Boca de Soledad
Sweet Mexican harmonies of ranchero music sung by the Lopez Mateos group “Coyotes de Magdalena” fill the lounge tonight as we celebrate an unforgettable day in the remote lagoon at the north end of Isla Magdalena. We spent the entire day enjoying and exploring this extraordinary place on the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula, either out whale watching from Zodiacs or beachcombing on the wild dunes of the nearby island. Memories to last a lifetime were created today, as we are some of the lucky few to experience “friendly” whale behavior.
This is the height of California gray whale season, and this year the number of whales in the lagoon is high. Of the 50 or so calves here, several of the five or six-week-old youngsters have recently become curious about the boats that drift near them in hopes of a close encounter. This interspecies communication between these gentle cetaceans and humans is unique in the world and a rather recent occurrence. Just why the California gray whales would choose to reach out to us is beyond the ken of science or psychology, but as an experience that might change your thinking about how we interrelate with other species, well, there is nothing comparable.
We’ll celebrate our good fortune this evening with a gray whale fiesta, and dream of new adventures in the morning.
