Page 219 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2021 DISCOVERING SANTA FE

and seaweed settled on our shoulders as we
grasped the sides of the panga like hungover
sailors.
-Thump!
The flimsy wooden hull shuddered as a baleen
slipped under our boat and reemerged on the op-
posite side.
-Thump!
“Could the whale cause us to capsize?” asked a
fellow traveler in a worried tone.
Pacific Gray whales, also known as Eschrichtius
robustus, are the main species of bottom feeding
baleens that inhabit the Ojo de Liebre lagoon and
the mammals can reach a length of 50ft.
“It’s never happened on my watch!” replied
Mike. “These “friendlies” just want to take a look
at us.”
Baleens, a species of gray whales, prefer shal-
low coastal areas where they can feed off the sea
floor. Their winter migratory route takes them
from the cold waters of the Northern Pacific and
the Bering Sea to the warm, protected lagoon of
Ojo de Liebre, where they give birth to their
young. Their annual migration, a 12,000 miles trip,
is the longest in the world.
My hand sliced through the water as I strained
to locate another whale. Within minutes, one
emerged from the deep inches from the panga. I
partially closed my eyes to avoid the spray from
her blowhole. But that didn’t prevent me from

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