Boca de Soledad, Magdalena Bay
A trusting eye and a seeming smile adorn a baby gray whale as it approaches us in an afternoon of close interaction near Boca de Soledad. Are we looking at the ‘mouth of solitude’ in this animal, representing its unspoken intimate exchange? The eye of discovery in this newborn marine intelligence mirrors the Lindblad logo eye painted on our Zodiacs. Or might it recall the ancient eye of Horus that led the Pharaohs through the afterworld peering at us from the mystery of the ocean.
One experiences a personal revival being eye-to-eye with a whale, not quite understanding the new exalting emotions that surface. We can’t process our own thoughts, yet might we be able to read those of a mother gray whale and her calf when we look in their eyes? Each species explores the other, each ambassadors of their kind.
California gray whales began approaching people in boats in the 1970s, an incredible proposition given the outright slaughter invoked upon these animals in these very calving lagoons in the 19th century. This curious friendly behavior, the Makah hunt, the cancelled Mexican salt plant and a recent fluctuation in population numbers are highlighted in a new history of the gray whale entitled “Eye of the Whale” that some of us onboard have been reading.
A full day of exceptional Zodiac whale watching was complimented with striking sunrise and sunset, bow riding bottlenose dolphins, hikes across sand dunes and views of mangrove communities, seabirds and coyotes. Listening tonight to a local mariachi trio while feeding on fresh grouper and pondering the stars over the desert, we went to our dreams fathoming our own new extraordinary personal history with the gray whale.
A trusting eye and a seeming smile adorn a baby gray whale as it approaches us in an afternoon of close interaction near Boca de Soledad. Are we looking at the ‘mouth of solitude’ in this animal, representing its unspoken intimate exchange? The eye of discovery in this newborn marine intelligence mirrors the Lindblad logo eye painted on our Zodiacs. Or might it recall the ancient eye of Horus that led the Pharaohs through the afterworld peering at us from the mystery of the ocean.
One experiences a personal revival being eye-to-eye with a whale, not quite understanding the new exalting emotions that surface. We can’t process our own thoughts, yet might we be able to read those of a mother gray whale and her calf when we look in their eyes? Each species explores the other, each ambassadors of their kind.
California gray whales began approaching people in boats in the 1970s, an incredible proposition given the outright slaughter invoked upon these animals in these very calving lagoons in the 19th century. This curious friendly behavior, the Makah hunt, the cancelled Mexican salt plant and a recent fluctuation in population numbers are highlighted in a new history of the gray whale entitled “Eye of the Whale” that some of us onboard have been reading.
A full day of exceptional Zodiac whale watching was complimented with striking sunrise and sunset, bow riding bottlenose dolphins, hikes across sand dunes and views of mangrove communities, seabirds and coyotes. Listening tonight to a local mariachi trio while feeding on fresh grouper and pondering the stars over the desert, we went to our dreams fathoming our own new extraordinary personal history with the gray whale.
