This spring I had the honor of accompanying Sven Lindblad on a special Lindblad voyage to give feedback on new experiences and itinerary modifications for their Baja whale expeditions. Getting to travel with Sven and his family is a one of a kind adventure in itself. But even when he’s not on board, this experience needs to be on every wildlife-lover’s bucket list.
The beautiful and classic National Geographic Sea Bird (photo credit: Lesa Bain)
First, let me get one thing straight up front. This is NOT a whale watch trip. This is a whale encounter. And I might even go so far as to say a once in a lifetime wildlife experience, as it’s not too often one gets to have this type of interaction with animals in the wild.
On the first day I was already psyched because we were going to visit a part of Magdalena Bay that no other tours go to, and Lindblad had not visited in at least 15 years. It ended up being quite impressive as we found ourselves surrounded by more whales than I had ever seen on any of the many whale watching trips I have been on. And I was sitting in a smallish boat, close to the water, with about 10-12 people versus being on a large vessel with at least 50 others jostling for position when there was an occasional sighting.
The “smoke” all around us was the fading mist from a whale spout.
We even saw an albino whale this day, but I couldn’t get a good picture.
The talk in the dining room that evening was about the sheer number of whales spouting, breeching, and generally frolicking around us. And the one lucky guest who got to “pet” an adult gray whale and proclaimed she would never wash that hand again. I actually worried a bit that we had peaked already, this was more amazing than I had expected.
You can’t appreciate the size until they swim right next to you!
Expedition cruising does not mean roughing it!
Fast forward to the end of the week, I had need not worry. Every day got better and better. While we were surrounded by adults on that first day, when we moved north, we were in the midst of the mothers and babies who were biding their time until they had to head north along the coast of California. (For a demonstration on how to summon a whale, click here.)
Well hello there!
This never gets old.
Eventually everyone, including me, was able to touch a whale at least once, and often touch both a mother and her offspring. (They do feel very different, I can tell them apart now with my eyes closed.)
That’s me trying to pet a baby gray and not drop my son’s GoPro into the ocean!
As I mentioned earlier, we were also tasked with trying out new activities and experiences for our clients. All of them were met with rave reviews, from exploring new sand dunes to cruising along a deserted beach on fat tire bikes.
Bike or hike, your choice!
When Sven Lindblad asks if anyone wants to explore a new route to the beach, there is only one right answer.
The National Geographic staff was amazing as always. They helped us with our cameras and were always on hand for an impromptu photography lesson. And the educational talks every evening were fascinating, and made exploring on shore so much more interesting and meaningful.
The level of training they receive is exceptional. I had no idea how much so until a few weeks later, I saw some of our guides posting on Instagram from the NASA Neutral Bouyancy Lab in Houston. They were part of the Lindblad Expeditions Undersea team getting additional training on ROV operation, divemaster skills, and rescue drills. In the same pool astronauts use!
I learned so much about sand dollars, and yes it was very interesting.
These are huge!
A comment from one of the guides really stuck with me. He pointed out that most of the whales we were seeing are old enough to have been alive when they were hunted in this bay. In their lifetime, they have gone from seeing humans as enemies and attacking boats, to encouraging their offspring to approach and engage with us. They were literally pushing them ahead to reach us, where they’d raise their head to get a better look, and we reached as far as we could (sometimes with a companion holding our ankles), to give a rub on their back or nose.
The only thing better than an ocean sunset, is one with a whale in it.
I became even more in awe of these beautiful and magnificent creatures when I realized their capacity to understand that we were no longer a threat. And grateful that we learned our lesson soon enough that we did not drive them all to extinction.
What gentle and beautiful creatures!
You can view more pictures and videos from the expedition on my Facebook page.
The best way to celebrate the end of a successful expedition is a beach barbecue!
Sunset view from my cabin.
To get started on your next adventure, contact me at suzette@suzettemacktravel.com
