CALL of DUTY SURPRISE
Originally published the week of Jan. 22, 2015 in Western Outdoor News
There are certain things you do in any job that get tagged “Grin and Bear It.” They are the things you MUST do because it’s part of the job and, as much as you’d rather be elsewhere, you at least have to look like you’re enjoying yourself.
Whether you’re a big-time executive…a parent…drive a truck…fly rocket ships, etc., there are those parts of your week that can’t be avoided.
Like having to get dressed up to go to a relative’s house for a holiday and “make nice” when you really want to just sit on the couch in your own home and your saggy sweats and watch the big football game.
In our business, we label them C.O.D. Days…”Call of duty.”
For that that could mean waiting up past midnight for clients that have a delayed flight that doesn’t come in until after midnight.
Or hunting around at the last minute for (a) sunscreen (b) hat (c) fishing license (d) cell phone (e) all of the above. Because the client (a) lost (b) forgot (c) never had the thing in the first place.
Y’know. Stuff like that. A “Call of Duty” event.
It was like that the first time I got tabbed to go whale watching. I knew it was a cool event but one of our other guides had a family emergency and, at the time, I was low man. You know what they say about things flowing downhill.
It was going to be all day. I didn’t think it would be that eventful. I wasn’t looking forward to driving 3 hours from La Paz to Bahia Magdalena and 3 hours back. Having to make small talk all day. And, I had seen whales before elsewhere. No big whoop-dee-doo.
As it turned out, it was me that was the doofus. It turned out to be almost a life-changing event.
The clients were pleasant, lively, conversational and fun! That always helps on a fun drive through the dessert to Bahia Magdalena that starts in the dark at 6 a.m.
The drive takes 3 hours, but there’s a great stop for a huge Mexican breakfast of huevos rancheros with chunks of grilled beef, fresh tortillas, toast, chilaquiles (breakfast nachos) fresh juice and hot coffee to kick off the day. Any other day, I’d have wanted to take a siesta after a breakfast like that.
When we arrived at the Bay, I was surprised how many people were there. Families…tour groups…school kids…It was quite an enterprise. I bit like a Disneyland atmosphere rife with excitement and anticipation and groups lined up then boarded pangas to head out onto the bay.
It was quite an amusing production line! Boats came back and unloaded one group and another group would board.
Given how much each person paid to go out and with 6-10 persons in each panga, these panga captains were doing banner business. Good for them. Most were hard-scrabble commercial captains and the income for the three months of whale watching season from January to March is welcome.
It’s amazing how things have changed. Several centuries ago, grey whales were almost hunted to extinction. But, as with so many things, if you can label it “eco tourism” and make a living at it, the winds of capitalism blow favorably.
Again, good for them. Win-win for all! Especially the whales!
From where we were on the land, the bay is extremely narrow and occasionally, whales could be seen breaching not far away as folks oo’d and ahh’d from the beach and pointed.
We boarded our own panga with about ½ a dozen other folks. Having been on other whale watch tours before, I hoped we would MAYBE see one or two and go off chasing them around with everyone trying to get a glimpsing or photos.
Not this time!
Within minutes we were in the calm waters of the bay having our first “interaction.” A mom and her calf. The mom stayed about 20 yards off our starboard but the calf…all 15 feet of it…seemed curious.
Our captain suggested we all splash our hands in the water. Little by little, the baby got closer . Until…it was right next to the boat.
Eager hands reached out to touch the “little guy.” It seemed eager itself and seemed to enjoy being petted. Cameras whirled and clicked. Video cameras jockeyed for position. People laughed and smiled.
I did the same. For a brief moment, it’s eye came out and looked at us and I reached out and gave it a rub! I pulled back laughing as if doing something I wasn’t supposed to do. Like getting caught with the cookies.
And everyone laughed. And it seemed to wink then moved along the side of the panga as if asking everyone to “rub me more.”
It blew a misty flume of water that showered everyone and had everyone ducking with laughter and covering their cameras. And the baby moved away under mom’s wing. “That’s enough playtime with the funny creatures in the boat, Junior.”
That day, I think I counted more than 40 whales. I would touch at least 4 or 5 and most whales were within a few yards of us all day.
One would leave and two would pop up. We’d see others glide beneath us or others spy-hopping (holding vertically in the water to see what’s going on!).
It turned out to be an amazing day.
After a few hours we returned to shore to a huge shrimp and lobster lunch that again had me wishing for a hammock siesta, but the long drive back kept me smiling. The clients were passed out behind me asleep.
The whales are here in Baja until mid-March or so. It’s the longest migration of any animal on earth as they come from the Bering Sea each year to the calm lagoons of Baja to give birth and mate. Give it a try!
That’s our story!
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter-international.com. They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com or drop by the restaurant to say hi!
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