BajaNomad

Any Whale Watching Reports? especially San Carlos

TLBaja79 - 2-9-2014 at 08:14 AM

Any recent Whale Watching reports from San Carlos?

We are going in mid march and are hoping the whales will still be around. Any info?

Also for the town of San Carlos, restaurant recommendations? We are staying at Mar y Arena and they have that nice restaurant, but how about other places in town? Are the chocolates in season?

Thanks

[Edited on 2-10-2014 by TLBaja79]

[Edited on 2-12-2014 by TLBaja79]

TLBaja79 - 2-12-2014 at 11:34 AM

Changed the subject line

Looking for info about whales in San Carlos? Does it look like they will be around mid march?

Thank you!

Howard - 2-12-2014 at 03:02 PM

This Friday I am driving from Loreto to San Carlos to see the blubbery creatures. I will report back.

shari - 2-12-2014 at 10:13 PM

stupendous whale watching in Ojo de Liebre these days

Desertbull - 2-12-2014 at 10:22 PM

Listen to Shari friends...she knows.

I've taken a few groups out this season and it's been absolutely stunning....don't delay it's magical every time we go! :bounce:

TLBaja79 - 2-13-2014 at 05:56 AM

Shari
We may stop by on our way up north.
Unfortunately we only have 1 day with friends flying into Loreto, so not enough time to go up your way, but on the drive home, I think we'll stop in there to camp and whale watch! Hopefully thats not too late.

Howard, thanks, looking forward to your report

bajalinda - 2-13-2014 at 12:30 PM

We went whale-watching this past Tuesday in Mag Bay out of Puerto Lopez Mateos. It was excellent!! Everyone is still talking about it. Have been meaning to start a new thread with more info and will do that soon when things settle down here - (big family visit going on now - not much time for computer stuff!).

LaTijereta - 2-13-2014 at 01:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajalinda
We went whale-watching this past Tuesday in Mag Bay out of Puerto Lopez Mateos. It was excellent!! Everyone is still talking about it. Have been meaning to start a new thread with more info and will do that soon when things settle down here - (big family visit going on now - not much time for computer stuff!).


Great!..Will be over in Lopez in about 10 days to check it out..
How was the interaction with the calves?

bajalorena - 2-13-2014 at 03:04 PM

We are going next Wednesday. Will post report when we return.
We will have two of our grandchildren ( 4 and 7 years old) with us. Sure to be lots of excitement!

Bajahowodd - 2-13-2014 at 06:01 PM

From reports NOB, and with what Shari has posted, it appears that the whales arrived earlier than usual. That may mean that they will leave earlier.

As far as Ojo De Liebre is concerned, there are many more whales than last year. My personal and amateur advice to potential whale watchers is to not wait too long.

I do not think this season will be very fulfilling for the tardy.

First hand report

Howard - 2-15-2014 at 07:04 PM

Three of my cousins are in town (Loreto) for whale watching.

Here is my first hand report.

Left Loreto around 7:15 this morning for the 90 minute or so drive to the “T” intersection at Insurgentes. The road from Loreto is in great shape with only a few minor detours. Arrived around 9:30 at San Carlos, 15 pesos to park and there were no crowds. The charge is 1,800 pesos per boat for 2 hours. There were 2 other people waiting to share a boat, so the 4 in my party was 300 pesos each. More people would have been less $. Extremely nice Panga with cushioned benches, about 25 feet long and very clean. We were on the water within minutes. The water was flat as a pancake with no wind and maybe in the weather in mid-70s.

In about 10 minutes we came across a mama and her calf and then in around another 10 minutes we came across another mama and baby. My cousin was able to pet one calf and that was the highlight of the day. We came within 10 meters of other mama’s and calves another 10 times or so.

At the risk of sounding spoiled, I was slightly disappointed in the whale count. It seemed like there might have been 30 or so whales and their calves in the lagoon and most did not want the interaction with humans. The Panga captain said there were a few more whales earlier in the month which still leads my untrained mind to think that they might have stopped and stayed up at Shari’s water theme park in Scammons.

Now, by all means, don’t read this the wrong way. Beautiful day, with family, in Baja, seeing one of our maker’s most magnificent creatures, it just doesn’t get to much better than that. It’s just that in the past there were more whales and they were friendlier.
Would I do it again, does a hickory horse have a wooden unit? Does a bear sh-t in the woods? Does David K have any maps? You get the idea. Today was a great day in life.

Howard

Edit: When we got back to the dock around 11:30 the place was mobbed. Tour busses, and lots and lot of people waiting for a boat with maybe a hundred people milling about and around 50 people on the docks waiting for boats to come back. I strongly suggest you get there no later than 10:00 to avoid all the crowds.

[Edited on 2-16-2014 by Howard]

[Edited on 2-16-2014 by Howard]

TLBaja79 - 2-15-2014 at 09:53 PM

Awesome Report, Thank you for that. I hope they are around mid March. Never seen the calves before.

nobaddays - 2-16-2014 at 07:23 AM

I talked to some people here in Cabo that went out @ Mag bay and were disappointed. Here is a link to one of our videos from last week @ Ojo de Libre's Whale Magic tour.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3919397200168&set=v...

bajalorena - 2-21-2014 at 01:24 PM

We drove over to Lopez Mateos on Wednesday, and stayed at "El Refugio". Clean quiet little place, we took 3 rooms.
Had a wonderful dinner at "Baja Mar", lobster, shrimp and fish combo for 250, and the best halibut dinner I ever had for 130. Lauro was a very gracious host.
We hit the docks at 8am Thursday morning, and were the first boat out. We met several moms and their babies.
Fernando Rojas Rodriguez was our guide. The co-op he is with is "Aquendi" His personal cell number is 613 117-6359. I highly recommend him.
After 2 hours we were back at the dock, and it was a madhouse. Lots of tours had arrived. Go early, it is worth it!
Our 4 and 7 year old grandchildren were beside themselves, they will never forget this trip.
(We also had some excited adults).
Short video follows:

http://youtu.be/yWiyp-jFGxY

bajalorena - 2-21-2014 at 01:34 PM

Link to video didn't work. Trying again.

Whale video