Whale Away, Mates!

For more detailed information, dailybreeze.com front page

Tis is the season for whale watching out here - not a reference to People of Walmart - that BTW is apparently a year-round sport.

Gray whale mammas and their babies swim northward from Cabo toward Alaska where they live when not birthing.  And escorting.  I would imagine that mama whales are not in the best of moods what with having to keep reining in a frisky, curious baby whale.

The article details where whale-watching boats depart from, the best spots on the cliffs to spot them and mentions a boat out of Dana Point that has an "underwater viewing pod" where you and a whale can eyeball each other.  One of whom will swim away.

Pictured was a six-passenger Zodiac ( an inflatable rubber boat with an outboard motor) which made me shudder.  This boat and a matronly whale are about the same size.  Worse, the bottom of the boat is painted black and black, grey, white and dark blue are not recommended colors as the whales sometimes confuse those so-painted boats with another whale.  And come up and nudge the boat and splat go the passengers, straight into the water.

A secondary alarm traversed my comely shape when I noticed that not one single passenger was wearing a life vest and neither was the captain.  Unless you are a gold medal candidate for the Olympics, never go out on the water without wearing one.  If you clunk your head on the way over the ship rail, at least the life jacket will keep you from sinking like a stone to tour Davey Jones' locker.

Mexican glass bottom tour boats force the passengers to wear them which is quite a shock in a country that seems not to have OSHA listed in government agencies.   But having occupied myself speculating about the materials used to fasten a Plexiglas window into the boat floor, vs.the roiling, pounding Pacific Ocean,  and remembering all too clearly watching the Marina Hotel go up in Ensenada (all of the 11 floors tilted to a noticeable degree) - I was glad to be wearing one.  

If a selfie you just must have, do it on the dock.  Before - advisable for rescue workers to identify you - or after where you will be O So Happy To Be Back.  (flash flash)

Find a good cliff with an acceptable viewing spot, bring a picnic lunch and a couple of friends and whale watch.  You'll never even come close to getting your hair wet.