San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California Sur, Mexico
We woke up early this morning for a land trip from our anchorage location at Santa Rosalia town to San Ignacio Lagoon, reputedly home for friendly whales. Once on the buses, we started to see the old mining structures left by “El Boleo,” the French corporation that readily founded this stylish town of Santa Rosalia, or “Cachania,” as it is known locally. Later, our buses crossed the wonderful but scary desert, and we observed the fantastic topography, including Las Tres Virgenes volcano and its lava flows.
After a logistic stop at San Ignacio town to have snacks and board vans to travel on the dirty road, we finally arrived to San Ignacio Lagoon, on the Pacific side of the peninsula, where the fiberglass outboard boats known as “pangas” were waiting for us. Then groups of seven to eight guests and naturalists were put on each panga after a safety briefing given by Carlos, the local guide.
It didn’t take too long to find several cow and calf pairs of gray whales, among which there were several so called “friendly.” Our boats approached following all regulations, but we were not able to stop the whales from coming closer and closer, until they finally hit the boats gently with their long snouts. One by one, each panga and its occupants were able to have close and life-changing encounters with the playful gray whales in different locations, allowing us to touch them. Even the drivers, who are really accustomed to these encounters, were excited by the intensity of the moment.
We woke up early this morning for a land trip from our anchorage location at Santa Rosalia town to San Ignacio Lagoon, reputedly home for friendly whales. Once on the buses, we started to see the old mining structures left by “El Boleo,” the French corporation that readily founded this stylish town of Santa Rosalia, or “Cachania,” as it is known locally. Later, our buses crossed the wonderful but scary desert, and we observed the fantastic topography, including Las Tres Virgenes volcano and its lava flows.
After a logistic stop at San Ignacio town to have snacks and board vans to travel on the dirty road, we finally arrived to San Ignacio Lagoon, on the Pacific side of the peninsula, where the fiberglass outboard boats known as “pangas” were waiting for us. Then groups of seven to eight guests and naturalists were put on each panga after a safety briefing given by Carlos, the local guide.
It didn’t take too long to find several cow and calf pairs of gray whales, among which there were several so called “friendly.” Our boats approached following all regulations, but we were not able to stop the whales from coming closer and closer, until they finally hit the boats gently with their long snouts. One by one, each panga and its occupants were able to have close and life-changing encounters with the playful gray whales in different locations, allowing us to touch them. Even the drivers, who are really accustomed to these encounters, were excited by the intensity of the moment.
