Whale Whatching (sic)

We left Ensenada, and the security of Frances and her rental car, on a comfortable bus, which was just as well as we were on a 10-hour overnight journey to Guerrero Negro. We arrived at 6am at this dusty town in the middle of nowhere - but it´s still early enough in our trip for that to be quite fun. Waking up took some time - coffee at the bus station, a reviving shower at the Motel Ballenas which wonderfully let us check in at abut 8am, and hot cakes (pancakes) at a local restaurant. At this point we were ready to think about what had brought us here.
There were two reasons we had come to Guerrero Negro - probably the same two reasons any tourist comes here. The first is that it is a convenient midway point between the north tip and south tip of the Baja peninsular. The second may already be apparent to any Spanish speakers reading - ballenas is Spanish for whales.
Guerrero Negro is a town built on salt. As we drove out of town, there was nothing but great piles of salt and shallow seawater lakes drying in the sun. Quite spectacular in its way, almost like an arctic landscape.
But we hadn´t come here for salt. We had come to see the hundreds of grey whales gathered to breed in the local lagoon. They come down from Alaska during a six month migration cycle each year. Having fed themselves silly on the icy fish they seek out the warmth of Mexico to breed.
Whale gestation takes just over a year, we were told. They breed one year, calve the next, and the cycle continues throughout their lifetime.
The boat trip was extraordinary - we saw dozens of whales - mothers and calves, males competing for a mate, dolphins and whales playing together. And there was no doubt whose neighbourhood we were in.
Now, we know that wildlife photography is a specialist field. But we nevertheless filled half a camera card with pictures that mostly turned out to be mostly open water. Still, we got a few, and they are ours. So here are our greatest hits.
We´re now at the bottom of Baja, enjoying the beaches of La Paz before heading to the mainland and the Copper Canyon Railway.