Close Encounter with a Grey Whale by Mike Helliwell

Mike Helliwell travelled on our 'Baja California & Sea of Cortez' holiday and submitted this entry to our writing competition.

Clients with a Grey Whale calf by Lee Morgan

All I wanted was a close encounter with a whale but ... I didn’t expect this!!! 

My dream was to have a close encounter with a whale in order to comprehend how big they really are. I had read about Mexico and the Grey whales in their breeding lagoons - so I just had to go. 

We approached the breeding lagoons just before dark. Coming from England I expected the lagoon to be a mile or so across, imagine my surprise when I realised it was over 20 miles - just like a small sea. We entered through a narrow deep channel with sand banks on either side; most of these were submerged - tricky if you didn’t know what you were doing. Accompanying us was a huge flight of frigate birds, surely the greatest bird in the world - prehistoric creatures. We had two full days in the lagoon and were the only boat - real wilderness. 

The lagoon is the breeding ground for roughly 50 female Grey Whales and their calves. The males had long since started their journey back to Alaska for their summer feeding. The mothers and calves swam up and down the lagoon, building up stamina for their long journey north. 

Whilst swimming up and down, the calves are famous for being inquisitive and will sometimes approach the small boats (we transferred to small Mexican fishing boats so we could easily approach the whales) to see what’s happening. To attract the calves’ attention you have to work at it - one technique is to splash water at them and occasionally they will come to the boat to investigate. Most of the time they will ignore you, or the mothers keep them away by swimming between the calf and the boat. 

Even when the whales were ‘not playing with us’ there was lots to see on the water. Sunbathing sea lions with their flippers in the air, green turtles, and in the distance breaching Grey Whales. The secret, though, is the more time you are on the water the more chances you have for a great encounter. In the afternoon on the second day I spotted an inquisitive calf swimming around the boat - with much splashing it moved closer to the boat allowing us to stroke its back. A superb moment getting close and friendly with a baby whale. 

This particular calf loved being splashed and, as it got more and more confident, it came up to the boat with its mouth wide open, allowing the brave ones amongst us to stroke its baleen plates. I even managed to tickle its tongue but had to move quickly when it closed its mouth - 2 tonnes of jaws closing on my arm would have made a slight mess!! 

A magical moment BUT ... 

20 yards from the boat the mother was paying particular interest in what was going on, she raised her head and this big black eye was looking at me - I had made eye contact with an adult whale. I knew immediately she was interested, so I started splashing her - again and again - then she suddenly straightened out 90 degrees to the small boat and with a graceful slow movement came straight at me and slightly lifting her head. 

I stretched out and with my arms wide open gave her a big hug and a kiss on her bottom lip - she moved slowly backwards and then, with the calf, she slowly swam away. Unbelievable - I had just kissed a 50 tonne female Grey Whale on the lips - she even kisses better than the wife!!! The whole incident happened so quickly and yet so slowly - how long it took I have no idea - several people on the boat missed the whole thing and no one took a photograph; the moment was so magical taking a photograph was the last thing people thought of. 

The most amazing element was the total control and grace of the incident - she moved 20 yards in seconds and stopped inches from the small boat - a foot too far and we would have all been in the lagoon with her - a foot too short and I would not have kissed her!!! 

As with all wildlife experiences you have to work for it. All the time I spent on the water certainly paid off with a close encounter I could not have dreamed of. 

Read more about our 'Baja California & Sea of Cortez' holiday.