Santa Rosalía / San Ignacio
The calm waters of the port of Santa Rosalía made us realize that the Sea Lion had gotten us as close as she could to today’s destination, and now the second stage of our adventure was about to begin. Early in the morning we left Santa Rosalía by bus, to spend a moment in the beautiful oasis pueblo of San Ignacio. From there, we switched our mode of transportation and divided ourselves among a fleet of vans. We traveled through the Vizcaíno Plain for 60 kilometers on a rugged road. We passed by ranches that produce dates, tomatoes, garlic and orchards of mangos and oranges, all by the grace of water provided by natural springs and wells.
After approximately two hours, we arrived to San Ignacio Lagoon; a journey that crosses the peninsula from the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean. Here, the personnel of a local company of whale watching tours received us. The Camp’s name is Kuyima, which refers to the native name for the gray whale that means “the one who dances with clouds.” As soon as we boarded the local pangas and headed out into the waters of the lagoon, we started spotting blows and whales. A few boats for many friendly cow-calf gray whale pairs! We had an amazing experience taking close looks at the gentle giants, as the water was clear and made evident the size of our gray friends. Close encounters ranged from blowing in our faces, moving our boats and letting themselves be patted and cuddled by us. Everyone was happy and pleased by our incredible experience. Upon returning to the small town of San Ignacio, we were greeted with homemade frijoles, salsa and guacamole, while local music serenaded; we shared our mutually happy moments on the waters of San Ignacio Lagoon with gray whale families!
The calm waters of the port of Santa Rosalía made us realize that the Sea Lion had gotten us as close as she could to today’s destination, and now the second stage of our adventure was about to begin. Early in the morning we left Santa Rosalía by bus, to spend a moment in the beautiful oasis pueblo of San Ignacio. From there, we switched our mode of transportation and divided ourselves among a fleet of vans. We traveled through the Vizcaíno Plain for 60 kilometers on a rugged road. We passed by ranches that produce dates, tomatoes, garlic and orchards of mangos and oranges, all by the grace of water provided by natural springs and wells.
After approximately two hours, we arrived to San Ignacio Lagoon; a journey that crosses the peninsula from the Gulf of California to the Pacific Ocean. Here, the personnel of a local company of whale watching tours received us. The Camp’s name is Kuyima, which refers to the native name for the gray whale that means “the one who dances with clouds.” As soon as we boarded the local pangas and headed out into the waters of the lagoon, we started spotting blows and whales. A few boats for many friendly cow-calf gray whale pairs! We had an amazing experience taking close looks at the gentle giants, as the water was clear and made evident the size of our gray friends. Close encounters ranged from blowing in our faces, moving our boats and letting themselves be patted and cuddled by us. Everyone was happy and pleased by our incredible experience. Upon returning to the small town of San Ignacio, we were greeted with homemade frijoles, salsa and guacamole, while local music serenaded; we shared our mutually happy moments on the waters of San Ignacio Lagoon with gray whale families!
