For about a week now, the whales have let themselves be seen around the coasts of Puerto Peñasco, much to the admiration of fishermen and tourists.
In recent years, one of the greatest winter attractions for the city has been whale watching. This usually begins sometime in January and lasts through about March, though at times the whales aren’t spotted until February as in the case of this year.
In getting visitors and others who enjoy whale watching close to the experience, several tour boats are heading out to sea almost daily. These include trips to Bird Island (Isla San Jorge) as it is a route where dozens of mostly fin whales have been seen, among them both adults and their young.
Admiring expressions such as, “What a wonderful sight!”, “Doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen them, I’m still fascinated,” and “This is the best trip in my life!” are some of the sounds accompanying the whale watching trips. There have even been those moved to tears, or so we’ve been told by tour boat operators.
There are those who say when the large mammals appear they don’t know whether to take a picture or video or just watch, since the spottings happen so quickly. However, there are occasions when the whales appear to show off to boat passengers, jumping or at times even surrounding the boats.
Whales spotted off area boats generally make their way to the coasts of Baja California from Alaska at this time of year to reproduce and in search of food, according to information provided by CEDO (Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans). As both a safety and protective measure, it is recommended boats stay at least 100 feet away from the whales while not cutting off their route, and not try to touch them.
Some of the area tour operators offering whale trips:
Del Mar Charters with Captain Oscar – Local 383 2802 US: (520) 407-6054 www.delmarcharters.com oscar@delmarcharters.com
Federico’s Charters – Fishing charters, parasailing, whale watching, Bird Island trips, and more! www.federicosealand.com federparasail@hotmail.com 638 104 4813
Rocky Point Fishing Club – Fishing trips, sunset cruises, jet skis, Bird Island, and more. MX 638 383 6525 US. 602 386 69 14 www.rockypointfishingclub.com
EcoFun Rentals – sunset cruise, splash cruises, Bird Island, Pinacate tours www.ecofunrentals.com