Fog surrounded us like a blanket as we boarded our expedition landing craft in the half-light of dawn. Mornings can be like this on the Pacific Coast of Baja, Mexico. Warm desert air meets the cold sea and creates a fog that shrouds the landscape in swirls of mist and gray. Would we be able to find whales in this weather? Unable to see more than 100 feet in any direction we headed slowly south armed only with our experience and faith that we would prevail. Unbelievably, we met our first mother-calf pair of gray whales within five minutes and settled into a superlative whale encounter that included close views, and after a time, gently touching the mother and calf after they approached the boats.
The gray whales of Magdalena Bay are protected, safe and unharassed. In this quiet shallow bay mothers can nurse their young with security and confidence. As a result, they are indifferent to our observations and certain individuals actually seek out close encounters and touching. While these interactions are never a sure thing they are a welcome blessing that bring everyone involved closer to these gentle giants.
The sun finally burned off the morning fog and the contrasting desert and sea snapped into sharp focus. White dunes reflected off of bluebird skies and the glassy green water of the bay reflected whales by the dozen. We alternated walks across Magdalena Island with additional rounds of whale watching until the sun kissed the horizon and we retired to National Geographic Sea Bird, tired and weary yet grinning from ear to ear from a day of magic among the whales. What will tomorrow bring? We’ll be out at dawn again to find out. Stay tuned…
