San Ignacio Lagoon
Moments. Some are black. Some are white. Today’s had a “touch of gray.”
Sunrise painted a black & starry sky with warm light that illuminated the breakers rhythmically protecting the entrance of La Laguna San Ignacio here on the Pacific side of Baja California. Gray, gray whales, mother gray whales and their calves, were on our minds.
In this very secluded place half-way up the Baja peninsula, we board our fleet of black Zodiacs surfing the white breakers in search of the (Baja) California Gray Whale. And find them we do, in every direction the eye sees.
Spring is in the air here in the lagoon; males have departed, leaving for feeding grounds far to the north in the Bering and Chukchi Sea. The last to leave this lagoon, mothers are still preparing their calves for the arduous 6,000-mile swim to nutrient-rich feeding grounds ahead. The babies are gaining weight steadily on mother’s fat rich milk, while moms strengthen and build their stamina by swimming against both in-coming and out-going tides. The moon is waxing, and many pairs will begin their journey on the spring tide of the upcoming full moon.
The privilege of being among gray whales touches each one of us in unique ways. For some it is a physical connection, for others a photograph captures the magic of gray, and for many it is the shared experience that will long be remembered.
We each leave this place with our own personal touch of gray.
