Side Roads Resources AAA members can get Mexico and Baja maps directly from the Automobile Club of Southern California or through their state association. Mexican auto insurance is a necessity and can be bought from AAA and other vendors in U.S. border cities, and via the Internet. Visitors will need a tourist card and proof of citizenship (passport preferred, but driver's license and birth certificate will be accepted). Most hotels and some restaurants accept credit cards. Pemex gas stations accept only cash, in dollars or pesos. Travelers checks are usually impossible to cash except in larger cities and hotels. ATM machines are found at banks in larger towns and cities. Of the many Web sites offering Baja and whale watching information, the best include: www.netconnection.com/ bajawhales.asp www.bajalinks.com/ whales http://mexonline.com/ sanignacio.htm http://bajaquest.com Copyright © 1999 Jim Elder. All rights reserved.

Whale Watching in Baja  by Jim Elder "...the breeding and birthing lagoons of Baja's Pacific coast offer the richest observation areas...making the long trip worth every mile." An observation boat approaches one the 30-ton leviathans along Baja's Pacific coast. Each autumn, some 20,000 gray whales migrate 5,000 miles from the Bering and Chukchi seas to the lagoons of Baja. There they breed and give birth. Each February, several thousand humans migrate 500 to 600 miles south from Tijuana to those lagoons, to observe, and sometimes even touch, these enormous, magnificent and mysterious sea mammals. That the gray whale has recovered from a century of brutal killing, beginning in 1840, when the population was estimated at 24,000, is a miracle. When partial protection was begun in 1937, there were only a thousand gray whales left. And those survivors were anything but docile, known by the whalers as "devilfish" and "hardhead." They would sometimes ram and capsize whaling boats, fighting to protect the young and themselves. Gray whales must have short memories or possess remarkable forgiveness. Marine biologists studying the whales in the 1970s found them at first passive, then actually curious. Close observation from small boats was safe and rewarding. Whales would rise straight up from the water, apparently checking out the audience. Some would approach, and even touch, the boats. But the researchers were completely unprepared for what began happening as the mother whales accepted the presence of the small boats and observers. They would surface alongside and allow humans to touch them. Then they would bring their baby calves close, and sometimes allow them to be touched, as well. Whether the motive was to show the young to the humans or show the humans to the calves is, and will probably remain, a wonderful mystery. The most popular whale-watching area is Scammon's Lagoon, about 450 miles south of the U.S. border, near Guerrero Negro. Whale watching there is big business, with tour companies operating everything from day trips to package week-long tours via car, plane and ship. We chose the more quiet and isolated Laguna San Ignacio, another 150 miles south. There are no hotels or resorts in the lagoon area. Two temporary tent camps are operated by adventure travel companies. Gravel roads from the village of San Ignacio lead to the miles of beach, where "dry" camping is allowed. There are no water, power or waste hookups in the area. Campers must bring shelter, food and water, and carry out waste. No private boats are allowed on the lagoon. Visitors must contract with one of the 16 local guides who have permits to operate their small boats -- "pangas" -- on the lagoon. The guides bring their pangas to the beach camps, then motor to the areas of the lagoon where whale activity is seen. By law, the small boats can only stay in the watching area for 90 minutes each morning and afternoon. Average cost per person per session is $30 U.S. Five or six passengers per boat is normal, comfortable and allows every watcher good viewing, photography and sometimes touches. Each outing is different, but always exciting. One morning, the whales will show little interest in close-up communication, preferring aquatic acrobatics, with breaching, headstands, tailstands, and great arching rolls to the surface, often in the company of playful dolphins. Another morning, mothers and babies will approach the boats close enough to spray the visitors with their blowholes or to be touched. At birth the calves average 15 feet in length and weigh a petite ton, give or take a few hundred pounds. By the time they head north, they have doubled their weight. A mature gray whale will have grown to 40 or 50 feet and 30 to 40 tons. During the twice-yearly migrations, whale watching is possible, and popular, all along the west coast of Baja, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. Each winter whales come into the Sea of Cortez and can be seen from the east coast of Baja and the west coast of the Mexican mainland. But the breeding and birthing lagoons of Baja's Pacific coast offer the richest observation areas, in February and March, making the long trip worth every mile. Getting There Driving to Laguna San Ignacio usually starts from Tijuana, but Tecate is a less busy border crossing. The highway from Tecate to Ensenada winds through ranch and vineyard country, and is a slower but scenic alternate. The Tijuana-Ensenada toll road offers dramatic views of the ocean. A sensible solution would be to take one route down, and the other for the return. South of Ensenada, the choices dwindle to one, unless you want to run some of the Baja 1000 race routes. Baja Highway 1 is now paved all the way to the tip of the peninsula at Cabo San Lucas. Though narrow in many stretches, it is generally in good condition. Whale-watchers will travel through hills and mountains from Ensenada to San Vicente and Colonet, then over farm country to San Quintin and El Rosario. There the road turns inland, through the Sierra San Miguel and west of the Sierra La Asamblea, and back out to the Pacific south of Rosarito to Guerrero Negro. Inland again, through desert, to San Ignacio. From there, the 40-some miles to the lagoon are gravel -- with washboards, sandy washes, ruts and dips to discourage the timid and the tour busses. Four-wheel drive is not necessary but could be handy if an unusual storm hit the area. This road is sometimes part (an easy part) of the Baja 1000 race route. South of the lagoon, a trail leads over tidal flats and desert to San Juanico, a small coastal village on Scorpion Bay recently discovered by surfers. This section can be traveled in two-wheel drive in good weather, and can be a challenge even to 4x4 vehicles if high tides, storms or careless route selection compromise progress. It is often a race leg. More "interesting" terrain, and a somewhat maintained road, lead inland to La Purisima. From there, one could head south on paved highways all the way to La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, or cut over to the east coast highway at Cuidad Insurgentes, up to Loreto, north to tourist-friendly Mulege, historic Santa Rosalia, and back to the U.S. border. If running passable but interesting Baja race routes still held more interest than the resorts of La Paz and Cabo, the "short cut" from La Purisima to the east coast highway might be the choice. All the scenic vistas, remote mountains and deserts, challenging roads, hospitable people, history and romance of Baja are secondary to the whales, however. One close encounter with these gentle giants makes the trip an unforgettable adventure. Copyright © 1999 Jim Elder. All rights reserved.