Whale Safari!

When was the last time you were on a whale safari?  Never?  Oh my, you must go to San Ignacio Lagoon where the gray whales are friendly, playful and plentiful.  Aquatic wildlife – it’s a thing!

From late January to mid-April, many gray whales and their calves stop in San Ignacio Lagoon before making their way up the Pacific Coast.  For some reason, they are known to be the most playful here, often letting people pet them, sometimes hug them.  Although I was thrilled to pet one last March, I didn’t get to in late January although several people in my group were fortunate enough to pet a female and her calf.  We did see mating whales although no “Pink Floyd” shots like last year.  I lost count of the number of spyhops – it’s thrilling to watch them pop up out of the water close to your panga!  We squealed with abandon at every spyhop, and fluke and at the calves swimming with their mothers.  We laughed at how loud we were which you can’t be on a land wildlife safari.

A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Fluke
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Spyhop
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Petting a gray whale

The local guides, some multi-generational, grew up with the whales and are passionate about these majestic mammals. They get as excited as guests do and seem to love what they do. You will learn alot about whale behavior and hear stories.

After leaving San Ignacio, it’s a 5 hour drive across Baja to Loreto where we went out looking for the massive blue whales. Our guides were almost in tears when we saw a mother and her calf as they hadn’t seen any babies for a couple of years.

A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Blue whale dorsal fin
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Blue whale

One morning we snorkeled with whale sharks which again was an experience of a lifetime.  We were in the water with 3 or 4 of them while feeding on plankton which made the water murky.  But that’s the best time to be in the water as they don’t swim away while gorging. I used a GoPro for the first time with mixed results.

A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Whale shark gills
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Whale shark open mouth

Another awesome experience was snorkeling with sea lions at Los Islotes, close to Espirtu Santo.  The barking!  The aroma! Gosh, they’re playful and fun to see underwater.  Here I inadvertently filmed on time lapse so could only convert to photos – I really need to take more online GoPro lessons.

A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Sea lion
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Sea lion petting
A green and blue clock with the time 1 2 : 3 0.
Sea lion belly rub

Some agents did think their clients would not love the 5-hour drive from San Ignacio across Baja to Loreto so know that we can book day trips from La Paz for whale sharks and / or sea lions.

kiki paris / January, 2022

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