Gray whales<\/a> are well known to those living near the west coast of North America. \u00a0Every spring they migrate 7,000 kilometers north to the plankton rich waters off Alaska where they feast and put on a thick layer of blubber. \u00a0This sustains them during their 2 month fall migration south to several bays off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, including\u00a0Magdalena Bay<\/a>\u00a0at the southern most point of their journey. \u00a0In these waters they mate and the following year females give birth in the same bays. \u00a0A few months after arriving in Baja they begin their migration back to Alaska, somehow knowing the ice has\u00a0receded and their food source will again be plentiful.\u00a0 \u00a0The last to join this migration are females and their young calves.<\/p>\n

Gray whales are massive, growing to 15 m (50 ft) in length and weighing up to 20 tons. \u00a0While they are commonly seen at a distance, especially as they migrate, to encounter one very close up (close enough to touch!) is an\u00a0unforgettable\u00a0experience. \u00a0Such was the case with this whale and her calf (not in the top picture but present in the second one below) when I visited\u00a0Magdalena\u00a0Bay for a kayaking\/whale watching adventure. \u00a0The whale and her calf approached our boat and for about 10 minutes interacted with us. \u00a0In the top photo you get a feel for the size of the whale, as she raises the end of her massive tail to gently dive under our boat. \u00a0What you can’t\u00a0appreciate\u00a0is the bumpy feeling as she rubs against the boat’s bottom with her back. \u00a0 She certainly could have capsized and hurt us if she’d wanted to, but was incredibly gentle for such a massive creature. \u00a0The second photo shows both mother (Left) and her baby (Right), only 2 meters or so from us. \u00a0It was an incredible experience! \u00a0While touching them I learned that whales have incredibly bad breath and cool, rubbery skin not unlike the feel of a wet tire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t