Day Eight: Friday, March 23: Ojo de Liebre Lagoon/ Vizcaino Biosphere Preserve -- Whales!

“Bueno, bueno, bueno!”
These were the words that our “capitan” Leopoldo kept saying as we were blessed with visits from whale after whale after whale… but I get ahead of myself.

We started out following signs I’d seen in town when I got cash and groceries – found the bird refuge with long rows of poles with osprey nests, white pelicans, and lots of shore birds. Followed the signs to “Dunas” and Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, and came to sand dunes, then a gatehouse. I knew we had to go through salt company land to get to the lagoon, so I expected we would just register or whatever there, but he asked us for our “permisos” and said we had to go all the way back to town to get them at the company headquarters! I realized that Devin had been right, and the road we wanted to go to the whale watching area was off the highway south of town. It was a worthy side trip, though – interesting seeing the piles of salt and bird sanctuary. It was a beautiful day for photos with a dramatic sky!

As seems usual for us, everything happened just as it should. We felt like maybe we got too late a start, but it was rainy in the morning, and the sun was coming out as we arrived at the lagoon after an interesting drive through the salt evaporating ponds. (no permit needed on this road – there was just a small booth where a guy wrote down our license plates and we signed in.) We wandered in to the restaurant/museum/tour center and found that trips in a boat to see the whales were $40/person, $10 cheaper than in town. We bought two tickets and waited about 45 minutes until the tide came in further so we could get on the boat directly from the dock. I think they thought (and rightly so) that Devin may have had difficulty wading out to the boat. It turned out we were the only two people on that boat, and our pilot (I called him our “capitan”) was Leopoldo, who we later found out was the husband of the cook in the restaurant. They were very nice people!

It was a beautiful, beautiful day. So beautiful, that from the beginning of getting out on the water in the small “panga,” I found myself thinking of how to say in Spanish, “This is the Day that the Lord Has Made” (Este es el dia que El Senor ha hecho). Something about the Spanish language, about being out on the water surrounded by beauty, brings out the spiritual/poetic side of me. The feelings it evoked remind me of when I was a child seeing Yosemite for the first time, and knowing that I was in church, somehow.

It was not only an incredibly beautiful day, we were in one of, if not THE most beautiful place I have ever been... at one point, FIVE mother whales and their babies were surrounding the boat - on both sides, underneath, rolling next to the boat and looking at us with their great eyes, blowing whale snot in our faces (which wasn't really all that unpleasant - nicely salted - ha!) babies on mother's backs being held up to get a better look. These gentle giants, friendly monsters, were gracefully floating up to the surface next to the boat so we could reach down and scratch their surprisingly soft skin... I was in tears at several points during the day - it was an incredibly moving experience.

They came to US... we went out to where they were, then floated and waited - first one mother and child, then another and another till there was practically a waiting line!

The rain of last night and this morning is, on the Vizcaino Peninsula, an extraordinarily rare event, and the clouds and sky were fantastic. We live on a wonderful planet - I think we should keep it! At least I hope to stay a while.

The whalers, including Captain Scammons who first 'discovered' the lagoon, used to call the grey whales "Black Devils" - but I think they were confused, and they, themselves were the devils. The whales emanate love and beauty and the essence of gentle, caring nature - one flip of their tails could have torn our small boat into splinters - they gently nudged the boat, and were very careful not to swirl their tails too close, or to rise up underneath us. I’m glad they’ve forgotten the days of Captain Scammons, and I hope those days don’t return for the whales. Devin and I both said later how we felt overwhelming feelings of - hard to explain, but perhaps just well wishing - wishing them well on their journeys, and perhaps they wishing us well on ours. We felt a wonderful connection to these great beings.

It's quite beautiful here - it's a biosphere preserve and world heritage site, and if this is the most amazing thing we experience on this trip, or in life, I think we are satisfied. That's how powerful it is.

Baja is beautiful - thank goodness Ojo de Liebre Lagoon is in Mexico...if it were in the US, I'm sure there would be condos and marinas lining the shores...but it is huge and empty and incredibly beautiful and this one day is worth all the planning and the entire trip!!

But we aren't coming back yet - ha!

Leopoldo’s wife cooked us a delicious lunch when we returned, and explained what “Ojo de Liebre” meant when I asked – Eye of the Hare – the shape of the lagoon on a map is a bit like a large rabbit, and the whale watch area is where the eye would be. We felt we were at the eye of something, being surrounded by the swirling, spouting, friendly whales! What a wonderful day.

Before leaving, we drove along the shore of the lagoon in the campground there - wow. We want to come back to camp there - you can see whales from the shore, and it is so beautiful. When we were just sitting along the shore of the lagoon soaking it in, Devin said, "so this is where they make it." I asked what, and he said, "silence." That's why I love him.

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Go back to Day One of Baja Trip