La Entrada

Upon arrival at La Entrada, the main entrance to Bahia Magdalena, we spend our first morning whale watching on the west coast of the Baja California peninsula. We lower four Zodiacs into the tide-churned waters, fill them with eager guests and set forth among the leviathans. These are adult gray whales, sexually active individuals engaged in courting and mating. No cow and calf pairs here. These whales are single-minded and serious. Their patterns are hard to predict and mostly we motor slowly in the direction they were last seen and hope for the best. It is plain to us that most of the activity is going on below the surface at this point. The tide is ebbing strongly and most of the whales' movements seem to be against the tide's current but again, prediction is a chancy venture. With luck, however, we find the sun at our backs and the whales between us and our ship, the Sea Lion. A mature adult breaks the surface, blows and rolls forward into the deep blue waters, eager to catch up to its companions. We too continue on, smiles like flukes plastered on our faces.