Up close with the whales at Guerrero Negro

Guerrero Negro is known for two things: the "ballenas" and the salt works, the latter being the most extensive evaporating flats in the world. We were there for the former -- the whales -- and for $20 each, signed up for an afternoon trip.

After wading out to a skiff about 25 feet (7.6 meters) long with an outboard motor, we eased into Scammon's Lagoon. The lagoon (known in Spanish as Laguna Ojo de Liebre) is named after a Maine whaler who found the spot on the advice of local Mexicans in 1857. He pulled out enough whales to fill 740 barrels with oil, which were sold in San Francisco. Scammon, and other whalers who followed him, virtually wiped out the population of gray whales in the lagoon by 1859. It took almost a hundred years to restore the population. A census taken a week before we got to the lagoon put the number of gray whales at 1,200.

It was breezy and chilly on the water and we spotted breaches in the distance. After about an hour, our guide Martin, who is famous for his 25 years of experience, was able to locate a mother and her calf. For the next ten minutes, the two whales frolicked at the edge of our boat so that everyone on board got to touch the soft, spongy skin of the 40-foot (12-meter) mother.

The price of the tour included lunch and after, as we ate sandwiches and drank cold Pacificos, an American who obviously had spent a lot of time in the area marveled at how lucky we were to have had such a personal encounter with the whales.

The Mexican government has created a national park around Scammon's Lagoon in an effort to protect the whales. They arrive every year in January, when they give birth and care for their young in the warm waters of the lagoon. In March they begin to migrate back to the Arctic. During whale season, accommodations can be hard to come by in Guerrero Negro, so make reservations early if you plan to stay in a hotel.

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