The Mexicans call it the Holy Spirit - sitting on the beach, my eyes fixed a few miles offshore on a group of humpbacks jumping, their tails and flukes slapping the water, much like a baby would do in a bath, I start to understand the sacred spirit of this location. Cliffs made of thick layers of black lava and volcanic ash surround a series of protected bays with crystal blue water and sandy beaches. Its waters are rich with nutrients and host year round pelagic species - gray whales, humpbacks, whale sharks, dolphins, hammerhead sharks, and many more. I am here with Alaska Mountain Guides (AMG), an adventure guide company that provides kayaking trips around the world. Our group has just been dropped at Coralito Bay. The plan for the next 5 days is to paddle north, on the east coast of the island, go around Isla Partida and make our way back to Coralito. Then spend a night in LaPaz, drive across to the Pacific side of the Baha, to Bahia Magdalena, and paddle for 2 days to the mouth of the bay, where great numbers of gray whales are found at this time of the year.
As soon as we were settled into our camp, we got our snorkeling gear on and swam to a nearby little coral reef. I was amazed! For someone who spends a lot time in the water, I am used to see damaged snorkeling spots, either fished out, or trashed, big fish and big mollusks gone, an unhealthy and unbalanced ecosystem left behind. But this one had a strong coral growth, lots of nudibranchs, big snappers, clams, oysters, many little fish and millions of juveniles. That afternoon, I saw three eels and two scorpion fish. Every where I looked, I saw life thriving, in all shapes and forms. So refreshing! But the most amazing moment of that afternoon was still to come. It was not really something I saw, but something I heard. As I took a deep breath and swam down, I heard a long whining sound - a sort of a slow melody. It was exactly like I had heard and seen on Planet Earth, the television show produced by BBC and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, when male humpbacks, as part of their mating ritual, sing, floating motionless, hanging in an upside down, head-down, tail-up position. These were most likely the whales I had seen earlier, now singing, miles away in the channel. Holding onto a rock so that I could keep my depth and not float like a cork back to the surface, I closed my eyes and listened to this audio spectacle. I was probably not the audience the whales were looking for, but I was certainly happy to be allowed to enjoy their performance. It was simply magical!