Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 19:32:10 -0800
Reply-To: mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Subject: Baja Whales, trip report
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After a nice trip last year, we went again this year to visit the
whales. Each winter the Gray Whales migrate by the thousands from the
cold waters near Alaska down to the calving and breeding lagoons of
Baja. It is quite a spectacle, and people come from around the world to
experience it. The season lasts through mid April or so.
This year I organized a trip for VW vans and 4 vans took part. We spent
7 days in Mexico, covered about 1200 miles in Mexico. We camped 6
nights, at 4 different camps. After 2 nights at the whales we came part
way back north to camp 2 nights at Bahia De Los Angeles on the Sea of
Cortez for some beach sun, kayaking, and fishing. The other nights were
on the road coming and going.
Here is a link to some photos taken on the trip.
https://picasaweb.google.com/117635085394690440875/BajaWhales2011#
The whale counts this year are higher than usual. Supposedly about 300
in our lagoon the day we were there. We spotted our first whales before
we even arrived at the camp. Just driving down the 30 mile dirt road we
saw spouts and some whales hopping in the water as we drove along the
shoreline approaching the camp. Once we got to the camp we saw many
more, everywhere we looked. The next morning we went out on a whale
watching boat to get up close. This is a must see. Go!
Here is a link to some gray whale migration info and one for the
eco-tourism oriented place we camped at to see the whales.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/gwhale/map/route.html
http://www.kuyima.com/whales/index.html
We encountered no problems on the trip, other than a flat tire when one
of our party abruptly decided to drive off the pavement to take a photo
of some cattle crossing the road. He plugged the tire himself but the
tire completely failed while driving the next day. The hole was where
the sidewall joined tread. He managed to buy a used tire of the same
size in a town along the way while the rest of us ate and shopped.
Tourism seemed on the upswing while we were there and others were camped
everywhere we were. On the way back there was a steady stream of gringo
vehicles loaded up and heading south. We ran into a few other Vanagons
too, and some Eurovan campers. There were also some big organized
caravans of large RVs, like there used to be more of. I am happy to see
that more people are going down this year.
Our vans were all Vanagon Westfalia types, 2 were Syncros and 2 were not
but all had over-sized tires. I think I was the only person who got
stuck, while scouting out a camp spot on a sandy beach. Once I aired
down and locked the rear diff I was on my way. The others chose a
slightly different path.
I may organize a similar trip again next year.
Mark