Guide Report: Feb. 13-17

Guide Report
Gray Whales of San Ignacio Lagoon
February 13-17, 2014
By: Liisa Juuti

The first night with the new group was just magical! There was no wind at all, letting us enjoy the concert of the howling coyotes and the breathing of the whales in the lagoon at full moon. We had a couple of misty mornings, with one of our native American guest playing his flute at sunrise invoking the four elements.

The pressure for finding friendly whales was off after the very first whale watching trip, thanks to "Afrodite", a beautiful young lady whale that came to play with all the boats. She was just hilarious pushing the boat back and forth and having everyone to pet her. During the other trips we saw breaching very close, skyhopping and protective mothers with their babies. Maybe it was the magical playing of flute from our native American guest that attracted and encouraged a curious baby whale to get her goodbye kiss from us in our last whale watching trip.

At high tide we had a chance to go kayaking to the white and red mangroves, accompanied by lots of birds such as Godwit, Whimbrel, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret and White Ibis. At low tide we had a walk on the beach and found a huge octopus. They often hide in scallop shells, serving as a tasteful snack for the opportunistic coyotes looking to fill up their stomachs.