It’s the time of the season for loving…

With O2 safely hidden in Marina Puerto Escondido near Loreto, we once again rented a car. This time to cross the Baja Peninsula from the jagged mountain side of the Sea of Cortez to the table mountain side of the Pacific. We needed to come full circle in order to get Mother Nature’s Son in good time on his plane back to Belgium.

But not before visiting the oasis of Mugelé with the Jesuit mission in its prime location, the van life paradise of Bahía Concepción, the nesting ospreys high on their man-made poles, the live totem poles and ….. the awesome whales of Magdalena Bay.

At first, we thought the whales were playing and putting up a show just for fun. Jumping for joy, as it were. Which was close to what was happening, but not quite. When the early morning fog lifted , our cool panga driver- who kept singing Mexican love songs under his breath- manoeuvred us in just the right position to experience the full thrill of watching an enormous humpback whale raise her pectoral fin vertical in the air to then bring it down with a big splash for a couple of times, while rolling on her side. This triggered the other humpback to start slapping his flukes over and over again with tremendous force. We instinctively understood the utmost importance of making the biggest splash possible for as long as possible without knowing the reason why. Back on land we googled this behavior and only then did we realize that we had witnessed the love play of an epic courtship. The pectoral fin slapping is the flirtatious behavior of a female signaling to the male that she is ready and willing. The responsive tail flapping of the male is assuring her he is ready and able. 

They also kept breaching. At first, they shot out of the water one after the other and at one magical moment they breached in complete unison. Every time they arched their flukes before disappearing below the surface, our panga driver started to back away carefully. He knew what was about to come down. And after the first breach- which took us by surprise, and which looked more like a rocket launch, so did we.

According to marine biologists, this breaching could be either part of the wooing game or could be a means to stun prey or to dislodge parasites from their skin. We did notice some icky alien things flying out of their shells which were attached to the humpback’s body each time this 30-ton animal slammed back onto the surface after having been airborne. But icky things flying out or not, we feel sure that their breaching in unison was the ultimate opening dance to the wedding they had finally agreed upon. 

And this was only the beginning of the season when both humpback and grey whales arrive in their multitudes at the mating & breeding grounds of Magdalena Bay from their feeding grounds in Alaska, an annual migration of over 3000 miles. We are planning to do the same trajectory, later this year. But not for breeding purposes, of course.

On our way to the airport in San Jose del Cabo, we also made a brief stop in La Paz to snorkel with juvenile whale sharks who were feeding on krill to get strong and big for their journey back up north. These “juveniles” were still over 5 meter long and shot through the water like a motorized harpoon with one single swipe of their tail. The idea was to glide in the water in front of them and then to swim alongside if we could keep up with them. Which was a meagre minute or so. Completely out of breath- both with the excitement and the exertion – we then clambered back on board to give it another shot. After 4 of those water glides we were completely exhausted. The only thing left to do, was respectfully watch how the dorsal fin finally sped away in the distance. 

Now My Captain and I are back aboard O2. It’s just the 2 of us again and we are in a nostalgic mood. Also, with Covid on the rise, we could use another kind of boost as well. So, we have just organized a second border run into San Diego, USA. Our return flight Loreto-Tijuana has been booked, our Cross Border Xpress ticket which will allow us to walk across the border into the States and back again has been paid and our booster shot appointment has been confirmed. What could possibly go wrong?