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The month of February is a fantastic month for a vacation at the gorgeous Sea of Cortez. It may not be your typical summer beach weekend–splashing in the water in your bathing suit and blasting the air conditioner in your hotel room– but it can be a weekend getaway full of romance and scenic beauty.

So, what do whales and lovers have in common? Well, hopefully, both can be found in abundance in Puerto Peñasco this month.

In the center of this month is lover’s day, (okay, perhaps you call it Valentine’s Day). A day single people either hate to think about or anxiously anticipate. Married folks try not to treat it as another day and exchange chocolates and kisses. And, why should we treat it like any other day? Valentine’s Day is a day for new, old and undiscovered love. How wonderful across the entire world, we celebrate a day filled with love and romance. Giving heart filled candies and flowers and surprising a someone special with dinner or treats. Puerto Peñasco has all the things you need to make an ordinary Sunday into a special day. Create a memory this year, whether you are a romantic or an adventurer. Travel with someone you love to the seashore and go the extra step: take them on a whale watching exploration. Boat rides have always been romantic, imaging one sailing next to a whale….that is pretty huge!

Are you looking for an up close and personal contact with another mammal? Have you experienced the adrenaline coursing through your body when the tail of a humpback or fin whale slaps the water next to you? If not, a whale sightseeing tour might just fulfill that wish. If you haven’t jumped on a boat and checked it out, why not, what are you waiting for?

These gorgeous mammals have been photographed, cheered and loved in abundance for the last several years. Before that… they were often enormous sneaky mammals (think Moby Dick), providing little whale activity compared to the last two years when they became posers for the camera. Have you seen the photo by Gillie Panasewicz one of the first to make headline news and go viral around the world. (Photo below) Gillie was interviewed on all the local networks with a live video feed from her home in Cholla Bay and her outstanding snapshot shown on The Today Show and Good Morning America. The magnitude of this photograph can’t help but take your breath away. So get out there and see what you can, you never know when the opportunity will vanish. Those big beautiful creatures might not always be swimming nearby our lovely little town in droves, don’t miss your chance. These beautiful creatures migrate to our little part of the world in the Sea of Cortez along with a myriad of other sea life, each one jumping and dancing in the waters, waiting to entertain. At the time of publication, there hasn’t been too much talk about whale spotting, but both Eco -fun tours and Del Mar Charters reported spotting a few. The whale tours start the last two weeks of January, and into February and March. I’m sure by now they are out there in the sea, frolicking around waiting to have their picture taken. There are several boat charters in the area to take a day trip to go whale spotting. But, remember even if the whales are not spotted it doesn’t mean a flock of dolphins won’t put on a show. And, well just enjoying time on the big blue sea is priceless. You never know what you might see, every show is different. Here’s to the whales and the lover’s may they both be in ample supply this February.

Whale Watching tours:

Del Mar Charters with Captain Oscar – Local 383-2802 US: (520) 407-6054 oscar@delmarcharters.com, www.delmarcharters.com

EcoFun Rentals– www.ecofunrentals.com Facebook: EcoFun Rentals

Rocky Point Boat Charters – www.justaddsaltwater.com / www.rockypointboattrips Local: 383-4963. mexicoruss@gmail.com www.penascorecreation.com Facebook: Peñasco Recreation

Russ Black offers group tours of many area trips with Penasco Recreation.

We owe it to our children to be better stewards of the environment. The alternative? – a world without whales. It’s too terrible to imagine.

Pierce Brosnan

Anita Kaltenbaugh is the Mexico travel examiner at examiner.com and author of the book “Travel Secrets- Insider guide to planning, affording and taking more vacations” available on Amazon.com. Watch for her debut fiction novel, “A Deep Thing” being released in Summer 2016 by The Wild Rose Press.