The Whales of San Ignacio Lagoon

Original airdate: March 7, 2008

Two Crazy Chicks Productions is pleased to present Episode 5 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Mexico.

The anticipation is palpable even as the tour group wolfs down breakfast and piles into waiting vans. The dusty, bumpy, 2-hour ride to San Ignacio Lagoon does not dampen the enthusiasm and the conversation among the travelers is lively. The sparkling emerald green waters beckon as our intrepid heroines eagerly don warm clothing and life jackets, conscientiously apply sunscreen, and anxiously check and recheck photo equipment.

The group divides itself into smaller groups of 8-10 and board the awaiting boats, which then speed toward the whale observation area. It's a wet and wild 20-minute ride, water splashing over the passengers and leaving them coated in a salt crust that would come in handy that evening when drinking margaritas. ("Salt? No thanks. I'll just lick my lips.")

Eden spots the first whale. "Whale!" she announces excitedly, pointing to one spyhopping in the middle distance. It's a cry that would occur frequently over the next couple of hours. There are whales everywhere. Spouting and breaching in the distance. Surfacing and fluking nearby, their breathing audible. Eden and Miko are awed and overwhelmed, humbled and elated.

All too soon, the small boats turn for shore. Our fearless females and their fellow travelers are positively giddy over their first encounter with the gray whales of Baja.  They relive the highlights over lunch, but fall into contemplative silence during the return trip to the town of San Ignacio.

Conversation picks up again once everyone is on board the bus for the ride to Guerrero Negro. "Time to celebrate!" Karla, the petite, attractive, and flirtatious guide, proclaims. She produces a bottle of damiana, a traditional Mexican liquor made from the shrub of the same name. This causes a bit of a stir, not only because this is a group that enjoys drinking, but also because the bottle is unusually – some might even say, scandalously – shaped.

"I must have it. I will have it," Eden declares, though she knows quite well there is no guarantee of that as she is not the only one with a covetous gleam in her eye.

Karla proceeds to distribute shots of damiana. Miko savors its sweetness and the internal warmth it generates while Eden silently schemes to acquire the empty bottle. 

Who will win the prized damiana bottle? And what reception can our intrepid heroines and their geriatric companions expect from the whales of Laguna Ojo de Liebre? Tune in to Episode 6 to find out!

© Eden Feuer