It is hard to believe we are already at the end of the year - maybe because of the sunny weather here in Chiapas - and together with the Christmas and New Year festivities Mexico is also poised for another thrilling whale watching season.

Although at gloCal we promote several whale watching tours and cruises around Baja California, my favourite spot is the San Ignacio Lagoon; a splendid sanctuary with eco-tourism camps and operators who organize amazing encounters with the largest mammals on earth.

For me, San Ignacio is a much nicer base for whale watching than Guerrero Negro; which is more of a place to get a refill of petrol and cash (and for some great meals at Malarrimo’s restaurant).

The San Ignacio Lagoon offers a charming camping area on the beach, and after your trip you can stop at the village, visit the beautiful mission, and maybe stay an extra few days for a trip to the rock painting in the Sierra de San Francisco…

But let’s get back to the whales!  We receive many requests for whale watching tours, almost all year long, and we have realized most people don’t know much about whale migrations and the mating season.  They always ask which is the best time to book and to join a whale watching trip, so I thought it would be useful posting some information about what’s going on in the San Ignacio Lagoon during the winter months.

Gray whales begin their southbound migration towards Southern California around November, and at the end of the month you see the arrival of the first whales in the lagoon, although they do not stop and proceed further south. Migratory birds start arriving to the lagoon’s shores.

The majority of the whales begin arriving in December. Pregnant cows are checking out the area while adult males enter the lagoon and display courtship behavior.

30% of the season’s calves are already born by the end of January, which is a great time to experience both the explosive courtship behavior for which gray whales are known and the gentle interactions between new mothers and calves. Bird watching is also spectacular in this period.

Mating activity of the males and non-birthing females reaches a crescendo in February. This is the time when ‘friendly’ encounters are most commonly experienced and when the highest population of gray whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon is typically recorded. There is often so much activity that is it hard to decide where to look! Many resident and migratory birds are now nesting and you will see eggs hatch into chicks before the end of the month.

March is the time when male whales, exhausted and satiated from mating, and juvenile whales (yearlings and sub-adults) begin the northbound migration to their cold water summer feeding areas. Cows with calves seem to relax and the newborn calves gain strength and awareness, making them more willing to play. March offers the highest chances of an encounter with a cow/calf pair. Additionally, the weather is typically warmer, sunnier, and somewhat less breezy. Migratory birds begin their northbound migration and resident juvenile chicks are taking their first flying lessons.

April brings wonderful weather and the lagoon is left with just a couple of dozen cows and newborn calves. The remaining calves are now ready for the northbound migration. While all of the major activity is over, the month provides good bird watching with young birds now able to catching their own food, and a special late spring atmosphere.

I heard this phrase again recently on a tour in Chiapas, Mexico, and it filled me with the usual amount of amusement and bewilderment that people seem so certain of their future that they can plan trips when they retire.

Without trying to come across too pessimistic or cynical about life; you can never be sure whether you will even make retirement age let alone be fit enough to enjoy the kind of trips you think about when you are young and able bodied. By the way; I attach no specific age to ‘young’.

The trip that was being discussed was one to the Northern Territories in Australia. Now, having been there and enjoyed it immensely, I can hardly think of a worst place to be if your health is not in good shape. It’s extremely hot and humid and the fun aspect is going trekking and exploring in the National Parks. I was shattered doing that at 25 let alone 65+.

If you have a trip in mind, do it. Don’t wait and put things off to some magical point in the future. Life is just not set up to be as certain as that. And don’t give me any nonsense about kids and responsibilities; traveling is a great education for kids, in my opinion it far surpasses what they will learn in school, and your job/career is simply not good enough to stop you doing what you want in life. Just my view, obviously.

Oh; if you are retired and want to go traveling, get stuck in.

(photo taken from the BBC Website)