We went out whale watching today, with a company called Ocean Friendly. Let me preface this post by saying that I am VERY particular about the tour companies I use – I won’t contribute my hard earned dollars to those companies that operate irresponsibly, that damage the environment, or that don’t enjoy the experience as much as I do. The point, after all, is to go and experience something, to revel in the things that make whatever you’re doing different from the everyday, to taste and touch and smell and feel everything about this thing that you’re trying to experience. The purpose is not to check off boxes, to collect flair or to gather points in a global competition. I don’t like to be rushed, I like to be able to ask questions to feed my brain, and I like to learn everything about what I’m seeing or doing purely for personal edification. That just doesn’t happen in a group tour of a 100 people who cover 30 miles in 4 hours.

I’m even more wary about ocean tours – I’m not a fan of the ocean, and the ocean is not a fan of me.

Today my mom and I went out with Oscar, to explore the Bahía de Banderas, which is a breeding ground for Humpback whales. I have to hand it to him, Oscar knew his stuff, so the day was off to a good start already that he turned out to be more than just a (very) pretty face. Then to find out that half of the 12 people on board were marine biologists, marine archeologists, and scientists studying the whale population and recording for a documentary? MONEY. I was in heaven. I must have asked a million questions, and taken a million pictures. There were multiple once in a lifetime shots, such as a tandem breach, where two whales come up and jump simultaneously.

There was so much to learn – Oscar was a font of information, sharing not only his knowledge but all of his theories built on studying the whales here for over 14 years. I was fascinated by the genetic differences in the whales here in Puerto Vallarta, the changing migratory patterns and the evolutionary changes the whales have made in recent years. Though all of the extra information given was super cool, it was ultimately Oscar’s instincts and knowledge that paid off – he predicted what the whales would do, judged by their behaviors what parts of the bay they would seek out, and explained to us what they were doing so that we too could (sort of) anticipate what they might do next rather than rushing from one side of the boat to the other like a bunch of blue-footed [-]. Even better, very few of the other tour companies have any sort of experts on board, so not only were we able to see a phenomenal number of whales (even Oscar admitted it was unusual to see this many), but we were often the only boat in the area, and so the whales took VERY little notice of us, and went about their business as normal.

I will say the only dark spot on today was the illegal boats that TWICE ruined our watching – they held no permits, paid no attention to other boats, and got so close to the whales as to put both the whales and the boats in danger. (Seriously, do YOU want to be 10 yards from something that is 50 feet long, weighs 40 tons, and can leave you swimming in debris 20 miles from shore? Not me!)

But, as Mother Nature had her children well in hand today, even the interruption by the picture poachers was short lived – the whales were there to mate, and nothing short of a sudden evaporation of the bay was going to stop them. We followed a large mob of whales for a few hours, then broke off to follow the female. The crew of the Twin Dolphins (our boat) had intended to try and get recordings of whale song, since they had sung quite a bit the previous day, but we had no such luck, and didn’t hear any singing.

We did follow the courting, the posturing, and the mating. The courtship dance was neat to watch, with multiple males pursuing the lone female (yay) and the males showing off their tails, showing off their fins, and expanding their throats to make them look bigger. (Looks like male behavior is not limited by species.)

Once the female chose a male, they went deep underwater to mate, as apparently humpbacks are shy, and don’t mate on the surface (unlike the gray whales, those pervs). I’m totally glad that we caught the mating spot though, since the females will breach and jump after mating to express their joy. I guess afterglow is different for every species, and there probably aren’t very many places to roll over and sleep on the ocean floor.

All jokes aside, it was magnificent. Here we are, this very small boat bobbing on the surface on one of the deepest bays in the world (5,200 feet at it’s deepest point), with some of the largest mammals in the world leaping through the air not 100 feet away. Absolutely magnificent. There were moments today when we came so close it was almost as if you could reach out and run your hand along the grooves of their jaw. I was amazed, after listening to Oscar and the other scientists on board, that whales have adapted so well to the damage we’ve caused to their environment, and how well they’ve done through evolution to adapt to the changes wrought by time, as well as humanity. I was also really impressed by how unconscious their respect for the environment was – how it was ingrained, and every action taken today and every consequence was considered in the light of the bigger picture. I didn’t see a single shortcut, a single compromise, not a single thought that would harm the inhabitants of the bay for the gain of the company. Indeed, I saw that many times we went out of our way to make the whales comfortable, to respect their space, and to subject ourselves to their forbearance, which in the end paid off handsomely.

Everything today had gilded edges – the lunch that Oscar’s mom made us (she was a very lovely woman), the conversation I had with one of the visiting scientists, the crew that answered every question, and the whales that shared their joy with us. I have to give respect to Oscar, to the captain Lucio, and to the crew as well, though – they were extremely careful to give the whales the space they needed to feel unthreatened, and still managed to provide us with a fabulous experience. They even took a special trip to drop us off on the other side of the marina so that we didn’t have to take a cab back – now that’s service.