2015 Whale Watching Season: final trip of the year

Easter is a time of renewal, rebirth, and resurrection- not just for religions, but for nature in general. I just returned home from my final Baja Sur whale watching trip of 2015, feeling renewed as well.

I was traveling with family and friends - 6 women in total- to introduce them to baby whales in San Ignacio lagoon. Of course, the "babies" are now 20 feet long, extremely agile, and ready to migrate north with their big mama whales.



It was an exceptionally fun trip, if a bit heavy on logistics! My friends- all whale newbies- are enchanted by Baja, baby whales, tasty local food, wine... we have already picked dates and scheduled a return trip for 2016.

I will break the trip report into various posts about whales, food, travel, music...

Background: I've been going to San Ignacio lagoon for 30 years, since "back in the day" when it could take hours to get there from town, depending on your vehicle, tolerance for washboard, sand, rocks, and weather conditions. Now, there is pavement for all but the final 10 miles, so I always try to recruit people to join me.

Pavement makes it possible for people like my friend with a Prius to get there. (Sometimes I find myself waxing nostalgic as we cross areas that used to be so difficult- but only briefly!) This was my 3rd trip to the lagoons this season, and the first traveling with a group vs. going solo. The previous trips were to Ojo de Liebre, staying at the lagoon and going out with Shari. Those trips were wonderful also!

A photo summary of those trips in January and February:


A collection of images from earlier this year.


Shari in action!

Pt. 2- Final Whalewatching trip of 2015

March 28- April 3: There were 6 women on this trip, packed tightly into 2 cars. I had 1 passenger and most of the gear in my truck/camper/rear carrier rack. The Prius also carried gear +4 passengers. Yes- a Prius. The owner was willing and adventurous enough to take the hybrid to San Ignacio lagoon- her first trip into Baja Sur.


By the numbers: We drove 1150 miles round trip. The Prius averaged 50 MPG. My overburdened truck: 13.5 MPG. Sigh... but it made a good carrier for lots of gear!

We had a wonderful, diverse group up for adventure. We packed delicious wine & food to add to locally acquired goodies. We enjoyed an impromptu concert at Kuyimita, wildlife of many kinds (air, land & sea), and friendships both old & new that developed along the way.

We stayed at Don Eddies in San Quintin the first and last nights, to break up the drive. We were the only guests in the hotel Thursday night on our return, and the road was essentially empty northbound on Good Friday (I joked that only sinners and non-believers were on the road that day).

Also, going south and north there were still signs in the agricultural valley of the worker protests going on: LOTS of government security vehicles (federal and municipal police) on the road as we headed south March 28. There were also many mysterious unmarked white pickup trucks everywhere- parked near protest encampments on the highway, and in front of stores, some with windows still knocked out.

(To paraphrase "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid": Who are those guys? Seriously, there were dozens of these white trucks all over the place. Private security from the growers was our guess.)


There were still groups of people in the roads with protest signs, demanding just salaries and collecting donations. We gave small donations to them as we travelled north and south, and also to the ambulance funds in various towns set up along the road.

In SQ, the battallion entrance was blocked off with cones in a way I had not seen before.

Pt. 3: Driving South from SQ to San Ignacio, March 29

After a night relaxing at Don Eddies, and a tasty breakfast at Molino Viejo, I lead the way in the trusty if overburdened truck, and at the checkpoints told the soldiers the women in the car behind were with me. (That also explained the huge pile of gear in the camper if they wanted to look inside.)



We carried handheld radios to communicate, vs. cell phones that don't work in many places, so I could point out interesting scenery, plants, landmarks, map points, and coordinate gas/bathroom stops etc. along the way.


We seemed to confuse and/or amuse the soldiers at the military checkpoints- at the one north of El Rosario, they asked the Prius group for their phone numbers! At another near Pta. Prieta they apparently smelled patchouli and did a full search of the Prius, sniffing the purses of the passengers.

After they finished I radioed back to my patchouli-wearing friend: "We can't take you anywhere!"

Despite the slow travel, we pushed ahead, gathered final supplies in Vizcaino, and after delivering a suitcase full of goodies to the BnB at San Ignacio Springs (for Baja Blanca), we headed out to the lagoon to set up camp.

[Edited on 4-5-2015 by Whale-ista]

Pt. 4: camping at the lagoon

We arrived at the lagoon late Sunday- I was determined to get us there that evening, so we could wake up and enjoy the lagoon sunrise. (I learned that travelling with 2 cars and 6 women makes for slower travel vs. my solo trips.)

The camp staff saw us arrive and came over to help up put up tents- bless them! And thank goodness the wind had died down or we never would have been able to get the tents in place.

A few highlights from our time in camp:


Carlos serenaded us at Kuyimita after our walk to the mangroves. He is a very talented musician- lovely hora de feliz to end the afternoon.


Walking back to Kuyima campground after concert.


Unlike Ojo de Liebre camp- there are no palapas at San Ignacio (but their bathroom/shower facilities are much nicer!) so you have to bring your own shade, or do without.

Our "patio" kitchen/dining area/sunset viewing space was one of the few (maybe only) camping awnings that stood up to the relentless winds that started Tuesday and continued into Wednesday. Tarps blew off, tents were squashed... it was very strong winds this week!

We made sure all tents were staked down, and added guy-lines, even before the winds started. We also secured the awning to hooks on the camper that I had added to the shell, after previous trips where the winds knocked things around.


The camp staff complimented us on our "vecinado" of tents and shade.


Even the poodle struggled a bit with the wind...

Next.... Whales!

Pt. 5: WHALES

Sometimes on these trips, all people (including me) think about are: whales!

Then we get south and realize there is so much more to these trips, especially when traveling with people who have never been in these areas. It's wonderful.

Also, we were warned from the border: the whales have gone north, ya se fueron, nothing to see here... so I prepped my friends for the chance we would not have a lot of whale interactions... fortunately, they were wrong! We got to interact with many whales, and see lots of others who were still waiting for the right time to leave the lagoon.

I love going to the lagoons in January to see the newborns with their wrinkky heads.

Baby, January

And I love going again in February to see them more active and growing fast. Heck-- I just love whales, period, all ages and levels of development. I'm a whale addict: I admit it.

Here's what we were greeted with on our first day: a leaping baby, very close to our panga:

By late March the "babies" are big, agile and learning how to leap, feed and swim- all important skills needed to survive the 5000-6000 mile journey back north and avoid hazards along the way. And they are fast learners!

I've never had a whale leap within 75 yards of the panga- but it happened on this trip, twice! It actually made me a bit nervous for a minute- the trajectory seemed to be headed straight for us!

We saw one mom & calf surface with mouths full of mud- eating class was taking place down below.


So even though there were fewer whales in the lagoons this trip, the interactions were exceptional! On our first day, cloudy and overcase (even a little rain), our pangero took us out into the boca. It was a rough ride, but I think we were the only group to get to interact with a whale and calf.


And, yes- sometimes people kiss the whales. I've done this before, but this is the first time a friend caught me in the act.

Vaya con Dios bebés!

We wish you safe journeys, good feeding and many happy returns to the warm lagoons of Baja Sur.

Part 6: Driving north, crossing border

After a few days at camp, with consistently great panga outings, we grew tired of the wind. We decided to go to a few new places I had wanted to try en route to San Diego, and wanted to share with friends. So, on our way home, we stayed the night in San Ignacio: rooms at La Huerta hotel (reviewed elsewhere) and then Tootsies for dinner.

Our walk to dinner at sunset included a tour of the mission.


Can you see the mission's shadow on the plaza trees in this image?


The food at Tootsie's was wonderful, the white wine was cold and refreshing, and the warm evening perfect for outdoor dining. 5 stars! (Plus, the poodle could join us outdoors.)

And since we had a vegan and vegetarians on this trip, it was great to have those choices listed on the menu (they were getting tired of guacamole). The vegan soup and dahl was spicy and delcious.

Continuing north, we headed for San Quintin and Don Eddies. After an evening of eating all the food from the ice chests, we left the next morning (Good Friday) and headed for the border early, so we would have time for lunch in wine country.

After leaving Don Eddies, we saw many of the locals walking along the highway doing holy processionals- carrying crosses and gathering for Good Friday observances in makeshift churches with images of the Virgin of Guadlupe set up inside fruit stands in places where no church was available. (Since I was driving, I didn't get to take photos of these observances.)

It made for an interesting drive worthy of another post.


We had lunch at Encuentro en route to cross in Tecate. Tasty, but a bit limited- a new chef was scheduled to begin the next day, so the kitchen was prepping for his new menu and clearing out some of the menu items.


We enjoyed lunch nonetheless, not to mention the views!



Finally, we briefly joined a tour of the underground area of the restaurant, but wanted to head back to San Diego before it got too late.




And then: the border crossing. We discovered another benefit of traveling north on Good Friday: There were only 2 cars in front of us at the Tecate crossing.

I opened the back upon request, and she could see it was packed from top to bottom with sleeping bags, blankets, ice chests, clothing, suitcases... and I was told to close the door and drive thru. No secondary for us, despite the huge load of gear- hooray!

All in all, an exceptionally fun and diverse trip. We look forward to another one next year!

Quote: Originally posted by Bajahowodd

Wonderful post, but, seriously, Don Eddies?

whats wrong with don Eddies? we always choose to stay there, its fun to stay places that haven't changed in 40 or 50 years! great times at Ernesto's and the "old" old mill back in the day. and always a collection of characters at the bar. you can have Jardines!

oops! and thanks for a great trip report!

[Edited on 4-6-2015 by willardguy]

Don Eddies...

Variety is the spice of life. Good times!