Our first day of whale watching was an action-packed success! We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in Bahia Almejas, and after breakfast, we listened to an enlightening photo talk from certified photo instructor Jim Pfitzer. With empty memory cards and full batteries, we embarked on our first gray whale watching adventure of the week. We were picked up from the ship by local captains in their speedy, comfortable pangas and whisked away to see the wonders of Bahia Almejas.
There were so many whales in the bay this morning that some of our naturalists began calling it a “whale soup.” Our group was all smiles under the sunny skies. We were in awe of the sheer number of animals. It was hard to know which way to look because whales were spyhopping on both sides of the pangas at times! The morning was made complete by a visit to the local magnificent frigatebird colony. Some of these sleek, beautiful birds soared above our heads, while others nested in the mangroves. We enjoyed trying to spot the bright red throats of the male birds amongst the many animals.
Back at the ship, we took a break from the sun and wind. After a rejuvenating lunch and a brief rest, we were ready for another round of whale watching. The afternoon brought more spyhopping whales along with the occasional full-body breach! We were even lucky enough to have a couple of curious whales linger right under our pangas. They surfaced so close to us that we were drenched by their spouts. The afternoon whale watching came to an end all too soon, and we drove back to the ship to enjoy naturalist Jim Coyer’s presentation about the amazing whales we had just seen.
Our trip is off to an incredible start, and we are looking forward to our next encounter with the beautiful gray whales that frequent Bahia Magdalena.
