore. The big attraction there is seeing the blue-footed boobies that live there.

We then drove across the peninsula to the Pacific side. There are several good spots to see grey whales, including San Ignacio Lagoon to the north, and San Carlos further south. We chose the town of Adolfo López Mateos because it’s relatively easy to get to and it is the closest place to the whales’ breeding grounds. Every winter, when the California Grey Whales come into the quiet lagoon next to the town to have their babies, this dusty little fishing village becomes a hotbed of whale watching activity for a couple of months.

Inside the lagoon, grey whale mothers will “introduce” their calves to humans as they nudge them up toward the boat. Scientists hypothesize that these are learned behaviors from mothers who were also introduced to humans as calves in Baja. It was truly a remarkable thing to see the mama whales bring their little 2-month old babies right up to our pangas and encourage them to interact with humans. We even got to pet a couple of them!