Magdalena Bay, Baja California
Just imagine sitting in the hot morning sun offshore of a shimmering desert and suddenly you’re cooled by the gentle mist of an exhaling whale. Sound too good to be true? Well, that is how our day began. “Among the Gray Whales” our journey was hailed. Little did we realize that hailed really meant exhaled. The female gray whales are here to give birth to and nurse their young, and all that time they lose weight, upwards of 30% of their bulk. Sustenance for mom will have to wait until this summer when she and her calf reach the productive waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, in the Arctic Ocean.
Meanwhile, these Mexican lagoons are warm, salty, shallow, and protected; the perfect nursery. And nurse they do! Fifty gallons of milk a day. And never mind the skim milk we had for breakfast. These youngsters (born at 1,000 pounds each) get a whopping 54% fat in their milk. In a few short months they double in size, and with mom’s guidance, they learn to swim against the currents of Boca de Solitude and soon the southbound California current.
For the people of nearby Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, who live in this world of sea and sand, spring isn’t a bounty of flowers, it’s the birth of whales. Tonight they celebrated by sharing their traditional music and foods. Guitars rang in the lounge, as we enjoyed a locally prepared Mexican fiesta dinner, delivered to the Sea Lion.
When we return to the work-a-day world, and life gets busy again, here’s hoping that during rush hour, if only for a moment, we are transported back to the gentle cooling mist of the gray whales of Magdalena Bay.
Just imagine sitting in the hot morning sun offshore of a shimmering desert and suddenly you’re cooled by the gentle mist of an exhaling whale. Sound too good to be true? Well, that is how our day began. “Among the Gray Whales” our journey was hailed. Little did we realize that hailed really meant exhaled. The female gray whales are here to give birth to and nurse their young, and all that time they lose weight, upwards of 30% of their bulk. Sustenance for mom will have to wait until this summer when she and her calf reach the productive waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, in the Arctic Ocean.
Meanwhile, these Mexican lagoons are warm, salty, shallow, and protected; the perfect nursery. And nurse they do! Fifty gallons of milk a day. And never mind the skim milk we had for breakfast. These youngsters (born at 1,000 pounds each) get a whopping 54% fat in their milk. In a few short months they double in size, and with mom’s guidance, they learn to swim against the currents of Boca de Solitude and soon the southbound California current.
For the people of nearby Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, who live in this world of sea and sand, spring isn’t a bounty of flowers, it’s the birth of whales. Tonight they celebrated by sharing their traditional music and foods. Guitars rang in the lounge, as we enjoyed a locally prepared Mexican fiesta dinner, delivered to the Sea Lion.
When we return to the work-a-day world, and life gets busy again, here’s hoping that during rush hour, if only for a moment, we are transported back to the gentle cooling mist of the gray whales of Magdalena Bay.
