Sunrise at Magdalena Bay, we have been looking forward to this morning since the beginning of the expedition. All week we have been learning about this desert, where cactus tower above us, sea lions frolic with us as we swim beside them, and blue whales feed in the depths beneath us. Now, however, we are in the domain of the gray whales. This will be the first time we will be observing whales from the vantage point of our inflatable boats. Watching from the deck of the National Geographic Sea Bird is a wonderful experience, but being at the surface of the water in which the whales live, is an altogether different thing. Other than actually swimming with them, this is the most intimate way to observe whales.
There is some worry as fog gently moves in and out of the bay, but as the embarkation time for our boats draws near, the fog is gone. The first mist of the whales’ breath rises into the air, and with it our anticipation of what we have been hoping for. As the whale below the spout comes into view, a communal sigh gives forth, the whale dives and we motor to the last place that it was within view. We wait, and watch, and wait some more. Then the water below our boat is getting lighter and within no time we realize it is because the mottled skin of the whales back is within inches of the bottom of our craft. How small we seem right now as the whale is stretched out on both sides of our craft. Then, like the birth of a new island emerging from the sea, the massive head erupts from the sea inches from us. A few hands reach out, and then, contact, the first touch between human and whale. Can there be anything more exhilarating? For a few moments the whale and her calf swim all around us. First on one side, then the other, and we all flow from one end of the boat to the other, trying to keep in pace with our whales movement. As we stand, the calf bumps our small boat and all hands reach for something to balance ourselves. The calf is playing with us, and like the proverbial bull in the china shop, does not know its own strength.
This was a moment that cannot be explained, it is something that one needs to experience to understand. Even recently, within the lifetimes of some of these whales, they were hunted to near extinction. Now in these bays where once harpoons were thrown to kill them, hands reach out to enrich the lives of those who come to view them. For the rest of the day, we will continue to watch the whales, some will venture onto the dune cover barrier island that creates this sanctuary for the whales, but for the rest of our lives we will remember our first contact with these magnificent animals. Some of us may have physically touched the whales, but they touched us on a much deeper level.
