February 16, 2019

February 16, 2019

Today was mostly a long driving day back up the Baja peninsula. In a few weeks the Gray Whales will also be making this trek north to the Bering Sea to feed. This annual 10,000-mile roundtrip migration is the longest of any mammal. In the shallow Arctic seas, they scoop up a mouthful of ocean sediment and then filter out crustaceans through their baleen plates. They will need to eat and fatten a lot to make the journey. They don’t feed at all during the migration. To prepare for a long day of sitting we take an early morning walk in the desert.

For breakfast I had Divorced Eggs, two fried eggs, one topped with red salsa, the other green. For lunch we have two appetizers. The first was a Nopal prickly pear cactus salad. The second was Ceviche, made from raw fish cured in lime juice. Both were delicious.

Our 500-mile Baja drive along the narrow two-lane road is a test of endurance. On the way we discuss the difficulty getting to the whale breeding sites. In some ways that challenge is a blessing. If the whales were easy to visit, the lagoons would likely be mobbed with boats. With worldwide travel so intense now, a site with few tourists is almost unimaginable.

We made it all the way to Ensenada just 75 miles short of the border. Before checking into our hotel we make a brief stop in the shopping area to look for last minute souvenirs. Aimee buys some Mexican Vanilla.