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This year's Baja whale adventure was spectacular from start to finish. We were amazed every day by the abundance of life in this desert environment. From gray whale and dolphin encounters on our way to see elephant seals at our first stop, San Benito Island, to the breaching humpback whales all around us on our way into Cabo San Lucas for our flights home, the activity seemed endless.
We saw whales and dolphins every day, Some sightings were serene and peaceful, like the common dolphins traveling steadily across the channel as the bronze sun set behind the craggy profile of the Baja peninsula. Others were filled with incredible energy, like the breaching and lob-tailing humpbacks off Gorda Banks. Two humpbacks raised their flukes high into the air and then crashed them down onto the surface of the sea -- 51 times in a row!
Our first morning in San Ignacio Lagoon was a gift. The first thing we saw was a baby gray whale breaching, rolling, then breaching again. The calf breached at least four times. We watched a snuggling mother and calf - the calf was rolling over the mother and the mother lifted up the calf's flukes, pushing her around. Soon, a third whale joined the rolling and caressing, contributing tremendous tail sweeps to the play - some in the air, others just under the surface.
Our second-to-last morning of the trip we took an early bird walk at a beautiful peninsula canyon called Nopolo and then returned to the incredible diversity of life that lives in the Sea of Cortez.
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We went looking for fin whales and quickly found them. We traveled off to the right of the four whales so we could see their asymmetrical coloring. The bright white lower jaws were clearly visible through the clear water. We spotted another dorsal fin, but it moved with much quicker movements than the fin whales, and we realized we were seeing our second Bryde's whale of the trip. This time we could see the three dorsal ridges that are a distinguishing feature of this sleek whale. As we continued on our way to a small islet called Los Islotes, we saw another fin whale, with more blows in the distance. We counted at least 10 fin whales, including a cow/calf pair that were lunging and creating great bow waves. While we were marveling at the active fin whales, we also had a constant stream of other species. Manta rays, puffer fish, a scalloped hammerhead shark and a red-billed tropic bird were a few of the other animals we saw.
The trip ended with an astonishing display by some humpback whales. A humpback whales breached, then brought its huge pectoral fin high into the air before slamming it to the surface with a large splash. Soon there were three whales, then five. More breaches came very close to the boat, then the lob-tailing began. The two whales slammed their tails down in unison for minutes; the noise was tremendous and the energy explosive! The adrenaline was also pulsing through the passengers with frantic cries of, "Where's my camera?" and "My camera's at the bottom of my pack!" This trip is never truly over until we've pulled up to the dock!
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