baja

The Gray Whales and the Wonders of Baja

That's what the Road Scholar people call the trip I'm going on this month. I've never been on one of their trips, but they're connected with Elder Hostel, so I imagine it'll be fine. This particular one is women-only, and starts in San Diego before heading into Baja California to see the whales as well as deserts and other stuff.

The whales we'll be visiting are Grey Whales, which spend the summer in the Bering Sea and other northern places, moving south when the ice forms. These whales reach about 45 feet and 35 tons; the females are generally bigger than the males. 

There are several cool parts of this trip... the whales, of course, are close to the top of the list. Plus, I'm meeting the second son of my ex husband and his wife (he is the son of my ex and his wife, but I'm talking about meeting him and his wife. Clear?) for a tour of his ship (he's in the navy) and dinner. I've never met his wife so I'm looking forward to that. And while I've seen David as an adult, I still have trouble thinking of him as more than 12 or 13 so seeing him as captain will be great. Then, Len will be at home to water the plants, and protect the house from any burglars.

And... I've never been in that part of Mexico, and I always like visiting Mexico. I assume that it will be warmer there, but I don't think it gets very hot at that time of the year.

San Diego

So here I am, and the weather is gorgeous, as they say it usually is.

We had a bit of an adventure getting here in that the plane was diverted to Las Vegas for a medical emergency... no idea who, what, what happened, etc.

David met me at the airport, and we went off for a tour of his ship, which is in the process of being refurbished. As a result, it was sort of hard to imagine it in working (fighting?) condition, but I could tell that it's huge. And it was interesting to see David in his role as XO. He's not 12 any more.

After the ship, we went to David and Alexi's house for wine and cheese before having dinner at a Thai restaurant. It was a very interesting evening... we talked a lot about the past, I had a chance to catch up on the Schnell adventures over the last 30+ years, and got to know Alexi a bit. She's bright, fun, likes dogs, and decorates well... what more could one want? The food was good, too.

In summary...

The week really flew by, and I'm already home again. It was a great trip, however. We covered about 2/3 of Baja California, stopping at various places to do stuff, see things, eat, or spend the night.

The highlight, of course, was the whales. We saw them both in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon at Guerrero Negro and farther south at San Ignacio. People kept telling us that, sometimes, the whales are friendly (or maybe curious... who knows) and come right up to the boat. I didn't really believe it, but thought that simply seeing the whales would be pretty cool. In both places, however, the whales did come right next to the boat... we were able to touch them, get soaked when they spouted, see the eyes, etc. Sometimes the mother whales would lift up the babies so we could pet them. At other times, the mothers would get under the boats, apparently scratching their backs (they have lice and barnacles). It was a truly amazing experience.

In addition to seeing the whales, we also ate enormous quantities of very good food. Before every meal, Karla would go through the several options available at the next meal (enchiladas, fish, other Mexican specialties) so that we could chose... it got so that everyone would just groan when she mentioned food.

Karla was our guide. She has lived many places, but now lives in Ensenada and knows the Baja very well. She has a huge smile and, I suspect, was able to get a lot done simply by using it on a regular basis. She and Aurora, her assistant, took excellent care of us and were also quite entertaining.They talked about the history of Baja and of Mexico, played Mexican music, took us to watch folkloric programs, helped us learn how to make tortillas, taught us to drink tequilla the right way, and more.

What else? It was a very nice group of women... bright, knowledgeable about a lot of things like birds and archeology, funny, and so forth. The desert walks were interesting, and there were many more plants than I would have expected, thanks to 10 inches of rain over the winter. We stayed in several of the string of government-owned motels that stretch along the main north-south highway. Apparently, they were originally quite luxurious, but now are simply decent... lots of hot water, toilet seats, CNN in English, restaurants, etc.

I was really impressed by the organization and planning for this trip. I'll have to check out some of their other offerings.