Boca de Soledad
What a privilege it was to wake up this morning completely surrounded by gray whales! We sat at anchor near Boca de Soledad at the northern end of Bahia Magdalena which is one of several important calving areas for the gray whale.
All the action started before breakfast. We watched in awe as a female and her calf cavorted right off the bow of our ship. We found ourselves in the company of these gentle giants from dawn to dusk, and quickly discovered that some of the best views of the whales were from our Zodiacs. As we ventured out into the open water we were suddenly aware that we were completely surrounded by these magnificent whales—it was sopa de ballena (whale soup!). In fact, there were so many whales we didn’t know where to look! The wonderful part of this magical day was that we could do everything twice: we took hikes on the boca beaches (reflecting on what we had just experienced) and watched whales both in the morning and afternoon. Even during our lunch, we had breaching whales right next to the ship. Just when we thought we had seen the very best there was to see, the sudden spyhops and breaches would catch us by surprise. We saw several groups of courting whales. One amorous individual swam right along side and under the Zodiac, allowing us to gaze into its eye. The feeling of connection was unmistakable. There were so many females with calves that we lost count after awhile. The flukes and fins of the rolling giants looked like sharks as they cut through the water. Our day was filled with the whale mist from their breath, flashing flukes and fins, and playful calves; the waters were literally boiling with whales the entire day. This perfect day ended with the locals from Lopez Mateos that provided us with a fabulous fiesta that included live music, singing and dancing. As we lay our heads on our pillows, we anticipate the adventures tomorrow will bring.
What a privilege it was to wake up this morning completely surrounded by gray whales! We sat at anchor near Boca de Soledad at the northern end of Bahia Magdalena which is one of several important calving areas for the gray whale.
All the action started before breakfast. We watched in awe as a female and her calf cavorted right off the bow of our ship. We found ourselves in the company of these gentle giants from dawn to dusk, and quickly discovered that some of the best views of the whales were from our Zodiacs. As we ventured out into the open water we were suddenly aware that we were completely surrounded by these magnificent whales—it was sopa de ballena (whale soup!). In fact, there were so many whales we didn’t know where to look! The wonderful part of this magical day was that we could do everything twice: we took hikes on the boca beaches (reflecting on what we had just experienced) and watched whales both in the morning and afternoon. Even during our lunch, we had breaching whales right next to the ship. Just when we thought we had seen the very best there was to see, the sudden spyhops and breaches would catch us by surprise. We saw several groups of courting whales. One amorous individual swam right along side and under the Zodiac, allowing us to gaze into its eye. The feeling of connection was unmistakable. There were so many females with calves that we lost count after awhile. The flukes and fins of the rolling giants looked like sharks as they cut through the water. Our day was filled with the whale mist from their breath, flashing flukes and fins, and playful calves; the waters were literally boiling with whales the entire day. This perfect day ended with the locals from Lopez Mateos that provided us with a fabulous fiesta that included live music, singing and dancing. As we lay our heads on our pillows, we anticipate the adventures tomorrow will bring.
