Bahia Magdalena
“Good morning… good morning” came the quiet, clear voice of our expedition leader over the PA.
“It’s a few minutes before seven o’clock and we have beautiful conditions here at Boca de la Soledad, at the northern end of Magdalena Bay. Out on deck the sun is shining, there’s a slight wind blowing… to the north are breakers at the mouth of the bay, and beyond is the sound of the pounding surf of the Pacific. Flying along shore over the mangroves are frigatebirds and cormorants, and already we’ve sighted some gray whales swimming very near the ship. Believe it or not we often awaken to fog here in the bay that can take many hours to burn off. So these conditions are about as good as it can get here for whale watching at Boca de la Soledad.”
Thus began our morning. The excitement was palpable onboard as we went through our ablutions and routines, stretching and breakfast, and prepared to board Zodiacs to explore the waters for gray whales. We were hopeful, with good reason. Our encounters earlier this week with fin whales, blue whales and humpbacks perhaps left us feeling bold in our ability to attract these amazing cetaceans, and the pangueros relayed that 29 cow/calf pairs had been seen the day before in the area.
The morning and afternoon were filled with the “Pffffffttttt…. pffftt“ of mother and baby pairs surfacing to breathe…. calves breaching and rolling and poking their rostrums into the air, sometimes full of vigor, sometimes in the gentlest, most tender fashion. At times they approached the Zodiacs to play and engage with the lucky people inside…. nudging the boats, blowing bubbles, and lingering long enough to feel the touch of human hands and hearts. And in the boats, the smiles of the humans stretched ear-to-ear, as we called to the whales… “hola ballena, hola bambina, over here babycakes, mama…“ in baby-talk voice. How to describe the feeling of engaging in play with these marvelous intelligent mammals?
Other activities today included a talk on wetlands by one of the naturalists, the opportunity to meander and play among the dunes of Isla Magdalena, and staying onboard relaxing in solitude, with friends we came with or those we’ve made during the week. In the evening a Mexican fiesta awaited us for dinner, along with entertainment by local musicians, Los Coyotes de Magdalena. What a beautiful, full day here in Baja California!
