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Date:         Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:54:00 -0700
Reply-To:     mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Subject:      Trip Report, Baja Whales 2012,part 1,  long, boring
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

We just returned from our 3rd annual whale watching trip, down to the Baja calving lagoons where the migrating California Grey Whales go to give birth and mate. The lagoons are protected during this special time and only a few licensed operators are allowed to run small guide boats out in the lagoons to viewing areas where they put-put slowly or stop the motor entirely to put the whales at ease and hopefully entice them to approach. This is only permitted in a certain area of deep water where the whales that prefer to avoid the boats can easily do so and those who wish to get close to the boats have plenty of room to maneuver.

This year we had 4 VW vans who managed to put it all together and make the trip. 2 were Syncro Campers, 1 was a mildly camperized 2wd passenger van, and the 4th was a Eurovan Westfalia. All were Vanagon list members except for the Eurovan, owned by a retired Canadian couple I met the week before and talked into joining us for their first Baja trip. They loved it and I hope they will return next year for a longer visit.

We met up near the San Diego border early on a Sunday morning, to allow us a quiet passage through what can often be a hectic and confusing bustle. We stopped on the Mexican side of the border gates to get Tourist Visas and off we went to Ensenada, an hour down the toll road. I like to get everyone out of the vans and mixing with the Mexican people early in the trip and this is perfect for that, interesting and tasty. We made our usual stop at the large fish market to buy fresh shrimp etc to make for dinner. With all the seafood prompting hunger pangs, we settle at a table for a late breakfast at one of adjacent fish tacos stands. Next we stopped at a parking lot for a group of stores that included a money changing business and a bank with ATM so people could get pesos by one method or the other. Dollars spend fine most places but you can save a little money by exchanging bulk dollars for pesos and using pesos to avoid the varying exchange rates offered by individual businesses. The farther south you go from the border the less favorable the exchange rate tends to be so pesos are preferred. After that, our first gas stop, just under $3 per gallon for Pemex regular. The price is fixed and the same at nearly all stations no matter how remote.

Working our way along the main highway as it passes through the greater Ensenada metropolitan area we passed lots of familiar business. HomeDepot, SamsClub, Costco, SmartnFinal, AppleBees, McDonalds........ Yep, many urban Mexicans have money and like to spend it, just like us. After about an hour of slightly hectic city the road breaks out into the foothills and into the suddenly pretty countryside. Due to recent rains things are green and spring flowers are blooming. The real Baja begins.

The road winds through the pretty hills for a while and then comes back to the flatter coast, where it straightens and passes through a series of busy small farming towns that are growing year by year till some are touching and others soon will be. After a couple hours we are past the last main areas of civilization and we pull into a sleepy beach campground to make a light lunch and take a break from the confusion of the towns. Of course I'm the only one who knows that this is now the start of something different and everyone is still talking about the traffic, farms and people in what they thought was mostly a barren empty land. That is coming soon enough.

Leaving the beach camp after lunch, we meet the proprietress driving towards us on the access road. She recognizes me and asks why we are leaving. I tell her we were just taking a break and we planned to camp there on our way back north at the end of the week. With hot showers and flush toilets it is a welcome place to clean up after a week away from such luxuries. Positioned about a long half day from the border it makes for a shorter last day on the run home.

Heading back south, the road rises sharply into the hills and we come to our first major army checkpoint. Southbound traffic usually gets little scrutiny and this time is no exception. The road then drops down to a town for the last gas stop for nearly 200 miles. This is the only stretch of this size without a gas station so filling up is required and the station tends to be pretty busy. Gas is sold at 2 places in that empty stretch, by men with drums in the back of their pickups. I have used these suppliers many times but only when I was turning off the main highway for a side trip. We were passing straight through so we could make the next official station easily, or one of the ones not far after it.

With the sun getting lower in the sky, we head into the wilds, up and down small mountains, across changing deserts, heading for a quiet camping area at Rancho Santa Inez near Catavina. The last half hour is through an area of large boulders that is very scenic and best enjoyed in late afternoon light, so that is how we timed it. The magic was with us.

After some photo stops we turned off into the Rancho and found ourselves a spot with 5 or 6 other campers scattered around us. Most were large rigs from cold northern states and provinces but there were some bicycle campers that I assumed were Germans. We passed a quiet night other than for the little camp dog who moved from van to van looking for scraps and barking at coyotes real and imagined. In the morn Rich reported a low temp during the night of 38 degrees and I had shivered enough to believe it. A few hours later I felt the signs of impending illness and wished I had dressed more warmly that night. My wife had a bad cold for a few days before I left and she spent two nights in our spare room so I wouldn't catch it before the Baja trip. Alas, to no avail it now seemed.

Back on the road bright and early, we enjoyed the fresh morning light and air, crossing varying terrain for a few hours until we reached another army checkpoint before the next gas stop. Then to the state line that separates Northern Baja from Southern Baja, where the state ag inspector confiscates many fruits and vegetables and where the vehicle undercarriage gets sprayed for pests. There was also a spot check for tourist visas by an immigration official at the same stop. We were all good to go and his imperious face fell slightly when I handed over the proper papers and informed him we all had them. Bureaucrats.

With the beginning of my illness at hand, I felt the need to rush a little to get us to the whale watching camp before I was unable to drive safely. We passed by the next large town without stopping for supplies as I usually would have. The area 30 miles on either side of this town is about the most godforsaken part of the trip, with blowing sand and little plant life other than some cactus with bits of trash stuck to them. We pressed on to a nicer smaller town that has a bakery inside a small market and arrived just after many fresh baked goods were put into the display cases. Since it was lunch time, they had fresh hot sliced pizzas too, and I had some slices while I informed the group of my deteriorating condition.

From there it was an hour to yet another army checkpoint, this one famously slow. With the van doors open it was plain that we had reached the influence of the Sea of Cortez, much warmer air with a different feel and we were going to need shorts. After a long wait for everyone to get checked, especially the van with the pretty girl, we arrived into the pretty palm tree oasis town of San Ignacio, where we were to turn off and head for the whale lagoon of the same name. We pulled into the quaint town square, across from the nearly 300 year old church, one of the original missions. A little strolling around and then I headed over to the town office of the eco-tourism resort that was our eventual destination. I let them know that we wished to go out on a whale boat the next morning and she penciled in our booking after checking availability. I told her we also needed camping space for 4 vans and she wrote out a booking slip for me to present at the camp. Then back to the group to let them know we had a booking and could make the long dusty ride out to the lagoon with confidence.

The lagoon road out of town starts off so rough and decrepit that you think there must be some mistake. Is this really the road, if it is can we make it through 50 miles of THIS??? But no, suddenly the perfect new pavement begins and we relax for an easy drive until 20 miles later when the perfect pavement ends as suddenly as it began. We took our time over the washboard and through the deep sand drifts that wind had pushed into the road track in a few spots. In some places the road was just a narrow raised track across salt flats that flood on both sides with high tides and storm surges. After about 90 minutes of dirt road we arrived at the eco-tourism resort and checked in. We spread out into camp spots along the lagoon front and signed up for dinner in the cafe. Then we relaxed and watched the sunset, spreading color and shape through the wispy clouds, in a small show of Baja magic.

I woke in the night feeling chilled and feverish at times. With the sounds of wind and waves outside telling me conditions might not be great in the morning, I resolved that I would not go out on the whale boat with the group and would be sensible instead. As the group gathered and prepared for the whale trip orientation meeting I informed them of my decision. A little while later I had an abrupt change of heart and rushed to dress and join them for the boat ride. The wind was up and the whitecaps were evident but the proprietor had said it would be fine anyway. Am I ever glad I decided to go. As the boat sped west to the spot designated for whale interaction the wind lessened and waters calmed. Whales were spouting everywhere, mostly in pairs with a large spout and a small spout side by side. It was obvious that most whales were female and calf. As the boat slowed and whales came close we had the encounters of a lifetime. In the prior 2 year I had seen a few other boats that had been able to touch whales but never my boat. This time it happened over and over. Some of the mothers nuzzled our boat and let us touch them but mostly it was the young ones who did. All of us repeatedly touched baby whales and the whales seemed to like it as much as we did.

Here again is a video of our close encounters this year. The baby whale near the end was just a delight.

http://youtu.be/rIZ1Zwv4VuM

Mark


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