Chapter 34: Fly Home 2/20/25
Finis
Chapter 34: Fly Home
Thursday, February 20, 2025
I promised a video on this final chapter and here it is. Mom and baby pay a visit to our panga.
And, here is one by Glennis illustrating Skyhopping followed by a panga visit. Cool, huh?
A deadly threat for that baby and others like it looms around San Ignacio Lagoon. Orca—killer whales.
In January of 2022 a pod of these oceanic apex predators was videotaped attacking two bottle-nosed dolphins here. Blubber and a piece of skin thought to be from a gray whale calf was found in the vicinity. Then, in October of 2022 there were more orcas—but by then the grays were far away in the Arctic.
Scientists have no way of knowing if the October and January predator visitors were the same pod. Orcas are often seen near here but never before inside the gray whale breeding grounds.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the number of gray whales was down 40% from its peak in 2016 and the number of calves born in 2021 was the lowest since record keeping began. So, around here a previously unknown but natural threat is now added to ship strikes and fishing nets and possibly even to too many over-eager tourists like me. But as for the orcas, one scientist noted, “Every calf counts but killer whales have to make a living too.”
There is an early breakfast and one final whale watching encounter (which I skip) before our return Cessna flight to SJD. Had I opted to make that last and abbreviated visit to the lagoon, I would have had to wear my "lagoon" clothes on the flight(s) home. That did not appeal to me. Instead, those who opted to forego this final abbreviated watch linger in the Dinning tent over breakfast, swapping stories and sharing memories of this and previous life events.
One meets fine people on expeditions such as this. San Ignacio Lagoon was no exception. Already talk of a Houston pizza party at Rob's house has been initiated with an invitation extended to B4 before or after one of her quarterly board meetings there.
We are on the ground back in Cabo at 12:30. My Denver flight was supposed to leave SJD at 2:35 but suffered a lengthy delay. It seems they had an unruly passenger on the way in--threatening the crew, etc. The arrest took a long time. Once aboard the flight, I had the golden at my feet and the border collie across the aisle.
Here in Denver, I was to have just under three hours to clear immigration and customs but that was cut to two because of our outbound delay. But, my Kansas City leg was also an hour late so, well, I'm home very very late. All of us on this flight are hoping we get out before the snowstorm hits--which is predicted for "very soon."
The weather in K.C., I am told, is just plain awful. If I thought I was cold aboard my panga early in the morning, running at top speed from our camp to the open lagoon, well, I wasn't cold at all.
PS: In case you missed it, check this out: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/world/americas/whale-swallowed-man-chile.html
