Month: March 2018

2018 Feb – More Lovin’ Baby Whales

Today is a special day. The sky is blue, the water calm, and we are out with 7 guests in a panga captained by Julian my favourite lanchero. Bonus: Shari has come along this trip to guide so Terry and I can concentrate on video and sound recording.

A mama and baby are approaching the panga “Over here” “Come over here” cry the excited guests. “Come in, yes Come right in” croons Terry in his best baby cooing baritone. Baby has been resting on Mom’s snout. He seems a little hesitant at first but then he slowly swims closer to the boat and sticks his snout into Terry’s palm. “Hello! Hello!” croons Terry, juggling the underwater video camera in one hand and an affectionate baby whale in the other. Shari is ecstatic. After 30 years her voice still carries the wild excitement and adoration she feels around her Grey whale friends. Shari and Terry overload the small POV camera microphone with their joyous exclamations. But who can fault them for that. “Ouzer, ouzer, ouzer!” What a Lovin’ Baby Whale!

2018 February – Cuddly Baja Baby Whales

In spite of logistical problems at Whale Camp all is forgotten out on the water when a whale swims over to your panga to shower your group with whale breath, make eye contact or just loll around the boat. When a Mom and baby show up the humans get a little giddy with excitement. We oooo and aahhh and coo and sing/talk to this adorable 4metre (12ft) infant. And if Mom allows and Baby wants to be petted, nuzzling a rubbery velvet snout into your hand a human feels blissed and blessed by all that is good in the universe.

Today was one of those blessed days. Curious whales, playful adolescents, benign Moms and cuddly babies visited our panga. They amused themselves (and us) by pushing the panga around with their snouts, finessing agile manouvers underneath it, showering fountains of water and allowing us to touch and pet them.

This baby loved to be petted and kept returning for more, enchanting the smitten humans with her cuddly nature and winning gaze.

2018 February- Guerrero Negro at Last

Feb. 11: Guerrero Negro is obscured in clouds of dust as we pull up to the agricultural monitoring station outside the city. Wind whirls gritty sand into our faces. Dirt grinds between our teeth. The worker in charge of spraying the undercarriage of vehicles with herbicide sanitizer grins at us and doesn’t even attempt it in the gritty gale.

“Poor guy” we sympathize as we close the window after handing him 10 pesos for the undelivered treatment.

There is only one main road in Guerrero Negro, full of topes, the ubiquitous speed bumps that regulate traffic in Baja. Stop signs can be placed anywhere whithin 10 metres of the actual stop and attached to a nearby building way over to the side so vigilance and constant scanning is key.

“Shari is at the Baja Oasis, have you got the directions?” I ask Terry

“Look for the orange water tower” he says. “You can’t miss it.” And we didn’t miss it, or the turn off to the motel.

“Shari està aquí?” I query the young man who shows us where to park in the hotel compound.

“No està, hasta pronto” He replies along with a stream of mui rapido español of which I catch about 20%.

Shari shows up an hour later – and so do the guests leaving for Whale Camp the next day. We hug each other but barely have time to connect before other duties prevail. Shari greets the guests, helps them to park, find their rooms, wifi etc. Then we slowly make our way to the restaurant next door for dinner after a long hungry day. Yum.

Feb. 12: It isn’t the best sleep in a worn out queen size bed that rolls both of us into a heap in the sagging middle. But the shower is welcome. We do have a chance to visit the Pronghorn Antelope Sanctuary with the guests and get up close and personal with individuals of this endangered Peninsular Pronghorn species.

Shari’s husband has towed her trailer camper to the hotel where it is parked inside the hotel family’s compound. Unfortunately the electrical system isn’t connected properly so I work on fixing that as Terry does laundry and Shari tries to find out whether the Collective finally have all the permits they need to open the camp to visitors. It’s down to the wire but it’s Mexico and it’s politics and of course bureaucracy rules everywhere!

We have a little time with Shari to read over the guest lists and get briefed on our duties at the Whale Camp with the guests. The Camp is a 1½ hour boat ride across the wide, shallow lagoon. Shari informs us that we will be guiding at least one and possibly two 2hour trips out of the camp each day. We can’t wait to hang out with the Whales!