Petting Whales In Baja

Hitty Moonbeam thought it might be nice to go to Mexico to see these whales. After all, dealing with whales is in her genes. She is happy to be traveling to any place without snow.

February is a good time to visit the Bay of Magdalena in Baja Sur. A group of California gray whales known as "the friendlies" give birth to their calves there every winter and migrate towards Alaska starting the end of March.

After waiting around in the airport watching the airplanes take-off and land, she had second thoughts about actually boarding one of those things. But to have great adventures in far away places, one must learn to deal with the fear of flying! Actually, it's not the flying so much as taking off and landing.

Only one company is allowed to operate motorized little boats during this time in the bay, so the whales become accustomed to the sound of the various boatmen and like to come and "visit" them.

The baby whales are larger than the boats and like to be petted. Their mothers also come alongside the boats in hopes of having the people onboard remove the crusty, itchy "lice" from their heads. It is very exciting to touch a whale, but you are not allowed to touch their eyes!

One of the details Mehitabel forgot to mention in her experience, is that whales blow their noses when they exhale those cute little water spouts. So if you are petting whales or photographing them with a nice digital camera, it is only a matter of time before you, too, will be dripping in whale snot!

All things considered, it was an incredible trip to see these whales.