Turtles & Whales & Dolphins, Oh My!

Baja California Sur is like no other place in the world; stark deserts contrasting with deep blue oceans full of life. Most people know that the region is one of the only places in the world where whales (specifically gray whales) will approach boats and allow people to touch them. Most people don't know that there is a unique new way to interact with sea turtles in the region; I took my young daughter Karina on a trip organized by Baja Expeditions to see for myself.

I'd seen many pictures and always wondered just how friendly these whales are and how well the interaction is managed. By the time we got out into Magdalena Bay, near the town of San Carlos, we saw spouts, flukes, and breaches in every direction, more whales than could be counted. A relatively small number of whales are friendly at any given moment, but once one is found, it will hang around the boats for hours. They will show their belly, roll around to show off their flippers, rise their noses out of the water, and pass under the boats. The boats we saw were respectful, just a couple at a time with any one whale, calmly taking turns so that each gets a chance to spend some time with the whale.

However, the whales were just the warm-up act for our real reason for being there, to participate in a sea turtle research monitoring conducted by the EcoTortugueros, led by our friend Julio Solis. The project is run by local conservationists working to develop an alternative to fishing in the region and to financially support research efforts. Setting nets across an active turtle route, our friends were able to catch 4 black turtles (a sub-species of green turtles), which were tagged, measured, and then released.

Karina was overwhelmed by the turtles, helping at every possibility to keep them wet, and get a closer look at their shells and flippers. One was even named after her. The trip was topped off by seeing a pod of bottlenose dolphins on our boat ride home, the perfect ending to a fantastic trip. There's a couple more of whale and turtle trips in 2010, though time is running out.

Check out a quick video of the trip:

-Brad Nahill