The Baja Whale Watching: Intimate Meetings with Kindly Giants

Grey whale viewing in Baja California represents one of the most personal wildlife experiences in the world with the curious whales aggressively pursuing human company in the lagoons of only a few feet of water in the Pacific coast of Mexico. In contrast to most marine mammal sightings where respect is kept, grey whales in Baja exhibit an incredible habit commonly referred to as a friendly whereby the mother whales often approach small boats intentionally causing magical experiences in which humans and whales stare at each other with curiosity and wonder.

It causes the passive wildlife viewing to become an interactive experience as the grey whales approach ships close enough to allow viewers to rub their hands on the skin of the whale and stare inside their intelligent eyes and observe the maternal activities as mothers urge calves to explore the peculiar creatures in floating crafts. The experiences result in deep emotional attachment that will permanently transform participants after getting into physical contact with these ocean giants.

Whaling Your Moby Dick Adventure.

Effective whale Watching in Baja California are also planned, and to achieve success, they should be organized in accordance with seasonal cycles and place selection. The best season is mid-Jan to late March when the gray whales will be at their highest population in the breeding lagoons of Baja. Visits during an early season will also give one a chance to view newborn calves who are still not completely stable in the water and those who visit later in the season will find themselves watching larger and more active juveniles as they prepare to migrate northwards.

The town-based tour operators in towns such as San Ignacio, Lopez Mateos, and Puerto San Carlos offer different expedition packages. Half day trips are easy-going introduction to encounters on the grey whales and may be done in the morning or afternoon with 2-3 hours on the water. Full day trips give more time in the whale habitat areas where there is a higher likelihood of multiple encounters and the ability to explore the very remote lagoon regions where the whales are aggregating not along the usual tour paths.

Multi-day trips include whale watching and cultural sightseeing, camping, tours of several lagoons where the richness of Baja and its offerings is fully depicted by various attractions rather than marine mammals. Such trips usually involve sightseeing of cave paintings, kayaking through mangrove canals, and tasting the local food in fishing villages where people still live in the past.

What to Expect on the Water

Grey whale trips are done on small 6-12 people panga boats that have a maneuverable aspect and close-up views that cannot be achieved using larger boats. Licensed captains put boats in the places where whales move frequently, and then patiently wait until the animals come at their speed. It has laws against hunting or stalking whales and all interactions with them should be on a whale choice basis and not a human coercion basis.

When amicable whales come near, then it gets wonderful. Whales spy-hop with massive heads appearing next to boats as they check on the passengers with such expressive eyes directly aimed at the human beings up above. Mothers stand next to vessels, touching them lightly whilst keeping a human eye on them. Emboldened by the presence of their mothers, calves are frequently the most inquisitive animals, continually poking their noses in and out of boats, and sometimes squirting water in vast plumes, and onto passing traveling people, through blow-holes, with gaining pleasure.

Being violated: These violations happen when whales partially or fully get out of the water and then use their huge bodies to thrust themselves into the water. The splashes and demonstrations of sheer power are thunderous in comparison with the mild close-ups, presenting the entire behavioral range of these complicated creatures.

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There are opportunities and problems of capturing such encounters. Waterproof lenses or covers are very useful because they are always under the threat of being splashed and sprayed on electronics. Wide-angle lenses are ideal in close-ups, and the telephotos are used in capturing distant behaviors of breaching and travelling. Nevertheless, most of the visitors discover that the cameras can be set down and just enjoying the moment brings more meaningful memories than the predicament of capturing the fast-moving whales in the harsh environment.

Having the privilege to be in contact with the wild grey whales is a kind of experience, which few people even imagined possible, and makes them advocates of preserving the oceans carrying their Baja memories all their lives. https://www.greywhale.com/grey-whale-watching-baja