What do you do when you are in Rocky Point in the winter / early spring months and it’s fairly cold outside? Of course, cold is relative depending on where you are coming from, but for us southern desert dwellers, it’s chilly.
If you hadn’t guessed, I’m about to tell you…
January through March is whale watching season in Puerto Peñasco.
I went whale watching for the first time ever this year and I have to say it was absolutely amazing. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to finally get out there, but this is a 100% recommend this activity if you come to town during these months.
The Sea of Cortez in the Puerto Peñasco region is the winter home to Blue Whales, which are the largest whales, Fin whales, the second largest, Humpback whales and Sperm whales.
On our excursion we saw three pods of Fin whales, lots of dolphins, including baby dolphins, and even a few sea lions. The cruise was three hours, which was a very nice amount of time because it takes a while to get to the deeper points where the whales are located. Thankfully the morning we chose was beautiful and calm. I’ve been out on windy days for parasailing, and the water does get rough. January and February do get cold here, especially if you’re out on the water. I recommend wearing layers and bringing sunscreen and a hat. I wore a tank top, a flannel, and a puffer jacket that is light weight and compact. Some people who had been before even brought blankets. It was warm enough in the sun to leave my jacket off most of the trip.
We went out on the 10:00 AM excursion with Eco Fun Adventures, on their boat, the Sol Chaser.
I highly recommend this company and the Sol Chaser boat. It was easy to book our tickets online. The cost was reasonable ($50 for adult / $40 for child) and a great value for what was provided: the boat ride (three hours) drinks (water soda, juices, cocktails) they also provided snacks (fresh fruit and chips). The crew was amazing! They were very knowledgeable, and just as excited as the rest of us when we came upon the whales. As one crew member said, he has the best job in the world! The Sol Chaser was a very comfortable boat, it was a full trip, but the boat wasn’t crowded, there was plenty of room for all of us to view the magnificence of the whales and dolphins. I will definitely be booking more trips with them.
I was having so much fun watching the sea life, I didn’t get many or the best pictures because I didn’t want to take my eyes off the water. It was also hard to gage where they were going to pop up, so it was a be very present in the moment, so you don’t miss anything, experience.
I’m going to try to get out on another trip before the season ends in this month, so you may see me out there!
