Whale Watching in Guerrero Negro

Deserts and Mountains of the Baja

Hubby prepared for today’s anticipated white-knuckle driving with half a Zanex. We left the boulders of Catavina, entered a small mountain pass and headed across a high mesa that is a remnant of a dry lakebed. The roads are 9.5 feet wide and the RV is 8.5 feet wide so there is little margin for error when we encounter passing traffic. We go slowly, give the 18-wheelers as much room as we can as they speed by and pray for the best. One rig lost a mirror when a truck passed too close; another had a near miss but no damage.  There was no mention of this in the brochure.

We are still on the Pacific side of the Baja and are headed for the coastal town of Guerrero Negro for a two-day stop and some whale watching.  The roads flattened as we got closer to the Pacific. Bill, our caravan leader informed us we will be crossing the border into southern Baja and we should fill up with gas if we need it. 15 rigs proceeded to try and gas up at the same time. We tied up the station for about an hour, but probably made his month financially. We arrived at the border crossing into BCS (Baja California Sur) where they boarded the rig, took our fresh fruit and charged us 20 pesos to spray the undercarriage of the rig to kill any bugs we might carry.

We arrived at our campground, Mario’s. It is non-descript place and set in a big field. We got one of the few spots with working electric. Bill told us not to hook up to the water, that a water truck would be in to allow us to refill our tanks with something drinkable. This is a big benefit of caravan travel in a country with questionable water and campgrounds with widely varying services. They take us to the best available places, although in this case “best available” left something to be desired. We broke out the Margarita mix we had bought in Yuma for an impromptu cocktail party with some of our fellow caravaners,  enjoyed the sunset, and celebrated not having to travel for two days.

Waiting to launch

Day two at Mario’s was for whale watching. We had the early shift. We met at 7:30 am in the restaurant for a quick briefing on the gray whale and their migration from Alaska to the Baja. They come to Oho de Liebre — Eye of the Rabbit — lagoon every year. They come here to mate and then come back a year later to give birth. The fog was heavy as we boarded our pangas, but lifted as we headed out on the water. The small boats and abundant whales made for a good morning. Curious, the whales came right up to the boats to check out who we were. We could reach out and touch them.  After our tour we drove back into town and hit the bakery, the Mercado, the Pharmacia and the liquor store and stocked up on supplies. Back at camp we had a few more Margarita’s and then we headed to Mario’s for a seafood dinner. They had the largest scallops we had even seen, pounded flat, breaded, and fried. It was a sweet tasting end to a fine day.  Tomorrow we travel east, across the Baja to the Sea of Cortez. More mountain driving, and descending something called “Devil’s Grade.” Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Up close and personal

The whales are curious