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San Ignac FebruaryAssemblTomorrohotel lobbcombed Slagoon pThompsoabout to older boodescribedthe intelli HendersoobservatiCoast of Nimportanlagoons oslaughter portions descriptioup, circlinone followof conjecis clear abwould haled to the Despite tspecies, byears of

io Lagoon

y 1, 2008 ly Point: San

ow Debra, myby at 6 am. Sightings by B

portions of Eon. The volumeet throug

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North Americant figure in thof Baja, and

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ave no food. e severe popu

their drop inbut there are

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n Diego y partner in lI’m as acade

Brenda PetersEye of the Wumes are fullgh Baja ExpeWhales at Scahistory of wFish” they h

as as close aswhale behav

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d his writingscies. Thougquoted by b

orphaned baband crying.

mained for abmpson 99). Thappened: wi

This deathulation declin

n numbers, sstill many mat the hand

life’s adventuemically prepson and Lind

Whale by Dicl of tales aboeditions, the cammon’s Lagowhaling in gre

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bout two weeThough Scamthout its mo

h of the younne of the gray

scientists havmysteries abouds of men l

2

ures, and I dpared as I canda Hogan, Gck Russell, aout the placewhaling cam

oon, by Davideat detail and

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whaling capwhale. He isher whalers tnsidered an rson and Ththe ships afmother was

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Gray Whales byand Whales: e where I am

mp where I wd Hendersond the constan

in Charles Mte The Marinptain for onls credited wito the easy accurate scie

hompson harfter their mos taken to thther it lived td to speculatthe calf was

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e to conducthe greatest, toon, of plum

ur ecotourismbooklore aboy Jim DarlingTouching the m going andwill stay. Yen especially hnt battle betw

Melville Scammne Mammals oly eight yearsith “discoverhunting therentific resourd reading, pothers had bee ship to be o come to mte about its fs doomed tonthusiastic sl

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m group fromout the graysg, the San IgMystery by D

d the people et I found a mhelpful becaween human

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3

disruption of family groups, the death of their young, do they now allow humans to venture close to them again? Why do they permit us to view their babies, sometimes granting a precious touch? These interactions primarily occur within the birthing lagoons of Magadelena Bay, Oja de Liebre (formerly known as Scammon’s Lagoon), Guerrero Negro (connected to Oja Liebre by a shallow channel) and Laguna San Ignacio, where so much of the original slaughter took place. Friendly encounters stop the moment the mother and baby leave the safety of the lagoon and proceed north, though some have been known to occur in Washington state and off Vancouver Island in British Columbia. I can’t help but marvel that I’m venturing to the one spot where such contact is common. But why? How did this change from enemy to friend come about? This shift is a relatively new phenomenon, first occurring in 1972. Francisco “Pachico” Mayoral, a local from Laguna San Ignacio, was out in his boat one day fishing for grouper and cabrilla when he was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of whales. He was frightened and for good reason. The Azorean whalers who hunted on the Monterey Bay were the first to name the grays “Devil Fish” because they fought back when harpooned, often body-slamming whaling boats or smashing them with their tails and killing the whalers. Serves the whalers right, I always thought, when I taught this little bit of local history in my English 1A class on the Monterey Bay region. Though those acts of self-defense occurred a good hundred years ago, according to Dick Russell in Eye of the Whale, Pachico had a more recent reason to feel afraid. Just a few years earlier, several fisherman in San Ignacio had accidentally run over a whale in a narrowest part of the lagoon. The whale attacked and killed the entire crew. After that, the local fishermen not only tried to keep their distance, but made sure that they announced their arrival to the whales in this area by beating on the hull of their boats. That day, Pachico and his partner Luis watched in fear as dozens of whales spy-hopped near their little skiff, lifting straight up out of the water; the creatures seemed to be taking a good look at the two men. One whale scratched her head against the front of the panga (as the skiffs are called) for a good hour. “And most of her body was underneath,” Pachico reported to Russell,” so we could not move” (147). I can imagine the forty foot whale beneath the twenty-five foot boat, resting it on her back, preventing the men from sailing away. The men worked quietly to lift the fishing lines they had dropped into the water, afraid that if they hurt the whale, she would retaliate, and they too would die. Finally, Dick Russell quotes Pachico as saying, “I don’t know what finally compelled me to reach out my hand. The moment I touched the whale for the first time, I felt something incredible. I lost my fear. I was amazed. It was like breaking through some kind of invisible wall. And I kept touching. That moment I compare with when my first child was born. It leaves a deep impression on my heart” (147). He goes on to say, “I feel the whales came looking for us…We analyze that the whale…now forgives us for hunting it. They are demonstrating the friendship that we never showed them… I think they are smart and that they are showing us how to live. And I believe that this is a great lesson for us” (148). Since then, many whales have approached Pachico and the other fisherman of the lagoon. They bring their babies. “They teach their young to be friendly too. It is like the first friendly whale told the others what it was like. How they do this, we don’t know. They speak and communicate under the ocean,” Pachico claims (Russell 148).

4

An entire whale watching business has sprung up in the lagoon, with locals taking first scientists and then tourists like me out into the water to witness the miracle. The scientists named the experience Friendly Whale Syndrome and “syndrome,” according to Webster, is a word used to characterize an abnormality. But I’m curious. Am I about to see abnormal behavior or is this what could have been if we had chosen not to hunt this species? Dick Russell finds the timing of Pachico’s encounter significant. It occurred during the same year that the Mexican government established the San Ignacio Bio Reserve as a refuge and the United Nations called for the end of worldwide whaling. Roger Payne, one of the world’s best known whale scientists, comments in his book Among Whales, “The brain of whales suggest by their size and complexity a potential for function and/or thought equal to or surpassing our own”(327). Is it possible, as Russell implies, that the whales sensed this change in the status of their birthing grounds and approached Pachico as a result? Payne speculates further, “It is as though our two mammalian brains have more in common than we are aware and that we really may have significant things to say to each other – despite our isolation for the last sixty-five million years – if only we could find a communication channel”(346). Is that communication channel in the process of being opened in San Ignacio Lagoon? As I think ahead to the trip, I am filled with questions. Is Friendly Whale Syndrome totally voluntary or are the creatures somehow coerced? What kind of relationship has developed between the people of San Ignacio and the whales? And how do the locals like Pachico feel about the hundreds who journey there as eco-tourists? What will I learn from first-hand experience that either confirms or contradicts the scientific writing I’ve read? This whale species lives in a world so different from our own that many of the scientific texts I read cautioned about what the author reported, always couching it with the caveat that it’s hard to gain good information. Research is limited by the human ability to witness only about ten percent of the whales’ lives, the moments when they are at the surface of the sea. Even my writer’s imagination, trained to visualize the impossible, finds it difficult to wrap my mind around the sensory experience of their daily life, the sounds and smells and currents, much less the complexity of their family behaviors and drives. I find myself wondering about basics: What might it feel like to touch a whale, if I am so lucky? Will their skin feel leathery or pebbled from barnacles and lice? What does their breath sound like? Do they sleep? I can’t wait to find out.

Baja Expe FebruaryArrival a Baja at labeaches oboth foretreasures We were Adventur

Alex, a Lcamp andwoman, aadventurein biologcompanybetween lagoon astaught in its aim wthe whale

editions camp

y 2, 2008 at San Ignac

ast – a whoof crushed sheign and mythat are yet t

met by Aleres yellow sch

La Paz natived one of thand they divies during thegy from the y for eight ye

Baja and Las his backyara program cas to providees and enoug

cio

lly different hell lapped bysterious, as ito be reveale

x Romero anhool bus and

e, has workedhe guides onide their timee summer. Th

university inears and is aansing, Michrd each wintecalled RAREe locals fromgh English t

world. I y small waveif it’s whispe

ed. It took a

nd Jose Sancd immediately

Alex (left) a

d for Baja A the whale we between hehe amiable Jon La Paz, fo

also married higan. I enver while he a, a guide trai

m a small villato serve the

5

walk througes that move ering secrets a long journey

chez who chy began answ

and Jose (righ

Adventures fowatching exere and her nose hails fromocusing on to an Ameri

vy Estaven, attends a locaning program

age of only 3eco-tourists

gh a landscapto a slower in a languagy to get here

heerfully huswering our m

ht)

or fifteen yeaxpeditions, hnative Wiscom the Yucatamarine mamican womantheir little f

al pre-schoolm for locals i300 people w

who come

pe of sand asense of timege I don’t u

e…

stled us ontomany question

ars. Now thhe is marriedonsin where tan but graduammals. He’sn; the couple four-year-oldl here. For sin rural areas

with scientificto the lagoo

and cactus, e. The place

understand, h

o the waitingns.

he manager od to an Amethey lead kayated with a ds worked fo divide their

d, who claimseveral yearss. In San Ign knowledge a

on. I believe

along e feels hiding

g Baja

of the erican yaking degree or the r time

ms the , Jose nacio, about e that

nationallyincome, ppupils, Lu After a luto the camour binochollow nohuge woosee nothinbinocular Because tshow thehear the fmuch sloaccordionmy own i

Since I hlagoon th He frownsouth as salinity anAlex declhere. Bu“They areknow a li We have smiled. “see. Fash

y it works toproviding theupita Murillo

unch of scallomp and its enculars in hanoise, like a looden pipe. “ng. A few mrs, we traced

the lagoon iir flukes whefamiliar in anower a pace. n-like moveminhalation ha

ad Alex to mhe same as las

ned for a moCabo San Lnd water temlared. “Scienut if we see e such a mysttle more.”

two whale “I love the trhion disappe

o educate loem with an e

o, is now one

ops fresh fronvirons…Ded, ready to loong sigh. A “What is thatminutes laterthe whales’ b

s only forty en going belond out that m

We listenement of the luad grown dee

myself, I begast year?”

oment. “EveLucas which mperature hantists used topoop, we kn

stery. We kno

watch trips rips. Everybears. The on

ocals in any entry into an of our guide

om the lagoonebra and I imook for whaldeep and slot?” Deb aske, though, we backs, and re

feet deep atow, taking a b

marks the pased to our sisungs that pre

eper.

Latehis grinsomsay morthe

an to ask him

ery year is difis really unu

ave been proo think that now they’re ow so little.”

scheduled, obody puts on ly thing that

6

area about tnother way oes as well.

n (delicious!)mmediately to

es. As we satow whistle, ited. But eachheard the w

ealized that w

t this spot, wbig breath anssage of air msters in the eserves our o

er, as I descrface lit up.

nned. “We hmetimes. The

it keeps there comfortinstarry dark o

m about the w

fferent,” he susual.” No ooven not to b

the whales deating. And

” Then he gr

one in the mall these clomatters is th

the benefits of life. It tur

), the afternoook off downt and watchet sounded ash time we loo

whoosh of a wwe were listen

we learned land sinking slomoving throusea, fellow mown life. Wi

ribed the exp“Isn’t that t

have guests wey don’t realem up at nigng than this of the Baja sk

whales, “Are

stated. “Thisone can expbe a factor. didn’t eat thed we’ve seenrinned. “But

morning andothes so theyhe whales.”

of eco-tourrns out that

oon was spenn the shell-coed for spoutss if air were soked for thewhale spout. ning to the w

ater, the whowly insteadugh the humamammals boithout realizin

perience to Athe coolest swho complailize what thght.” I can’t

lullaby of aikies, a gift fro

e the numbe

s year we’ve plain the pop

“And they’ve whole time

n poop.” Het maybe afte

d one in the y don’t get w

rism as sourone of Jose’

nt getting oriovered beach, we heard ansnaking thro

e source, we Finally, usin

whales inhale!

ales do not . We marvelan body, butound to the ng it, I found

Alex after disound?” Thein about the ey’re hearingimagine anyir, floating aom the sea.

r of whales i

seen whales pulation shiftve been feede they were de shook his r tomorrow

afternoon. wet or cold. Y

rce of ’s star

iented h with n odd ugh a could

ng the !

often led to t at so same

d that

inner, en he noise

g and ything across

in the

as far ts but ding,” down head, you’ll

Alex You’ll

FebruaryWhale E Each timacross thesides. I had shape

Divided iand I enscientific the tidal f

y 3, 2008 Encounters

me I woke due tent and allburrowed deed the stars,

into groups oded up in Joterms. We w

flats.

uring the nigl I could heareeper into mlights of clea

of six, we weose’s group, walked to th

ght, I listenedr was the far

my sleeping bar gold that sp

After brewhale watright layerwaterprooand findinprovided Alex was laughed at Photo by K

ere assigned tsince he so

he twenty-fou

7

d for whale r-off yipping bag, pulling mpattered like

eakfast, the gtch trip. Drrs of warmthof bags, corrng a matchinby Baja Expcertainly rig

t how we loo

Katharine Sloan

to a naturaliso often expreur foot fiberg

.

breaths. Buof a coyote a

my wool hat a Pollack pa

group hurrieressing for ih and rain grectly donninng pair of wepeditions. Anght about theoked.

st and a skippessed what hglass pangas

ut a furious and the flappover my ear

ainting across

ed to get reit required cgear, wrappinng a personalellies from thnd don’t forge lack of fas

per. I was phe knew abodown sandy

wind was ripping of the crs. An icy s the night sk

eady for thecare: choosinng the camerl floatation dhe tangle of bget the sun bshion, but w

pleased that Dout the whalbanks and a

pping anvas chisel ky.

e first ng the ras in device boots block!

we just

Debra les in across

Jose explwhale wathey werewe were p The Biosto stay inan officiathey’d ovAccordinof San Igwatching time or thothers weharassed coercion.

Jose poinSuddenlyon its sidrising frothe smilebreach agflung itsesecond tiexactly w

lained that watching. Thise free to swimprohibited fr

phere Reservn the whale wal, who watchver stayed theng to Jose, thgnacio felt thcamps aroun

he more casuere in the areor endanger It was their

nted us toway a whale brede with a hugom the cast oe of its long gain. 5. 4. 3elf skyward anime, his arm

when he predi

we would jous way, if a mm in the rest rom lingering

ve has other watching areahed from theeir limit. On

he Mexican ghat 16 was nd the lagooual day trippeea, they had tred in any wr choice.

Cwhrmo P

ard the most eached less thge splash. Aof its body in

mouth, the 3. 2. 1.” As nd splashed

m rising and icted.

urney to the mother and b

of the area. g to watch.

strict rules tha for 90 minue shore or frnly 16 pangasgovernment hbetter for thn, taking out

ers. Only twto hang backway. Their

Chino, the ofwith watchinghe was not drreferee for thmotored paston his clipboa

Photo by Marth

open part ohan 200 yard

Awe filled mynto the sea. I

heavy liddedif listening, down again.falling with

8

one part of aby didn’t wEven if we s

hat governedutes only. Oom a boat ans were permihad originallyhe whales. Tt groups like

wo boats coulk and wait the

contact with

fficial who reg to make suressed in a blhe area, callit him, standiard.

ha Taylor

of the lagoonds away, risiny chest at theI could see td eye. “It dthe whale roWe shoutedeach numb

f the four-miwant to have saw somethin

d our time inOur arrival an

nd had a walmitted in the w

y wanted theThe skiffs oourselves w

ld be near a eir turn. Abh us was to

ecorded our ure that no ilack and whiing fouls anding up his s

n, near its mng out of thee size of thethe white madidn’t blow!” ose just as Jod. Cameras cber like a bo

ile long lagooany encount

ng spectacula

n the water. nd departure lkie-talkie towhale watchie limit to be operated out

who stayed fofriendly wha

bove all, whalbe utterly v

ins and outsinfractions oite stripped sd timeouts. kiff and reco

mouth. We e water and fe creature, markings along

Jose shouteose called outclicked. Joseoxing ref; the

on designateters with humar on our way

We were allwere record let boats kning area at a 20 but the pof several w

or several dayale at one timles were not

voluntary, wi

s was also choccurred. Thshirt, he actedWe waved aording our a

gazed for spfalling back d

mountains of g its jaw and ed. “It’s goit the last nume counted doe whale app

ed for mans, y out,

lowed ded by now if

time. people whale ys at a

me. If to be

ithout

harged hough d as a as we arrival

pouts. down spray head,

ing to mber, own a peared

That aftenaturalistparticularthese whdistinctiofull time w

“Look, th“You cablowholethe womb The babyyards frogray, wit“It’s may Would Mwe stoppit. “Thro“Come h

ernoon we wt. The grour expertise. hales, first toon of being thwith her unc

here’s a younn still see

e from wherb.”

y who surfacom the panth very few ybe two week

Mama permit ed moving a

ow some wathere baby,” L

whale-watchedp decided to Lupita brou

ouching onehe first fema

cle when wha

ng one,” she the lines ne

re it was cur

ced a few hunga was nea

barnacles oks old,” Lupit

it to play wiand waited. Lter,” she instLupita called

d in the impo rotate guidught the perse when she ale guide in Sale watching

She laughAlexwhissee.” At fcoupawaywhal Lupi

called. ear its rled in

undred arly all or lice. ta guessed.

ith us? BecaLupita handetructed. Eved in a coaxin

9

pish Martin’s des and skipspective of awas only el

San Ignacio lseason is ove

also possesshing the wh

x’s wife, tosperer.” “T”

first, it did nople of encouy from us, Lle watching a

ita and Martin

ause whales sed me an emeryone else inng tone. W

Then thJose laugthe textbbreachesit varies back agatook methat. It’it so closour first

skiff, with Jppers, so we a local, someleven. At twlagoon and ier.

ses a wickedole time we

old me lateThey come t

ot seem thatunters with mLupita directarea.

n

seem to like mpty bleach bn the boat lea

We watched a

he whale spghed. “I gubook. Threes they write all the time.”

ainst the side e four years t’s very unususe.” San Igagift...

Jose’s star pu could expeeone who hatwenty-five nits only fishe

d sense of huwere in her

er that Lupto her,” she

t Lissa was rmothers and ted Martin to

the sound obottle with a aned to the sanxiously as

pouted and uess that onee is the numbabout, but r

” Then he leof the panga

to get a pictuual for you tancio had giv

upil Lupita arience each ad grown upnow, she haerwoman, wo

umor and kecompany. L

pita is a “winsisted. “Y

right. But ababies who o a corner o

f an idling msection cut oside and splathe light co

dove. e read ber of really, eaned a. “It ure of to see ven us

as our one’s

p with as the orking

ept us Lissa, whale You’ll

after a shied

of the

motor, out of ashed. olored

mother wother moThey wer

I leaned

whale, with aothers we hare coming clo

d to make con

a distinct corad encounteroser.

“Hereright w Photo b

ntact.

ral patch of red, she did

e she is,” Lupwhere Debra

by Martha Tayl

Photo by

10

lice near hernot position

pita called. Tand I were s

or

y Martha Taylor

Spongy stender. Ithat rose snout.

r blow hole, n herself be

The baby apseated.

r

skin rippled I could feel thfrom dimple

spouted neaetween her c

ppeared at th

under my he sparse haies that pockm

ar us. Unlikcalf and the

e rear of the

palm, softirs, like thickmarked the b

ke the skiff.

e boat

t and k wire, baby’s

The calfbeen wamoist andelephant’ “You’re sand alongus with a

Finally, humans wvulnerablsea, appeswam aw “I love wfeeling inMayoral’ssuddenly

f’s twin blorned not tod sensitive ass trunk.

such a beautig its jaw for abig blow. A

she declaredwas over. Thle looking as ared beside u

way.

whales!” Lupn the boat. I s comment made deepe

owholes, who touch, loos the openin

iful baby,” I as long as it

As we scream

d that playheir two sets they rose in

us one last tim

pita yelled ascouldn’t stoabout “breaer sense. An

hich I’d oked as gs of an

crooned ovewould permi

med in surpris

y time withof blow holetandem from

me, and then

s we watchep smiling, fe

aking througn utterly wil

11

er and over. it. Then it sl

se, the calf bo

The calf often follseemed tocareening making semerge agnearby, soother time

h the es, so m the n they

ed the pair deeling a happgh an invisibd creature an

Debra and Ilid below theobbed its hea

came close lowing touco be playing

away aftersurprise divegain on the ometimes swes watching f

disappear. Hpiness that wable wall” whnd I had jus

I ran our hane water, surfaad. I swear it

for several mches with a g – rushing r gently nudes below th

other side. wimming befrom afar.

Her exuberaas too big fo

hen he first st made joyf

nds down itsacing again bt was laughin

more encouhuge spraytoward us,

dging the phe boat, on

Mama hoside her bab

ance captureor words. Pa

touched a wful contact.

s nose beside ng.

unters, y. It

then panga, nly to vered by, at

d the achico whale The

12

touch of the calf’s skin against my hand shifted something in my conception of the world, created broader possibilities for kinship and family. Was this sense of connection simply a mammalian link, the coming together of two vaguely similar species? No. Because though I have been awed by encounters with many wild mammals, something felt different about this one. I couldn’t stop the goofy grin that creased my face nor the wonder that electrified the hairs on the back of my neck and my arms. Did these sensations arise from a moment of union between a sea and land creature, the coming together of beings from wholly different spheres? Or was it simply the charm and delight of interacting with any kind of very young creature? Perhaps the sensations occurred because I’d just touched an animal whose protective mother was so much bigger than me, who could smash our boat with a flick of her flukes. Yet never once during our encounter had I felt afraid. Instead, it was as if the ribs which caged my heart creaked opened, giving me more room. I remembered Roger Payne’s speculations about the link between our two mammalian brains. He wondered if we would have things to say to each other if only we could talk. If Dr. Payne had been in the panga with me at that moment, I would’ve nudged him with my elbow and whispered, “Look at all the silly smiles. The communication has begun. It’s just not in a spoken language.” As we sped back to camp, our precious ninety minutes of whale watching used up, I couldn’t wait to see Alex. I wanted to tell him that last night’s comment about our adventures on the lagoon was right. The superficialities that we use to define our lives -- clothes, jobs, cars – had fallen away. All that mattered were the whales. And that, I realized, made camp, the foreignness of life in tents with this group of strangers, the constant desert wind and icy stars of San Ignacio, feel like home…

FebruaryWhale K …Soon iChino, thbeer besiearly in thhave to n “Whale aout of the

This manScammonup a plaincorrect always riinvalidatinInstead,

y 5, 2008 Kisses

t was time tohe guard “refde his lounghe season, bo

negotiate the

at two o’clocke water and t

neuver is knon. But as Alastic gray wh

in his assumise up far eng his hypoAlex moved

o venture ouferee” who rege chair, we coats from ouSan Ignacio

k!” one of mthen sink dow

own as a spylex leaned aghale, I learn

mptions abouenough for thesis that td his model

ut to the whaecorded our ecould see othur camp wereversion of tr

my boat mateswn again.

yhop, was nagainst the sidned that Scaut “spyhoppintheir eyes tothey are lookl whale up

13

ales. As we mentry time frher skiffs one often the oraffic.

s sang out. W

amed by Capde of the panammon mayng.” The who clear the king around and then d

motored intorom the shorn the water. only ones on

We turned to

ptain Charlesnga and heldy have beenhales do notwater, thusthe lagoon.

down again,

o the watchinre, binoculars

Previously, the lagoon.

o see its fron

Photo

s d n t s ,

ng area, wavis and a six pabecause it wToday, we w

nt end rise str

by Martha Tay

ing to ack of

was so would

raight

ylor

turning slis only fodemonstrallows the We spiedThe calf parallel suddenly moved ssighting tpositioneour boat,did not wwell,” Ale After quiboats froand we bright in fr A stunnehurry towI saw her But wait that the owith pleaAlex lookannounce “That wa “Of courlives…” did it riglookout. The probincident wso close twas best Since ourchewing omore preinstead othey can t

lightly. “Weorty feet deeprated the moem to pivot..

d a mother anf swam towour course

surfaced bso quickly fthat I was sted herself be, quite clearlywant us to hex shrugged,

te some timem our camp

began to movront of us.

d silence showard the calf.r surface near

a minute. Iother skiff haasure as theyked as if the ed. Molo yan

asn’t right!” s

rse we do,” AHe shook hiht in front oI squinted a

blem, Alex exwith a whale,to the guard to leave.

r time in the over the inci

essure,” Alexf three days to get a good

e think maybp, as long as aovement agai..

nd baby to thward us, turn

but then beside us. from her ptunned. The etween her cy indicating thave contact.

and we mov

e, we saw ano. We hovereve forward to

ook our pang. Had the parby.

’d been so cad cut off oury interacted wstorm from y

nked on the p

omeone spu

Alex snarled.is head and tof Chino.” cross the glit

xplained, his , they both gthat he thou

whale watchident. It wasx spat. “The like us. The

d tip.”

e this behavian adult grayin and again

he west. ning to

Mama She’d

previous mother

calf and that she . “Oh ved off.

other mothered nearby, paoward the ba

ga as we watanga scraped

concerned wir approach. with the babyesterday hadpull for the m

ttered. “Do

“All the drtook a long sI was surpri

ttering water

voice still thget reported. ught Baja Ad

hing area was like trying tskippers try

e tourists wan

14

ior helps they, the whales . Skyhoppin

r and calf thaatiently waitiaby, a smalle

tched the skiher skin or h

ith the mothWe heard th

by whale. Bud moved into

motor, fury fu

you know w

rivers know esteadying breised to realizin his directi

hick with ang But this wasdventures wo

s almost oveto swallow a to give them

nt to touch a

em change dicannot dive

ng may inste

at were alreading for our tuer boat with

ff motor ovehurt her in an

her whale thahe people on ut it was ouo his face. “ueling his arm

who that skip

each other. eath. “And hze that we wion. Was he

ger, is that ifs such a clearould be fine.

er, we slowlybad piece o

m the whole a baby. So so

irection.” Bin order to t

ead provide a

dy interactingurn. Just as only three p

er the back onyway? I he

at it took a mthe interlopi

ur turn, I tho“We’re gettinm.

per was?”

We know hihe’s going to

were not far e scribbling o

f two boats ar violation of. No blame

y made our wf gristle. “Dexperience

ometimes dr

ecause the laturn around. a mechanism

g with a coupthey motore

people in it zi

of the motheld my breath

moment to ring boat cry ought indign

ng out of here

is name, wheo be reported

from the guon his notepa

are involved f lagoon rule. Neverthele

way back to cDay trippers in one aftern

rivers do wha

agoon Alex

m that

ple of ed off ipped

er and h until

realize aloud

nantly. e,” he

ere he d. He uard’s ad?

in an es and ess, it

camp, cause noon, atever

“What wi Alex smilwarning farea will b So the guskipper ofreeway, such craztemptatio …Later tof contacafternoonmyself. not to mgreedy? pelicans tthe “whal

We left thsaw two mgot near. SuddenlyMolo turwonderinI squintedexperienc As we mofor interacreature h I shook mboat, wei

ill happen?”

led for the fifrom the guabe revoked.

uard was reaof the other strying to plezy driving, bon. They cou

that day, we pct with the gn. But as I gI’d already h

mention witne “Relax,” I kthat accompale whisperer,

he other boamother and c

y, excited talkned the pang

ng if she woud. Was it a fce and watch

otored into paction. Just thoisted the p

my head. Wighted by eig

someone ask

first time sincard. If he re

ally more a cskiff? I pictuease a demanbut I was glauld afford to

prepared for grays, I was

got into the phad plenty ofessing both akept telling manied our ski,” would onc

ats in our grocalf pairs, bu

k in very fasga back towa

uld clue us in friendly moth

h each other’s

position and then, one of tpanga into the

Was I seeingght people.

ked.

ce the incideeceives three

op than refeured him likending fare. Iad Baja Advstand by the

the final outhoping we

panga, guidedf touches anda breach andmyself, lookiniff. I took a ce again work

oup and headut both moth

t Spanish spard where oton what wa

her and babys joy.

sat waiting inthem lifted ue air, then ge

g things? Fo Was she (A

15

ent and expla, his license

eree, I notede a taxi driverI understoodventures desieir ethics.

ting of the triwould have

d by Molo and blows fromd some matinng over the long breath,

k her magic a

Molo silent. watchion the Molo

ded out towahers hurried t

pouted over tther boats ses going on. By? If so, how

n the water, up out of the ently set it do

orty feet of wAlex later tol

ained that thto operate a

, regulating Sr moving wil

d the economigned longer

rip. After thee some sort nd again withm two baby wng behavior.chop of the trying to blo

and bring a b

stood at thHe mainta

ing the watere rudder of th

ard the entratheir babies a

the walkie-taeemed to be But she simp

w nice that w

I peered at the water, ridingown again.

whale had juld us that sh

he skipper woa panga in th

San Ignacio ldly in and omic motive tr trips that t

e morning’s dof major m

h Lupita as nwhales over . Why in th lagoon and ow away my baby to us.

he helm, strained the mr, while keepihe skiff.

ance to the laway from th

alkie. Withohovering. I

ply smiled, a we would all g

the two boatsg on the back

ust elevated ahe had show

ould get a whe whale wat

traffic. Anut of lanes othat could letook away su

disappointingmeeting durinnaturalist, I cthe last two

he world wasthe dolphinhope that L

raight-backedmien of a se

ing a careful

lagoon. Thehe panga whe

out saying a wlooked at LCheshire cat

get to share i

s that were pk of a whale.

a twenty-fivewn her belly t

written tching

nd the on the ead to uch a

g lack ng the hided days,

s I so ns and upita,

d and entry, hand

re we en we

word, upita, t grin. in the

poised . The

e foot to his

panga, exentire bodown into

This wascarefully one. Beclose to trealized th When it wwhale waboat matboat with

xposing her sdy, a wide exo the sea.

s the most pas the whale

esides, the anthe skiffs, it hat the whale

was our turnatchers, splases. Then th

h her nose.

Photo b

sex) scratchinxpanse of gra

playful mothe interacted wntics of the mseemed she e was alone,

n to motor clshing and calhe whale turn

by Jessica Kirk

ng an itch onay, was stretc

her I had seewith two bomother were

just couldn’an adult, see

lose, I hung lling to the wned on her si

16

n her back orched out per

Our campto the othchildish gland callingthe easterAlex, his wexperiencestretched she declarseek.

en in the lagats, but our enough to kt get enough

eking contact

over the edgwhale. “Babide and reve

r simply teasirpendicularly

p mates movher, squealinglee. They allg the whale. rn side of thwhale watchie, turned inhis hand out

red in what lo

goon. Wherangle preven

keep me occuh attention. t.

ge of the panby, come hereealed her enti

ing the folksy to the pang

ved from oneg with what cl leaned to th Suddenly, s

he boat, neaing instinct hn the rightt to touch hooked like a

re was the bnted me fromupied. SpoAs I watche

nga with the e. Baby!” shtire length to

in the skiff?ga. Then she

e side of thecan only be che west, splashe spyhopper the stern. honed by yeat direction. her. “Here I

game of hid

baby? I wam seeing a yuting and coed more clos

rest of my fhouted one oo us, proddin

? Her e sank

e skiff called

ashing ed on Only

ars of He am!”

de and

atched young oming sely, I

fellow of my ng the

“That’s nI’d seen hmine, at lwho coulwith a flimoment.

Our pangother boaside, open The “whentire hangrinning. coming inmarvel. Several tiwent undback andcaress. Tfeatures against hgrateful thfor a toucstroked tspongy te Several ti“I am emdoing thisomethincurrent incapture thelectrical

no baby,” Luphow big thisleast twice thld not threateck of her flu Why should

ga lifted up aats, she gavening her wid

ale whisperend in her mo I was struc

nto contact,

imes the whder and around the tender The dual blof this spec

her gray skinhat she was wch. Her skinthe day befoexture, tende

imes, as I patmbracing an is?” Time sng deeper seen the sea. he enormity current of d

pita yelled ass whale was he length of en us, compaukes or a hard I? She was

nd down, care us a short re mouth, and

r” leaned ovouth!” The wck by the exan intimacy

hale showerend the skiff, skin near h

low holes, ocies of whaln. I patted willing to exp

n felt more wore. Yet it r and easily b

tted and stroadult whale,”seemed to elemed to be oThe words Iof those swelight eddyin

s we leaned ofrom afar, itour boat. T

ared to this ard nudge wits so clearly em

Unwitlikeskyfeltin expthe Pho

rried by the sride on her bd came close

ver to touch whale dove axchange of tshared by tw

d us with a revealing he

her blow holone of the dle, were hug

the area nepose such a p

worn than thestill possess

bruised.

oked, I had a” I thought.longate. Thooccurring in tI used to tryeet waters.

ng in my palm

17

over, reachint didn’t prepThe babies wadult. This feth her head, manating lov

nlike the babth circular bae continents y. Running t as if I were spots, runn

plained may e Arctic.

oto by Katharin

strength of thback. After to the skiff.

her. “I feltnd then cam

trust betweenwo species wh

blow as sheer mouth, heles for us todistinguishingge, dark slitear it gentlyprecious spoe babies I hadsed the same

a sense of un “My hand

ough interactthis moment,y to name it I let them w

m when I pre

ng to touch. pare for the ewe’d touchedemale was fuland yet I ne

ve.

by whales, tarnacles grouon a globemy fingers touching thneled with have come f

ne Sloan

he whale’s boputting us d

t her baleen!me up again.

n human anho had so re

e er o g s

y, ot d e

nreality. Theis pressing ating with the, an ancient j-- contact,

wash over meessed it again

I caught myenormity of d were so smlly capable oever felt afrai

this gray wauped togetheor constellaover their p

he stars. Her white lines

from being s

ody. Like shdown again, s

!” Lupita sho“Wow!” Lud whale – b

ecently been e

e moment felagainst her se babies hadjoy that wellekinship, lovee, hoping I cnst the whale’

y breath. Thher body ne

mall, tiny creaf sinking ourid, not even

s thickly coer in what lotions in the

pebbled surfabody was scthat Alex

cratched by

he’d done witshe turned o

outed. “I haupita couldn’tbaleen and fienemies. W

lt too big to kin. Am I

d made me hed up in me e — just coucommunicate’s head or bo

hough ext to atures r skiff for a

vered ooked night

face, I carred

later ice in

th the on her

ad my t stop ingers

What a

hold. really

happy, like a uldn’t ed the ody.

I have noanother band duckagain. Ttake pictu

Once, I hwhale’s eeyeball, ato peer Though proof (asof these eye seemwhat it wodd senSomethinme or peheart ope Ph My rib ca Everyonesame grinmates sai

o idea how boat come cloked their heaThis is your laures for you.”

had a good veye. We coua soft gray th

eagerly uthere is no yet) of the ihuge mam

med to knowwas regardingnsation in ng shuddererhaps it was

ening.

hoto by Jessica

age felt too sm

e around me n that I wored, the word s

long we speose. We hovads after beinast chance be”

view of the uld see her hat seemed up at us. o scientific intelligence

mmals, that w who and g. I felt an my chest. d through simply my

Kirk

mall to conta

seemed to fee also creasestretched and

ent with the vered nearby ng doused because we hav

Mous toufusfingstuedginte Deb

ain the happi

eel the poweed the face od elongated t

18

whale, but y as our fellowby a blow. Five to go back

olo put us inup and dow

uches. I was ss with a camgers pressing

ubble of lice oge of her moeractions.

bra and the wh

iness that I fe

er of the contof each persoto embrace h

at some pow whale watcinally, Lupitak to camp. G

nto position awn and maki

grateful thatmera. Instead

ng into the wor the thick outh. Lupit

whale Photo

elt at that mo

tact. When Ion in the pa

her happiness

int Molo puchers screama said, “We’Give me you

and the whaling herself at neither Debd, we could whale’s wet hairs that pra clicked aw

o by Lupita Mu

oment.

I looked up, anga. “My!”s.

ulled back anmed, laughed, ’re going to

ur cameras, an

le returned, lavailable for bra nor I chosimply enjoskin, feeling

rotruded fromway, recordin

urillo

I noticed tha” one of my

nd let cried go in nd I’ll

lifting more

ose to y our g the m the g our

at the y boat

The whaland me. Wtongues.

Debra and The whaltwo diffeoccurred,the scienbroader. in a crazyfeeling. As alwayswhen we better thdelight. As we joucontact wwhen shecan live ttimes. YmembersThompsoforgive likwhen we don’t. In

le edged closWe bent and

d Marcy kiss a

le and I wereerent worlds, a connectio

ntific approac I had no w

y “happy daI’d kissed an

s, Lupita gavleft. As Mo

an my boyfr

urneyed, we we had expere was young to be 100 yeaYet she and s of the speon’s book, Wke the whaleused to kill

nstead they c

ser to us and d pressed our

a whale

e skin to skins uniting in on snaking och I’ve been

words for it. ance,” to somn adult whale

ve shape to tholo began to

friend,” she

discussed thirienced withand simply w

ars or more. the other w

ecies that haWhales: Touchin

s do. The pethe whales. come and br

rose higher r lips against

n – she liftinglove. Anytut beyond th

n trained to I simply wan

mehow allow! What coul

he moment wo speed backcommented.

is rare occur the babies?wanted more It was poss

whales over tad hunted tng the Mystery,eople who coYet the wha

ring their bab

19

out of the wthe top of h

g up out of tthing seemedhe confines otake to life. nted to laugh

w my body tld be better t

with her humk to camp, Lu “Much be

rence. Why Perhaps th

e. I remembsible that thisthe last few them. How y, Lupita is quome and touales have forgbies and they

water. “Kiss her huge head

the sea, me ld possible iof logic, bolt This was

h and cry, toto move withthan that?

mor. “I loveupita turnedetter.” We

would an adhis creature hered that scis whale had days were sand why h

uoted as sayiuch the whalegiven us. Thy are gentle

her!” Lupitad, the taste o

Photo by Lup

eaning crazilin that momting like lighsomething

o beat my feeh this new a

e you!” she cd back to fac

laughed, diz

dult whale sehad been touientists now been alive dstill willing t

had this haping, “We haves can imaginhey could killwith us…I r

a instructed Dof salt stingin

pita Murillo

ly out of the ment. Magichtening away other, bigge

et against theand huge wa

called to the we us. “She k

zzy with glee

ek out the tyuched by hubelieve that

during the whto be touche

ppened? In Dve to learn hone what it wal us easy, butreally think a

Debra ng our

boat, c had from r and

e boat ave of

whale kisses e and

ype of umans

grays haling ed by Doug ow to as like t they about

20

God putting those whales here to teach us humans to forgive – to open our eyes and see (48).” At that moment, the wisdom and truth in her words circled around my heart like squawking gulls. Though I may never know why the whales of San Ignacio lagoon allowed us to glory over them, showering them with love and expressing our wonder, my bones hummed with a song of joy from that contact.

FebruaryFarewell …When place wheleaned bamy boneprecious with a fla

Had I evduring banight, bubolted than adoleshurried aw

y 6, 2008 l to San Igna

we finally lifere you’ve back in my seas. It aroseby its poten

ap of her fluk

ver experiencackpack trips

ut didn’t ask rough the tre

scent beside way. What w

acio

fted off, maneen happy,” at and ponde from the to

ntial to harm ke or tail, yet

Photo by Jes

ced anything s in the Sierfor interacti

ees in a fearfa creek as sh

we’d just exp

ny of the groone of them

ered the natuouch of a tome. That she chose to

sica Kirk

equivalent trra? The Yion. The onful rush whenhe rounded aerienced with

21

oup wiped tem said to me,ure of that haotally wild cradult whale

o seek kisses

to this magicYosemite onene we spied ln it heard oua twist in theh the whales

ears from th, wadding a dappiness, a breature, I decould have

instead.

c? What aboes rummagedlast summer

ur car. Our fe trail. It stars would be li

eir eyes. “Itdamp Kleen

bell of joy stiecided, made

sunk our pa

out the beard for food inr as we drovfriend Connired at her foike a gigantic

t’s hard to lenex in her hanill ringing thre richer and anga in an in

s I’d encounn garbage ca

ve to the traiie had come

or a moment,c bear, three

eave a nd. I rough more

nstant

ntered ans at ilhead upon , then times

22

my size, arising from the between the trees and lumbering alongside me, occasionally stopping to ask me to stroke its brown fur. I looked out the window at the Mexican landscape. This trip had widened my sense of possibility, deepened my awe at the wonders of this world. And, as Debra whispered to me as the plane flew northward, our hearts had been sprung wide open. Whatever I kept caged there no longer needed to live in hiding. Of course I felt different. I’d kissed a whale, exchanged love. At that moment, it seemed I would never again need to hold back kindness or joy. I cupped my hand around the pulse of my memories. “Thank you,” I whispered to the receding Baja skies. .

Works Cited

1. Darling, Jim. Gray Whales. Stillwater: Voyageur Press 1999.

2. Henderson, David. Men and Whales at Scammon’s Lagoon. Los Angeles: Dawson’s Book Shop 1972.

3. Payne, Roger. Among Whales. New York: Scribner, 1995.

4. Russell, Dick. Eye of the Whale. Washington: Island Press 2001.

5. Peterson, Brenda and Linda Hogan. Sightings: The Gray Whales’ Mysterious Journey.

Washington, D.C.: National Geographic 2002.

6. Thompson, Doug. Whales: Touching the Mystery. Troutdale: New Sage Press, 2006. A note on the photos: Most of the photos included in this journal are my own or my partner Debra Houston’s. I am grateful to Angela Heine, Jessica Kirk, Kathleen Sloan and Martha Taylor for supplying me with some additional pictures to illustrate this account. I am especially thankful to Lupita Murillo for grabbing our camera and taking shots of our wondrous encounter with the adult whale, so that we could just enjoy the moment.