The Whales of Bahia de Banderas

We had an experience of a lifetime....whale watching!  Sure we've seen whales on TV, read how big they are, but seeing them in person, in their habitat was breathtaking!  Sam's brother & sister-in-law, a couple they know from Minnesota (escaping the cold in Vallarta), along with ourselves, took a private whale watching tour with Whale Watching Vallarta.  December through March is whale watching season in Vallarta, with January and February being the best times....we were in prime season!  

From left - Bill, Paula, Lilia, Dave, Sam, Julie, Mark

The tour left from the Nuevo Vallarta Yacht Club, so we started there with lunch before boarding the 32ft boat for our adventure.  The weather was beautiful for our afternoon departure; calm waters and clear skies!  We can't say enough good things about the tour company, Whale Watch Vallarta!  They don't just send you out in a boat looking for whales with someone who knows the bay, they send you out with a marine biologist who explained the habitat and lifestyle of these magnificent creatures!  Our guide was Lilia and she was awesome!  We spent 3 hours on the bay spotting whales and boating over to them, always respectful of the strict whaling regulations in place in Mexico.  Afternoons tend to be a quieter time for the whales, (the couple days before our tour had no sightings), but we were blessed with several sightings of Humpback whales, the species most often seen in the bay.

We learned the Humpbacks come here from their feeding grounds in California, Canada, Alaska, and some as far as the Arctic for mating and calving.  All the time they're here they don't eat, so prior to coming south, they fill up on krill and small fish (about 1400kgs/day) to fatten them up with enough blubber to survive the winter down here!  We also learned that the same whales are tracked year after year here and elsewhere.  Apparently their markings are as unique as our fingerprints, allowing for this tracking without physically tagging them.  Way cool!

We were very fortunate to see several whales on the Heat Run (multiple males vying for a female) and others just cruising around the bay.  Beautiful displays of spouting, fins and tails were given to us.  None were in the mood to breach (jump out of the water), but we got to see their enormity just the same!  

Toward the end of the trip, the weather was starting to turn and the sightings also diminished.  Lilia brought out a hydro microphone to try and pick up any whales singing....yes, they sing to communicate with one another!  We didn't pick up any sounds, nada!  Lilia said with no songs at all, there was a good chance that meant the Humpbacks were laying low because there were Killer whales nearby.  We did get to hear some previously recorded whale songs, which were so very cool!

Truly an amazing experience, one we will never forget!!  Thank you Mother Nature for these beautiful creatures!

Hasta luego!

Bill y Sam