Whale Watching

Cabrillo National Monument National Park

Today I went whale watching with my youngest son and his class. There is a beautiful area at the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, in the Cabrillo National Monument National Park; a few miles away south from where we live. This time of the year (although the peak of the season is mid-January) is the Pacific Gray Whale migration: they are coming back from the Arctic waters and are heading down to Baja California to give birth and take care of their young. Their migration route passes close to the shore. The visitor center lent us binoculars and we stayed along the trail for a while, very quiet, staring at the silvery white ocean, very still today. We saw some blows, and we had a glimpse of their backs two or three times.

It is very moving to think that they are there, swimming without ever stopping until they arrive, doing what they have done for millenniums.

While we are running errands, talking about the elections, fueling our cars, and worrying about all sort of things, the beautiful and peaceful Pacific Gray Whales are swimming from Alaska to Baja California…