La Florida, Bahia Magdalena
The last day of our expedition was outstanding. Early in the morning, the National Geographic Sea Bird repositioned from Boca de Soledad south to La Florida. Yesterday we had a great experience with the California gray whales at the north side of the bay and today we decided to try a different place. La Florida is in the southern upper bay of Bahia Magdalena. Here we could find a good concentration of whales.
Due to the tidal changes, whales move up and down the bay, and here they tend to be very calm. Many mothers and their calves were seen while we cruised in our Zodiacs. The sand dunes of Isla Magdalena around this area are massive and impressive. This landscape of dunes near the calm waters of the bay would seem an unlikely place to find whales, but the grays are true “desert whales.” This is true at least during the winter months that they spend here in Baja California.
The morning was divided into two rounds of whale watching from Zodiacs. Many of us could see a few whales breaching in the distance. As we got closer, we noticed that the whales were very calm. Mothers and their calves would approach our boats and we could listen to their exhalations in many directions. Occasionally the adults would take their heads completely out of the water, a behavior known as spy hopping.
Suddenly, a mother and calf started to show interest in our boats. Our experience gradually evolved to a human-whale interaction that seemed like a fairy tale. These cyclopean beasts from the deep came to us seeking a friendly encounter. They would swim towards our splashing hands, looking for physical contact. Whoever was not touching a whale was delighted at watching their shipmates happily enjoying this unbelievable experience.
The afternoon was spent exploring south of Canal de Soledad, in a place called El Barril. We deployed our kayaks and Zodiacs to explore the mangrove labyrinths of El Barril. Mangroves provide excellent habitat for a number of birds. Some of our sightings of the day were reddish egrets, yellow-crowned night herons, belted kingfishers and a glimpse of a green heron.
Baja California has so much to offer, and not only have we explored the magical places of the peninsula, but we have also planted the seeds of new friendship.
