Magdalena Bay
15 years after taking a trip there with my mother a few months before she died, my uncle took us on a trip to Baja to celebrate his 75th birthday. We camped at Boca de Soledad and took day trips in pangas to see the mother-and-calf gray whale pairs.
Boats are not permitted to chase the whales, but may approach if the whales do not move off. Some of the calves were curious about the boats and the people in them, and sometimes their mothers would allow them to indulge that curiosity.
When the whales came alongside, and tolerated being touched, we humans laid hands on them like they were bestowing a blessing. And we felt equally blessed– baptized– when they blew and we were drenched with it. I wanted the moment and not a picture of the moment, so I left the camera behind.
