February is prime whale time in the Bay of Banderas outside Puerto Vallarta. The humpback whales come to this bay to breed and nurse their young before heading north in late March to feed in the colder waters throughout the summer.
We headed out across in a speedy zodiac size boat with a capacity for about 20 people to see what we might find.
It only took a few minutes to encounter our first whales- a calf with his mom. The calf repeatedly breached for us. The guide suggested that calves breach as a means of exercise to get stronger for the long transit north where they will begin encountering more predators than they have here.
Our guide, Benjamin, was hilarious. He took us to a remote cove about an hour from the shore where we started and then proceeded to offer us a timeshare presentation (thankfully in jest). In truth, it was a great place to put the hydrophone in the water and listen to the male humpbacks singing to attract females.
In total, we were out for about three to four hours and encountered dozens of whales, many of them mothers with calves, and many of them breaching to give us some breathtaking views!
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.