Boca de Soledad and La Entrada, Bahia Magdalena
This morning began with a fresh breeze in the Boca de Soledad, so we bundled up and left before breakfast for our Zodiac ride to look for grey whales for the third time in our two days here. We soon found a number of mother-calf pairs slowly making their way into the Bay. We followed them for hours, as they surfaced and dove, often within a few feet of our Zodiacs. The calves were quite young, only a few days old, and their skins were very smooth, as seen in the first picture, and almost entirely free from the encrusting barnacles and whale lice (actually small crustaceans called cyanamids) which typically cover grey whales like the mother shown in the second picture. It was entirely peaceful in the Bay so early in the morning, and the breath of the whales hung in the air and precipitated as a light cool fog on our faces and camera lenses. It was truly a remarkable experience to be so close to these magnificent large animals as they move so effortlessly through the water. The care which the mothers take to be in constant physical contact with their calves, so close that the calves are often seen rolling on and off the backs of their mothers, touched all of us who know children that we love and nurture ourselves.
In late morning we left the Boca de Soledad and cruised south to the main entrance to Bahia Magdalena, La Entrada. There we watched from the ship as more grey whales, this time courting adults, swam together with all the energy of any dating scene, the males following the females around until they decide whose attentions they will reward, all of them blowing great clouds of spray into the evening air, showing us their flukes as they dove and generally putting on a great show. The final sight of the day was a beautiful green flash, followed by a violet flash as the sun set under perfect viewing conditions. We will carry many wonderful images of today with us in our dreams tonight and in our memories for a long time to come.
This morning began with a fresh breeze in the Boca de Soledad, so we bundled up and left before breakfast for our Zodiac ride to look for grey whales for the third time in our two days here. We soon found a number of mother-calf pairs slowly making their way into the Bay. We followed them for hours, as they surfaced and dove, often within a few feet of our Zodiacs. The calves were quite young, only a few days old, and their skins were very smooth, as seen in the first picture, and almost entirely free from the encrusting barnacles and whale lice (actually small crustaceans called cyanamids) which typically cover grey whales like the mother shown in the second picture. It was entirely peaceful in the Bay so early in the morning, and the breath of the whales hung in the air and precipitated as a light cool fog on our faces and camera lenses. It was truly a remarkable experience to be so close to these magnificent large animals as they move so effortlessly through the water. The care which the mothers take to be in constant physical contact with their calves, so close that the calves are often seen rolling on and off the backs of their mothers, touched all of us who know children that we love and nurture ourselves.
In late morning we left the Boca de Soledad and cruised south to the main entrance to Bahia Magdalena, La Entrada. There we watched from the ship as more grey whales, this time courting adults, swam together with all the energy of any dating scene, the males following the females around until they decide whose attentions they will reward, all of them blowing great clouds of spray into the evening air, showing us their flukes as they dove and generally putting on a great show. The final sight of the day was a beautiful green flash, followed by a violet flash as the sun set under perfect viewing conditions. We will carry many wonderful images of today with us in our dreams tonight and in our memories for a long time to come.
