La Ballena Gris - The Gray Whale

On Monday, March 10, I was privileged to take a journey to Lopez Mateo, on Magdelena Bay on the Pacific Coast of Baja California to view and even interact to some small degree with the incredible gray whale.
The yearly migration from the Bering Sea of Alaska brings the gray whales to one of 3 different lagoons in Baja where the young are born and nursed for their first few months. By April the mothers and young whales begin their long journey north to the lush feeding grounds.

But while in Baja the whales show a surprising gentleness and even curiosity about the many humans, in pangas, dinghy's, etc who come to have a close encounter with these incredible mammals. We spent 2 hours in their presence. They swam around and under our boats, scratching themselves on the bottoms, and frequently popping up close for a personal scratch on the nose, side of the head, or whatever whale body part the sometimes overeager sightseers could reach. What an experience! I personally was honored to be able to pet and scratch these incredible beasts no less than 6 or 7 times! I also was privileged (?) to find myself covered more than once with the aerosol mixture blown from the whale's spout. But it was taken in stride. Just part of the adventure.