Magdalena Bay
Some call the gray whale “desert whale,” as often both ends of the life cycle of the whale takes place amongst the dunes of Baja California. It is here, in the protected waters of Magdalena Bay, that the young calves spend there first months. The dunes of the islands will protect the lagoons from the cold water and predators of the Pacific Ocean, and it is to the dunes and beaches that many of the gray whales end up at the end of their life. It is said that the dust devils of the dunes are the souls of the gray whales returning to where life began.
Today we had our first views of these gentle giants as we left the waves of the Pacific and entered the bay. We continued our way north in the bay until we were weaving our way by dunes and mangroves, a birders delight, until we anchored the Sea Bird and went ashore. For us the walk across the stunning dunescape was a curved mile. The gray whales that we have seen today have just journeyed 5,000 miles to join us in this bay.
Walking across the dunes in the early evening was a sensory delight, with shadows and shades for the eyes, and the sound of shifting sand and the distant roar of the surf for our ears. Dunes have always shown us the balance of the constant and the ever changing. Gray whales in the lagoons of Baja California are also like that.
Some call the gray whale “desert whale,” as often both ends of the life cycle of the whale takes place amongst the dunes of Baja California. It is here, in the protected waters of Magdalena Bay, that the young calves spend there first months. The dunes of the islands will protect the lagoons from the cold water and predators of the Pacific Ocean, and it is to the dunes and beaches that many of the gray whales end up at the end of their life. It is said that the dust devils of the dunes are the souls of the gray whales returning to where life began.
Today we had our first views of these gentle giants as we left the waves of the Pacific and entered the bay. We continued our way north in the bay until we were weaving our way by dunes and mangroves, a birders delight, until we anchored the Sea Bird and went ashore. For us the walk across the stunning dunescape was a curved mile. The gray whales that we have seen today have just journeyed 5,000 miles to join us in this bay.
Walking across the dunes in the early evening was a sensory delight, with shadows and shades for the eyes, and the sound of shifting sand and the distant roar of the surf for our ears. Dunes have always shown us the balance of the constant and the ever changing. Gray whales in the lagoons of Baja California are also like that.
