Drive Video to San Ignacio Lagoon

Driving From San Ignacio to San Ignacio Lagoon

The drive to San Ignacio Lagoon from the town of San Ignacio is now (2016) much better than previous years. The road is paved for approximately 18 to 20 miles and then you travel on washboard road for another 15 or so miles....To get to Campo Cortez can take a seasoned veteran one hour and twenty minutes and then the first time traveler about two hours....But on your way out (back to San Ignacio)....you will know the way and cut your time driving out significantly.

Here is a short video by John Bock on the drive to Campo Cortez from San Ignacio (town).

Census 2002 thru 2016

Census Data from 2002 thru 2016

See PDF form Linked here to see the census data we have collected since 2002. As the years go by, the census counts have gotten better. We must also take into account many whales are at the mouth of the lagoon and outside of it during low tides and they move back and forth with the tides...this can be a variance of more than 30 to 50 whales at any given time...even more during peak months.

Census Data Link (click here)

Guide Report: San Ignacio lagoon, March 27, 2016

Changes

By Lorna Hill

27^th March 2016                  

Things are starting to feel different here now. Spring has well and truly sprung; the days are warmer and longer, the Osprey chicks have hatched, the baby whales are very big and strong now, almost ready for their journey North.

We are still experiencing great interaction from the mothers and babies that remain but there is even a different feeling with them now. Like a feeling of movement, fluidity, a change …..

We have with us this week another form of parent and child union and that is Rodrigo with his son, Andres, who has come to visit us for the week. It is Easter Sunday and they have spent the morning together doing Father and Son things… what exactly might those activities be? Like the whales, we never really know what they get up to when we are not there; we only experience the time when we are there, and the rest is up to them. Sometimes though, we might come across a mother showing her calf how to feed from the mud below. We know this because as they come to the surface, there are long trails of mud flowing from their baleen, a giveaway that they were rooting around in the mud below looking for food.

 Another sight we might behold is a baby learning to spyhop or breach. As they are not as strong as their Mother just yet and their flukes can’t quite propel them out of the water at the right speed, it becomes more like a spyhop mixed with a breach, or a “baby breach” as we like to call it, which actually looks more like a belly-flop! Either way, it is a beautiful sight to see as you know that the babies are learning every day how to do these important things, ready for when they have to tackle the world on their own. 

I did catch manage to catch Rodrigo and Andres hanging out together after the morning walk, Rodrigo showing Andres how to find clams in the sand and then how to open and eat them…. Like all parent and child relationships, it is a time for learning, bonding and caring… something that is really nice to be able to experience and capture.

Happy Easter!

Guide Rodrigo receives a visit from his son

Census Data Graph: 2016 Season

Census Data Graph of 2016 Season (up till FIRST of March)

(So not really the entire season since the season runs up till mid April)

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon: March 20, 2016

Eye of the Whale                                                             

March 20^th 2016

by Lorna Hill

There is something really special about making eye contact with a whale. Well, any creature really, even a human! But when you’re in a boat, floating along the water and suddenly a whale pops their head out of the water to do what we call a “Spyhop” or when they come to the surface, near the boat, and turn on their side so the eye is out of the water, you know that they are making a conscious effort to look at you. Of course, it’s difficult to tell whether they are looking directly at you and also, when they are rolling around in the water and enjoying being rubbed and petted, the eye can sometimes be closed; either because the sun is forcing the eye closed or, I like to think, the whale closes their eye in pure bliss.

There is a book on the shelf in the camp that has been staring at me throughout my time here and that is Dick Russell’s “Eye of the Whale”. I have been wanting to read it for quite some time now but haven’t managed to get a moment to sit down and start it. Now that I’ve had my eye “experience”, I can’t help but take it off the shelf, find a quiet spot and give myself some time to read it.

This is the book, in case anyone out there has read it.

https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/Eye_of_the_Whale.html?id=BHfP7D1w8vYC&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y

Let us know what you think!

Guide Report - San Ignacio Lagoon: Mar. 18, 2016

“El Panguero” –forecasting these conditions

by: Maria-Teresa Solomons

A less traditional method for weather forecasting might warrant extending a wet index finger out to the elements to determine wind speed, direction and temperature including wind chill factor. However here, so you people in cyberspace have an idea about what´s happening weather wise so you chose your travel clothes wisely, this reality show demands we actually formally monitor all those effects the correct way with instrumentation, every day, three times a day. Nevertheless, even that isn’t precise. The whale watching environment determines everything and being much the wiser for seasonal exposure, this is what actually happens….

When the sound of the ´palapa´ dining room door bangs open and closed thumping at the ineffective stone doorstop at regular intervals, or the wind whistles tryingly through that same tightly woven palm-leafed palapa roof late at night almost portending a blustery morning, the wind gauge at that point might measure at least 12 knots.

In the early morning warming their hands around their coffee mugs a small crowd musters for outside yoga just before sunrise. I´m there of course, to teach the class, unashamedly warming my fingers around my coffee mug thermos, wearing a black woolen balaclava and windbreaker, and about to jumpstart the day. Someone aptly labeled it “7-Layer Yoga”, as if it were a new trend. Bikram would shudder. I describe it simply as waking up to the wind and the breath. Despite lacking an external heat source we still heat up!

After we finish and a little after breakfast if it were finger to the air, it would probably read about 64 degrees Fahrenheit (or 8 degrees Celsius) on the precision instrumentation. An east wind is blowing about 6 mph and there´s not a single cloud as far as the horizon. Refugio, ´Cuco´, one of our ´pangueros´, is moving around the panga boats wearing a heavy waterproof jacket thick enough to survive the north Atlantic, his sunglasses reflecting water. Hmmm?!  As a ´Lagoon-ian, let’s say, everything indicates that he might know something we don’t.

I´ve learnt to follow his example by now and don a polar fleece over my orange Staff T-shirt and blur into the guests for a moment until I pull my own equally waterproof yellow storm weather jacket over my head and balaclava. I really stand out now, strikingly yellow on blue. By the time the groups have organized themselves and we are loading the pangas, I´m sweating again, this time in the sun. That fine red line of mercury could easily be reading a mean 78 degrees by now.

I pull my balaclava up tight over my cap to cover my ears and neck. It’s a 10 minute ride over the flattening sea. The wind picks up as we gain speed and pass Punta Piedra to enter the “zone”. The boat spins in half a circle, drops speed and comes almost to a halt as the radio breaks the silence and Roberto, our ´panguero´, responds to a call that directs him to our first friendly whale of the day. The wind drops, it’s hot again and Roberto peels off his jacket and returns to layer one again.

Leaning heavily over the side of the panga I dip my arms down as close to the water as I can reach and clap and, ´woop´ idyllically imagining that through its mystical green depths the resonance of those sounds might perhaps reach all 278 of the Gray whales that inhabit the lagoon at this point. When a huge mama whale approaches pushing her calf towards us she sends a circle of bubbles up as she exhales and the whole boat heaves with her movement. Her calf heaves itself over her back playfully and rolls one of its innocent eyes to scrutinize us and meets our wonder. Mama raises her head and makes a strange guttural hissing sound as she begins her blow.

I´m yellow above the blue now, leaning almost parallel to the water on the opposite side of the panga to where almost every other person is reaching down towards her. Every camera lens points in her direction as the stare from her single left eye penetrates curiously and deeply through us. I wonder what she can possibly feel being met with sunglass darkened smiles. On the downwind side of her whale breath her exhale baptizes us with a heavy rain. At that moment, as the residual droplets that have misted up the glass of all our lenses puts everyone momentarily on pause, the frontline cameras drop their guard.

Absurdly a thought about the right weather gear crosses my mind. A finger to the wind could never have forecast this encounter.

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, March 16, 2016

The Present

By: Lorna Hill

16 March 2016

Every day on this earth is a precious gift however sometimes, when you least expect it, the universe opens up and presents you with a gift that sends your spirits soaring through the clouds.

The last couple of weeks here at the camp have been eventful; not only because the whales have been visiting us during most trips on the boat but because the weather has been proving tricky to work around so we’ve had to be creative and use our heads more in order to get people where they need to be – although it certainly hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm to get out there and enjoy the whales!

We said goodbye to a great group yesterday and with them, we said goodbye to the wind. Today, we woke up to the sound of silence, something we’ve not heard in a couple of weeks!

We still dressed well as we know how easy it is for the wind to just pop up out of nowhere and climbed aboard the boats with much excitement, the first trip for this new and equally great group. The lagoon was like a glass lake, not a wave in sight and you could see the whales coming under the water for what seemed like miles away! We were barely in the whale observation area and we had two whales come to the boat; a mother and her calf. The calves are growing up really fast so sometimes it is easy to mistake them for each other if you see them at a distance.

We quickly put our hands in the water, some staying back to take photos and help balance the boat and pretty soon, everyone was rubbing and stroking and petting and even kissing the whales! They were such fun! The baby was rolling and popping his head up and down, going under the boat and making sure he went to everyone and gave equal amounts of attention to everyone – what a well behaved little whale! He lay on his side by the boat and closed his eyes with happiness as everyone touched and tickled him, what a delight to see. The sun was also probably too much for his eyes, that were used to the darker underwaters but it still made him look even cuter when he closed them.

The mother held back slightly, almost in relief of the break she was getting – he was an active little baby! But sometimes she would come to the boat too, to get a rub and a kiss, which we felt was really special.

When it came to the end of our time at the observation area, we had to pull ourselves away from the whales, promising them that we’d be back and please don’t go too far away – who knows, maybe they’ll be out there again waiting for us! Or maybe that was an extra special gift from the universe that we will savor and remember for time to come.

Census Update - San Ignacio Lagoon: Mar. 12, 2016

Census Data: San Ignacio Lagoon

Date:  March 12, 2016

By:  Universidad De La Paz

Gray Whale Calves:     135

Adult Gray Whales:      142

Total Gray Whales:       277

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, February 28, 2016

Sunday, 28 February 2016

By: Lorna Hill

Mindfulness gratefulness

Over time I began to realize more and more my responsibility and role at the camp. There were many roles expected from us here at the camp, those including meeting and greeting the guests, showing them to their cabañas, showing them how things worked at the camp, helping to serve the breakfasts and dinner, giving presentations on what types of birds they will see at the lagoon, guiding kayakers around the mangrove, taking people on walks through the desert and to the boneyard…. It’s all a lot of fun and I enjoy each activity individually however my favourite is seeing people experience the whales for the first time.

People come with all sorts of different expectations but mostly it’s to touch and pet the whale and, perhaps, even kiss it. It is a beautiful thing to be able to experience and I wouldn’t want to take that away from anyone but as a guide, I am feeling more and more like it’s my responsibility to “introduce” the whales, as it were, in the best possible way. I think it’s important to remind people that these beautiful creatures are still very much wild animals and as we are in their territory, we are obliged to follow their rules and respect them as we would want from any guests visiting our homes!

All the guests that come here are always very pleasant and polite, there are never any “table manner worries” but instead of going in with the mindset of seeing what you can get from the situation, perhaps a change of perspective would benefit both parties much better – what can I give?

I am a musician and have always relied on music as a way of connecting with other people and to make me feel happy so I felt it only natural to bring my ukulele out on the boat and to play to the whales! I don’t think it is something that will definitely bring the whales right up to the boat but I do know that the whales react off energy from us so if we’re playing music, then we’re likely to be singing, which means we’re happy, which means that the energy that we’re putting out is positive and uplifting. Also, it brings the focus away from one thing, touching the whales, and more into the situation as a whole – where they are, what they are doing, what they are experiencing and even if the ukulele playing just makes someone smile and feel happy, then that is just one more positive experience to add to the list of what they will be experiencing here at Campo Cortez!

Campo Cortez-Sunset

Campo Cortez: San Ignacio Lagoon

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, February 26, 2016

Sunday, 26 February 2016

By: Lorna Hill

Mindfulness gratefulness

Over time I began to realize more and more my responsibility and role at the camp. There were many roles expected from us here at the camp, those including meeting and greeting the guests, showing them to their cabañas, showing them how things worked at the camp, helping to serve the breakfasts and dinner, giving presentations on what types of birds they will see at the lagoon, guiding kayakers around the mangrove, taking people on walks through the desert and to the boneyard…. It’s all a lot of fun and I enjoy each activity individually however my favourite is seeing people experience the whales for the first time.

People come with all sorts of different expectations but mostly it’s to touch and pet the whale and, perhaps, even kiss it. It is a beautiful thing to be able to experience and I wouldn’t want to take that away from anyone but as a guide, I am feeling more and more like it’s my responsibility to “introduce” the whales, as it were, in the best possible way. I think it’s important to remind people that these beautiful creatures are still very much wild animals and as we are in their territory, we are obliged to follow their rules and respect them as we would want from any guests visiting our homes!

All the guests that come here are always very pleasant and polite, there are never any “table manner worries” but instead of going in with the mindset of seeing what you can get from the situation, perhaps a change of perspective would benefit both parties much better – what can I give?

I am a musician and have always relied on music as a way of connecting with other people and to make me feel happy so I felt it only natural to bring my ukulele out on the boat and to play to the whales! I don’t think it is something that will definitely bring the whales right up to the boat but I do know that the whales react off energy from us so if we’re playing music, then we’re likely to be singing, which means we’re happy, which means that the energy that we’re putting out is positive and uplifting. Also, it brings the focus away from one thing, touching the whales, and more into the situation as a whole – where they are, what they are doing, what they are experiencing and even if the ukulele playing just makes someone smile and feel happy, then that is just one more positive experience to add to the list of what they will be experiencing here at Campo Cortez!

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, February 20, 2016

20^th February 2016

By Maria Teresa Solomons

A Journey of Transformation

 It began with the sound of scratching on the ceiling of my camper, a light-footed, scratching which then crossed the ceiling and down onto the sides of the van to where the windows and mirrors are, like the sound of small scratchy branches blowing in the wind. However, there was no wind and it was still dark, the sun hadn’t quite broken over the horizon across the water. Then there was a solid knocking at my door as if some uninvited guest were outside, wanting to come in.  My alarm had gone off about half an hour earlier but I was still enjoying the comfort of the warmth. I climbed down off my bunk and opened the door. There was no-one outside. Oranges and yellows peeled in layers over the sky.

Two black shadows pecked still at the side mirrors and cawed like the gurgling of an over-ready espresso pot. I'd never heard the Raven sound so close and never thought they´ be here but two campers across the parking lot, where Roberto, one of the panga boat driver´s family stays during the whale watching season was, of course, the treasure they were stalking, a big Osprey nest alive with three fledglings. At some point in their story, whether the Ravens were responsible or not, two would fall and one would remain.

This strange combination of sounds repeated themselves for about an hour every sunrise, from about 5.45am for the entirety of my stay at the camp and had I not already been familiar with the Raven as a traditional shaman totem spirit, I might have felt a sense of ominous foreboding.

The shapes we perceive, in the form of animal bodies or human bodies, in fact any and all life that around us are the clothes worn here for a time, but still they may change according to circumstance.

It is true that the Raven came out of darkness, but its trickster, enigmatic nature was what enabled it to capture a stolen sun and bring the seed of Light to the world.

Tired of the cold and dark the Raven had determined to trick the old man out of the sun he had hidden away in a box. The old man had a daughter who fetched water from the spring every day and as she was drinking he transformed into a seed and dropped into her glass whereupon she swallowed him. From that seed a child was born who stole the heart of the old man who would do almost anything to have the child play, but the little box remained locked away. As the child grew the old man softened to the laughter in the house and decided to show just a glimpse of the beauty and warmth of the sun. He opened the box for a second but shut it away again. Raven played more and the old man´s heart grew warm with the love he felt growing for the child until he decided the sun would be his gift to him. They played, and throwing the sun like a ball between them, the boy kept hold and as the sun warmed his hands, was transformed into a mighty Raven, the sun clasped in its strong black beak. He made a huge sweep of his wings, swept upwards and released it to the heavens where it exploded into a fiery blaze where it has stayed to this day to separate us from the darkness.

In this place, in the time and space of this lagoon, I feel I have a good spirit at my door when they visit and always feel blessed by their presence on my camper top and welcome the deep throttled clicking of their voices as I awake to the colours of the morning.

I can swear that for those who visit Laguna San Ignacio it is a journey of transformation, and regardless or not of whether their external human form changes visibly, something subtle happens in the three days that they are out on the water. Who is to know if the change started because of the emotion of their direct encounters with the whales of the lagoon, or if the stories they read before they came drew them in, or if the stories themselves are alive, and the words of the story is the teller in disguise.

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon February 16, 2016

Guide Report

Campo Cortez, San IgnacioLagoon

By:  Rodrigoro Manterola

Week 2

The song remains the same…

Although most of the gray whale sounds are not audible for us humans due to the frequency (lower frequency sounds) they, like all cetaceans, have a complex communication system. Blue whales songs can travel across the ocean while humpback whales songs are amongst some of the most complex communication systems in the whole animal kingdom, including us.

Communication can take place anytime, anywhere. And also, communication takes any form; like us, whales don’t narrow their communication to just sounds; we normally use our body just as much as our words to transmit an idea.

Whales can display a long list of body language and gestures to communicate; breaching, fluke slaps and other behaviors are forms of communication too but what they mean it is still uncertain.

To my understanding sound is the fabric of the universe as vibrations mold the physical world we live in. The brains of dolphins and whales have evolved to master sounds, odontoceti  developed echolocation to perceive the world around them, find food and, as recent studies also mention, to transmit information between individuals.

Mysticeti on the other hand don’t have such an evolved bio-sonar but their singing tells stories of life and names repeated amongst individuals throughout the ocean.

Campo Cortez is a pallete of sounds and creatures. Coyotes, ospreys and geese paint the air with elaborated s stories from the desert, but sounds go beyond the animal kingdom. The morning winds bring the sounds and smells of the mountains, the afternoon shifts the winds from the west bringing the cool and humid breeze from the ocean while we think of long gone times when only the gray whale roamed these lagoons in their long journeys along the north American shores.

Mangroves in Camp

Osprey and Nest at Camp

Group of White Pelicans

Dolphin Skulls on Beach

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon: Feb.12,2016

Friday 12^th February 2016

By Lorna Hill

La Vida en la Laguna

The new group brought with them a new weather pattern and moon cycle. The cold, gusty winds were replaced by calm, sunny days and the new moon meant high, swollen tides. The water would come right into the camp and created a shallow swimming pool, great for the curlews and dowishers. However, the tide soon went out again and the leftover water was soon evaporated by the hot, Mexican sun.

As with many things here at the lagoon, this changing weather meant we had to rely on the locals for information as to what normally happens, which led me to ponder more about the local community and how it survives. I find myself relating it back to the inhabited islands, off the west coast of Ireland. These islands aren’t very big, smaller than the lagoon in fact and usually consist of a community between 300-600 people. These small communities sometimes have to face a whole range of trials and tribulations, especially when it comes to the weather therefore it is necessary for the community to work together, otherwise chaos prevails. It is like this here, at San Ignacio Lagoon. The people of the Lagoon work together to protect and preserve this unique place, with the abundant wildlife and flora and fauna and, of course, the whales. They also need to work together in order to share this with us, in a sustainable and ethical way. Like the islanders, they are real family people, looking after each other and enjoy working together and spending time together every day, and they are also the nicest bunch of people! I enjoy getting up every day to greet the people staying here but also to see the rest of camp and boat crew, who always, without fail, have happy smiles on their faces. And why wouldn’t they!? They do, after all, live in paradise. There are two young grandchildren who live here and they just have the best playground – playing every day on the beach or in the fields or getting to go out in the boats to see the whales. The education they are getting from such a young age is worth its weight in gold.

I feel so privileged to be here, working in such a special place, with great people and learning so much about the nature around us. I, too, seem to have a constant smile on my face. Must be something in the air!

Camp Cook: Catalina

Guide: Maria-Teresa Solomons

  

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, February 8, 2016

Guide Report

Feb. 08, San Ignacio Lagoon

By:  Rodrigoro Manterola

Hundreds of thousands of empty clam shells on the ground welcomed us to San Ignacio Lagoon, a reminder of ancient times not so long ago when uncontrolled fishing  and a lacking in regulations depleted the area of all catalina clams, an endemic species that struggles to stay alive in a world that apparently won’t miss it when it’s gone.

Many things have changed since the 90’s and some catalina clams can be seen in the lagoon again. Now, after 20 years more or less, the lagoon is a protected area where the local fishermen self-regulate their work and protect the many species that call San Ignacio Lagoon their home.

Some of these species are around all year long; some others come from far north to shelter themselves from the cold winter, amongst them; the majestic gray whale, the reason for our own migration to San Ignacio.

Campo Cortez can be seen from the distance laying in the flat windy desert aside the Lagoon. From the road, the green cabanas blend with the shrubby vegetation and the mangrove. Planned to be environmentally friendly, the camp was once a bunch of tents that housed the dreams of the Fischer and the Friday families, who started the project twenty-some years ago. Now, these families work side by side not only to make some dreams come true but also to teach foreigners and locals the importance of keeping San Ignacio Lagoon healthy and alive.

For Lorna and I, to come to San Ignacio is a mix of dreams and hopes, hard work and a whole lot of learning lie ahead of us, to live in such a hard environment makes us feel so much more respect for the people, the plants, and of course the animals of San Ignacio.

The first few days…

The wind blows day and night, and my lips and ears are the first ones to notice the dryness of the deserts while Maldo assures me the wind will stop soon. Although the environment is demanding the most of us, the rewards are plenty.  In just a couple of days  I’ve seen more whales than most of the avid whale watchers I’ve come to meet in the camp, some of these folks have been following whales for years. I feel lucky to be here.

Touch down!!

Today the wind stopped, from over 20 miles per hour to a flat zero, while that alone should be reason enough to celebrate, the main event was this morning; Lorna touched a whale!!

We were on our pangas with 8 of our guests. The conditions were perfect; no wind and a whole lot of whales. We were riding for no more than 20 minutes when a mother and her calf showed interest in us. Slowly but surely they got closer and closer until finally they were within our reach. Everyone on the boat got to rub the new mommy and the recently born baby.  Tristan, a young boy who came to the camp from California, was singing at that moment. Some people believe singing attracts whales, some other people think singing does not make a difference, me; I think singing is great and it makes no difference if it makes a difference or not.

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon, February 7, 2016

Sunday, 7^th February 2016

By: Lorna Hill

A week ago today we arrived at the camp, Rodrigo and I, to work as guides at Campo Cortez and boy, has it flown by.

Our peaceful journey North from Cabo San Lucas, where we live, soon turned into a whirlwind of meeting the crew, learning the ways of the camp, absorbing lots of interesting information and snapping the odd picture or two, all the while in awe of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, landscapes and wildlife.

We enjoy having Ospreys, egrets, herons, geese as our neighbours and we like to look out for our more shy friends, the coyotes.

The group consisted of a really great bunch of people. We had a warm hearted American couple, Doug and K, a sweet British couple Andrew and Evelyn, a friendly Canadian lady called Evie, and a super Californian family, Trish, Brad and their awesome son, Tristan. It turns out that Tristan was quite the singer and he lured those whales in with his great rendition of Star Wars!

The whales have been taking their time getting to know us, most likely due to the fact that most of the Mothers have young calves by their side but we had quite a bit of interest from some of them and a really great day was had by all yesterday, 6^th February, when we all got to pet our first whale. As it was also my birthday, I felt like I had received an extra special birthday present, thank you whales!

The end of the trip coincided with the Superbowl, so the guys at the camp put in some real effort getting the TV connected up so our American friends could watch it. I enjoyed seeing my first ever Superbowl and what a presentation it was, especially as it was a celebration of the 50^th anniversary.

A great ending to a fun week.

Gray Whale Census - San Ignacio Lagoon: Feb.02, 2016

Gray Whale Census

San Ignacio Lagoon

Date:  February 02, 2016

Gray Whale Calves:  84
Gray Whale Adults:  140

Total Gray Whales:  224

Guide Report: San Ignacio Lagoon

Campo Cortez Blog  -- 2016

By Norma Lira

February 02, 2016

Another exciting season of the great Gray Whale migration has begun, and Campo Cortez is one of the few places in the world that provide an opportunity to get up close and personal with friendly 50 ton Gray Whales and their new calves.  January and February are an exciting time to witness these incredible leviathans in action, including their newborn “pickle” calves learning how to maneuver as best they can with their floppy tails. 

The journey to the lagoon is also filled with the beautiful sights of the majestic desert peninsula.  Under the bright, blue skies you will find flora, including collapsing cactus, new thriving cardon, and blooms of the tobacco flowers and ocotillo.  The picturesque Laguna (lagoon) and entire surrounding area make for a unique and wonderful experience. 

The opening of camp went smoothly, and even when some high winds showed up, we were able to go out on a side excursion to witness migrating White Pelicans, as well as exchange previous travel stories from our group that included people from Italy, Germany, England, and from all over the United States.  New friendships were forged, and many new travel stories were created.

In our trips out into the lagoon, we had numerous opportunities to witness the whales’ amazing breaching and spy hopping behaviors, and there were often times when there were so many whales around our boat that they could be seen in every direction at once.

I hope you will find time this season to make it to the camp.  March is known as our “friendly” month for the sheer number of whale close-encounters, as the mother whales encourage their calves into touching (and even kissing) distance of the boats.   And even though we call a trip to Campo Cortez a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we do have many guests that make a point to return.