Gray Whales in Baja California Sur, Mexico, Mid-February 2024

[Atravelynn]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I watched gray whales in Laguna Ojo de Liebre in Baja California Sur Mexico while staying in a lovely camp along the shore, all booked through Baja Jones Adventure Travel. 

https://www.jonesadventures.com/

 

 

Calf riding on mother’s back, plus a rainbow - Feb 13

 

By land or by sea was my dilemma for gray whale watching. Advice from several people who had been was do the land-based, so I researched and found Keith Jones of Baja Jones Adventure Travel.  He answered his phone, returned messages and addressed my questions and emails.  All the other guests in camp had the same experience with Keith’s responsiveness, and that’s a big reason we were all there.

 

There are several places for gray whale watching in Baja, as shown on the map, here. Laguna Ojo de Liebre has the highest concentration of whales and that is where Baja Jones operates, so that’s where I went.

 

 

If you want to stay along the beautiful shores of Laguna Ojo de Liebre, just minutes from the whale watching dock, and you are not driving a camper through Mexico on your own, then Baja Jones Camp is the only option.  It’s also possible to drive in 45 minutes each day from Guerrero Negro, but those trips generally do just one whale watching trip per day, not two, like we did.  And you’d miss out on the delicious food, lagoon bird watching, sunrises/sunsets over the lagoon, and Keith’s mealtime stories that all are part of the Baja Jones camp experience.

 

 

 

 

On the boat, out in the lagoon, we never went for more than 10 minutes without a spout, blow, tail, spy-hop, breach, fin, or nearby whale.  We almost always had whales that approached the boat of their own volition (no food involved) to look at us, nudge the boat, have a pet, or play with other whales around the boat.

 

 

 

Backlit Spy-hop

 

 

 

This gray whale had entertained itself at our boat and was heading to the other boat to check it out. 

 

 

Me petting a whale.  The life vests were provided and required.

 

 Whales often swam over to the boat, raised their head out of the water and waited to be petted.  Unbelievable.  After the petting novelty wore off a little bit, I planned to just whale watch and not touch.  But occasionally when other people on the boat also decided not to pet, I felt bad for the whale, who was seeking our attention, so I made sure every whale at my boat got petted--even if my sleeve got wet.

A few whales liked to be near the boats, but just of touching range.  It was amazing how they maneuvered their bodies to get close but would make an evasive move to maintain a few inches between themselves and outstretched hands.

 

Not me in the photo

 

Sometimes we would see whales that had just caught sight of us and they would bound over to our boat, just like a dog eagerly runs across the yard to play.  We had 7 whales around us once and 3-4 at a time was common, always calm and gentle.  Sometimes they'd push the boat a little ways but that was about it.  It was never scary.

3 gray whales at our boat

 

 

Incoming gray whales

 

 

 

3 Tips for Gray Whale Watching:

 

1) Bring warm clothes for the boat, even a winter jacket.  Do not bring a bag to stow on the boat; there is no place for a backpack, purse, camera bag or other bag on the boat, unless it is attached to your body and remains attached. Other people will be stepping on the bag and it will get in everyone’s way when whales are spotted and everyone gets into position to look at them.  There is a hull to place things like a jacket in, but you don’t have frequent access to the hull.

 

2) I brought over-the-counter seasickness medication, but never used the Bonine.  The waves within the lagoon are minimal and we go out when it is not windy and wavy.

 

3) During my 17 outings, I saw only 1 DSLR camera with a long lens out of about 750 whale watchers. I’d estimate 85% of people used cell phones for photos. Sometimes the long sticks attached to the phones were annoying, I admit. Some cell phone users enclosed their phones in a plastic protector, not a bad idea.  I used my Sony RX10 and it worked great. I kept a small towel with me to wipe off spray if needed, but the camera never got all wet.  I had brought an Olympus TG6 because it is waterproof and, within reason, shockproof.  I thought we’d be drenched half the time and bouncing around in the boat, camera flailing.  We did not get wet or knocked around and I used the Olympus on the whale boat once, for a picture of me with a whale.

 

 

Eye and Barnacle

 

 

When to go?  The season starts in January.  The peak with the most whales is mid-Feb, so that is when I booked.  Into March there are more mothers with calves around.

 

Calf next to mother on - Feb 16

 

Baja Jones Adventure Travel has some set itineraries, but you can design your own, staying in his camp.  That's what I did. This itinerary provided 16* gray whale watching outings with Baja Jones Adventure Travel.  I booked a 17^th outing on my own.

2024

 

8 Feb Fly to San Diego, Hotel Shuttle to Holiday Inn-Bayside San Diego

9 Feb  Day in San Diego.  I wanted a buffer day up front and spent it at the San Diego Zoo.

10 Feb  Baja Jones transport pickup at Holiday Inn-Bayside about 5:00 am for the 9.5-ish hour trip to camp in Baja. Lunch provided.

11-18 Feb  2 whale watching trips/day, totaling 16.  BLD at Baja Jones Camp

19 Feb Fly from airport near camp to Ensenada, then transport arranged by Baja Jones back to Holiday Inn-Bayside in San Diego. That whole journey takes about 7-8 hours.  I can't recall what we did for lunch.

20 Feb Fly out of San Diego

*Nobody else at camp did 16 trips.  Most did 4 or 6 outings and were thrilled.  I wanted to be sure to see the whales and the more outings, the better the odds of something special.  I loved all 16 outings (and have numerous keeper photos from each of the 16) and I liked the 17^th I did on my own later in the afternoon (with 2 keeper photos of fins).

 

 

Spy-hop

 

If you can get yourself to Holiday Inn-Bayside in San Diego, then Baja Jones Adventure Travel will do the rest to get you to the Baja camp for however much whale watching you want and then return you back to San Diego.  Every other day is either ground or air transport from San Diego to camp, back to San Diego, so you can choose roundtrip air, roundtrip ground or a combo, all arranged by Baja Adventure Travel.  Just show up at Holiday Inn-Bayside in San Diego on time to catch the transport, then relax for the rest of the trip.  Nothing more to do!

 

 

Flight out of camp

 

 

Flight out of camp, airplane shadow in lower right

 

 

 

There are a variety of accommodations in the camp that range from a hut with no ensuite facilities and a nearby outhouse, to a portable commode in the hut, to a fancy cabin or spacious tent with your own shower and flush toilet.  I had a basic wooden hut but added the portable commode inside that was taken care of by an attendant. Very comfortable.  Link to lodging options is here.

 

https://www.jonesadventures.com/photos-of-camp-set-up/

 

Three meals a day were in the big tent that contained the library and bar.  Atty, the chef, is very talented and we had wonderful food—mostly Mexican, but a nice variety and not too spicy.  There were bottles of hot sauce, many levels, for every taste.   All the staff were very helpful and pleasant so that it was an enjoyable, relaxed atmosphere when not watching the whales.  We could even hear the whales in the lagoon from our camp.

Sunset shot from Baja Jones Camp

 

 

Sunrise shot from Baja Jones Camp

 

 

Scenery around the camp

 

 

Scenery around the camp

 

 

The camp is about 3/4 of a mile from the dock where the whale watching boats launch.  A Baja Jones van takes us there and back in 5 minutes, but it is easy, fun, and completely safe to walk there, passing all the campers.  I usually walked and looked for birds, lizards, flowers, etc.

 

Seen on my walk from camp to the whale boat dock, under 30 minutes

 

 

Seen on my walk from camp to the whale boat dock, under 30 minutes

 

 

 

Seen on my walk from camp to the whale boat dock, under 30 minutes

 

 

Great Egret near the dock in the morning before whale watching

 

 

A big reason I liked to walk, rather than drive, to/from the whale watching was to spend time near the ospreys that nested on the outhouses that the campers used, as well as on dwellings around the dock.

 

Osprey

 

 

Osprey

 

 

Osprey

 

 

Osprey

 

 

Osprey

 

 

The plan is to do a morning whale watching trip, come back for lunch, then do an afternoon whale watching trip—each 90 minutes or a little longer, in boats that hold up to 10 people.  But if winds kicked up, then we did both trips in the morning because wind makes it choppy and less comfortable on the boat, plus the whales are more interactive in calm water and you can get better photos of the whales underwater when it is still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once--at my own expense of about $50--I added a third trip, in addition to the two per day that are included with the Baja Jones trip.  It was fun and we saw whales, but it was later in the afternoon when conditions were not as good.

On the one non-Baja Jones outing later in the afternoon, the only photos I took were fins.

 

 

 

Calf riding on mother’s fin – Feb 12

 

 

 

Calf in front of mostly submerged mother – Feb 12

 

 

Calf – Feb 12

 

 

Calf approaches – Feb 12

 

 

Dueling Quotes of the Trip.  Highbrow:  From Dr. Victor B Scheffer, Former Director of US Fish and Wildlife Service and author of the book, The Year of the Whale.

 

“As the whale is great, so to cherish it can be proof of our greatness.  Meanwhile, and for a little longer, the great whale glides through the sea, feeling its vibrations and reading its meaning by senses it has gained through eons of time.  Had the whale been created only to deepen our sense of wonder, that were enough, for it is imagination that makes us human.”

 

Lowbrow:  Some of Keith’s stories he told us before dinner that shall remain confined to camp, and therefore not printed here.  I’m looking forward to more of his tales and recollections on a return trip in 2025.

 

In March of 2025, several safaritalkers will join me for both Blue Whales in Loreto, Mexico and then Gray Whales in Laguna Ojo de Liebre at the same camp I stayed at in Feb 2024.  This time I’ll do a less fanatical 10 whale watching trips, instead of 17.  The other whale adventurers are and daughter Nina, @gatoratlarge(Joel), and @njs (Nancy).  We are joining up here and there and not all doing everything together.  Baja Jones is very flexible and could accommodate you too if you are interested.

 

 Sunrise at camp

 

Skimmers seen within an hour of arrival at camp on Day 1

 

 

 

Skimmers seen within an hour of arrival at camp on Day 1

 

 

 

First sunset from camp

 

 

 

Gray whales make the longest migration of any mammal, from 10,000 to 14,000 miles between the Arctic around Alaska down to the breeding lagoons in Mexico.  Laguna Ojo de Liebre is one of those lagoons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In September, the gray whales leave their feeding grounds in the Arctic and Alaska to swim south toward the breeding and calving waters in the Baja area. At a pace of 5 miles per hour, the whales can swim about 75 miles each day.  So that’s a journey of around 4 to 6 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From December and into February, the whales arrive in the warm waters of Mexico where the females give birth to their calves in the lagoons and nurse them until it’s time to head back north, usually the end of March and into April or even as late as May. 

 

Mother and calf – Feb 16

 

 

Calf – Feb 16

 

 

Mother and calf – Feb 16

 

 

Mother and calf – Feb 16

 

 

Calf on mother's back – Feb 16

 

 

Calf – Feb 16

 

 

Mother and calf – Feb 16

 

 

Calf on mother's back – Feb 16

 

To be continued

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Atravelynn

[janzin]

Wow this looks amazing. It's something my spouse has really been wanting to do and we actually have looked into it, but I didn't even realize there was a land-based option; we were looking at cruises, like the Lindblad one.  This seems really cool and I love that they take care of everything/transportation from San Diego. Would have loved to join you in March '25 but we are already booked with Kenya in February so if we do this, it will have to wait until 2026. Something to explore!

[Atravelynn]

1 hour ago, janzin said:

Wow this looks amazing. It's something my spouse has really been wanting to do and we actually have looked into it, but I didn't even realize there was a land-based option; we were looking at cruises, like the Lindblad one.  This seems really cool and I love that they take care of everything/transportation from San Diego. Would have loved to join you in March '25 but we are already booked with Kenya in February so if we do this, it will have to wait until 2026. Something to explore!

Really cool is right!  Everyone in the camp was wowed! This trip a fraction of the cost of the Lindblad cruises.  Baja Jones posts prices for set itineraries so you could check that out. This custom trip of 10 nights, all meals, 2 whale trips/day, transportation to/from San Diego (though not the Bayside Hotel in San Diego) was under $4500 in 2024.  Not much more daily cost for 2025, with a different itinerary.   I think the experience on land, especially with the Baja Jones camp and their approach, is better than boat-based trips, even if some of the luxury of Lindblad is not part of the deal.  Returning the next year is a good indication of what I thought about the whole operation!

 

Enjoy Kenya!

Edited 15 hours ago by Atravelynn

[Zim Girl]

What a brilliant trip @Atravelynn

Really lovely pictures of the whales and their calves.

[NancyS]

Wow, your trip was great! I did a similar trip in the end of Jan 2020. What you saw was what I was expecting, but even better. What I got was disappointing. We did see the whales but the sightings were not very good at all. There was one exciting time when the whale went under our boat and bumped it. Other than that they did not approach. We were in Magdalena Bay which is further south than you were. We were a private group of 9 and stayed in tents on the beach (with outhouses). That was really nice. We were the only ones camping anywhere around and that part was great. Day boats came to see the whales. I might need to give this another try! Can't go in 2025 as I already have another trip booked for Feb/March. 

[Miss Biscuit]

Great info and photos!

I also didn't know there was a land based option. I have only done a cursory look into this a few years ago. It looks amazing. What a wonderful experience that I will definitely look into again.