Several weeks ago, I returned to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for a little R&R. You may remember that I visited Cabo last June, and, after a little climatological shock (hello- it's in a desert?) I eased right in- and found it to be a very enjoyable place to visit.
So I was happy to return, and the goal of my trip, other than a tan, rest, and margaritas, was to go whale watching. This was something I had missed last summer, as the whale mating and migration season is primarily in the months of January - March. This time around, my timing was right on, and, true to form, the fish geek (OK, I know they're mammals) in me was psyched. I couldn't wait to see my first humpback whale, up close and personal. When will I learn to be careful what I wish for?
Upon arriving in Cabo, my friend and I immediately set up our whale watching expedition. We decided to go with a tour whose only purpose was whale watching- we were hard core. No party booze cruise, or water taxi tours, we wanted whales!! So the small, 12-15 passenger Zodiac boats with two 450 hp engines sounded great- they were small, fast, and highly maneuverable- it seemed like the perfect setup for a morning of whale watching.
And it was!! Within 20 minutes of leaving the dock, I was in the midst of three 50 foot humpback whales who were, shall I say, gettin' their groove on. It was great- the guides had the whole process down to a science. The whales need to surface every 2 - 3 minutes, so all we needed to do was position the boat 20 feet or so from where we thought they'd be surfacing, and have our cameras ready. We clicked away, oohing and aahing like kids on the 4th of July every time a dorsal fin or tail broke the water's surface. For lack of a more descriptive term, it was pretty darn cool, and I was grinning from ear to ear.
As I mentioned earlier, this was mating season for humpback whales, and, apparently, our sightseeing was ruining a romantic moment- and the whale was about to let us know.
As 2 whales surfaced 15 feet for so off the starboard side of the boat, we momentarily lost track of the 3rd whale. We soon found him, however, as he decided to surface UNDER OUR BOAT!! Our small boat pitched and tipped like a bath tub toy, its starboard side (my side) rising perpendicular to the water as the whale rose up. I held on to the support in front of me, amazed and frightened, while others around me yelled and swore in a variety of languages.
"Whales don't eat people, whales don't eat people," was my mantra as the whole situation unfolded in what seemed like slow motion. The whale then started to descend, and our boat righted itself on the water- but he (the whale) wasn't through with us yet. The giant whale rolled, and slapped the inflatable deck of the boat with his enormous fin, literally 6 inches away from me! And then, thankfully, he was gone.
He message was loud and clear. We were ruining his tryst with the ladies, and we needed to leave them alone. As the adrenaline rush from the ordeal passed, all of us on the boat began to giggle and blabber excitedly. Even the guides were hyped up. This was not a normal experience. We all felt a sort of kinship that a near death (OK, I'm exaggerating) experience brings. It ended up being a great day, and we left with a terrific story to share. We definitely got our money's worth that day, and I swear as we motored away from the whales and their rendezvous, I could hear the strains of Barry White singing, "Let's get it on..."
