Petting a gray whale calf in Mexico’s San Ignacio Lagoon.
Photographer: Robert Harding/Alamy
Businessweek
In Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico, It’s OK to Pet the Baby Whales
Trying to actually touch an animal in the wild is usually a bad idea. But these giants are here for it.
It’s a windy day in Laguna San Ignacio, and the waves seem to come from all directions—even directly beneath our open 18-foot fiberglass boat. Peaks rise up, slap against one another, roll us around, recede. My children gleefully ride the bucking bow, though we haven’t come to this remote part of Baja California for a joyride.
I scan the ruffled waters for a heart-shaped spray of water, the reason we’re here: the signature blow of a gray whale.