{"id":8698573,"date":"2022-12-26T08:45:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T16:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8698573&preview=true&preview_id=8698573"},"modified":"2022-12-26T08:45:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T16:45:14","slug":"wish-you-were-here-whale-watching-in-baja-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2022\/12\/26\/wish-you-were-here-whale-watching-in-baja-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Wish You Were Here: Whale watching in Baja California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our readers have traveled to destinations near and far over the last few months, frolicking in Huatulco, Mexico<\/a>, strolling the streets of Old Montreal<\/a>\u00a0and even trekking to the top of Kilimanjaro<\/a>. Now they’re sharing their adventures and offering travel tips, too.<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re headed to Baja to explore a protected lagoon.<\/p>\n

BAJA CALIFORNIA:<\/strong> Walnut Creek residents Mark and Faith Martinez and a group of friends — George Conlan, Rossana Riggs and Sue Zepeda, pictured — recently went whale watching in Scammon’s Lagoon near Guerrero Negro. “One of the most unforgettable and beautiful experiences that we have ever had in our life,” says Faith, who was snapping photos all the while. “These gentle creatures seem to get just as much enjoyment seeing us as we do seeing them. They all seem to have a personality. We camped out at the lagoon, (where) you can see them spouting and spy hopping most of the day. They birth and mate in the lagoon and return with their calves.”<\/p>\n

TRAVEL TIPS:<\/strong> “You can only go out in a government-authorized small panga — a 22-foot open boat — as it is a protected lagoon to protect these beautiful creatures.\u00a0Best time is late January through mid-March.\u00a0 Wear warm clothes, as it can get a bit windy, and the whales do sometimes blow near you. We discovered this experience through a local nonprofit travel club, Vagabundos del Mar in Rio Vista. You can check them out at www.vagabundosdelmar.com<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"The
The whales come close enough to the boats for guests, including Mark Martinez to touch them. (Courtesy Faith Martinez) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Join the fun! Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures \u2014 local, domestic or international \u2014 to jburrell@bayareanewsgroup.com. Tell us where you are, who everyone is and where they\u2019re from, and share a travel tip or two to help fellow readers do that awesome thing, too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Baja lagoon is a gathering spot for whales on their migration route.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":878,"featured_media":8698574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"subheadline":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[51712,813],"tags":[467],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"813","primary_tag":467,"print_workflow_body":"","print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":"","really_short_title":"","short_title":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":8698574,"title":"George-Conlan-Rossana-Riggs-and-Sue-Zepeda","filename":"George-Conlan-Rossana-Riggs-and-Sue-Zepeda.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/George-Conlan-Rossana-Riggs-and-Sue-Zepeda.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2022\/12\/26\/wish-you-were-here-whale-watching-in-baja-california\/george-conlan-rossana-riggs-and-sue-zepeda\/","alt":"","author":"878","description":"","caption":"Faith and Mark Martinez went to Baja California with friends George Conlan, Rossana Riggs and Sue Zepeda, pictured, to go whale watching. 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