| Jesus "Rana" & Friendly Gray Whale | |
Photo By: Pat Hunt/pat@pathunt.net | | | | | | 
Jesus Mayoral invites you to see the whales in their house. At Pachico's Eco Tours it is our goal to help you experience the spectacular whale watching San Ignacio Lagoon has to offer, while sharing information about the behavior of gray whales and their natural environment that comes from decades of experience. We keep a respectful distance to the whales allowing the friendly whales to "truly be friendly" by approaching us. The lagoons waters are the winter breeding and calving grounds for the gray whales, where they should find a peaceful environment and safe nursing waters.
Why we believe in a shorter whale watching season.
The official whale watching season at San Ignacio Lagoon starts December 1st and runs through April 30th. At Pachico's Eco Tours we believe that the whales should have their own space for a month and a half especially after the 5,000-6,000 mile migration they make to reach the Lagoon for the winter. They get to the lagoon ready to give birth and tired and some of them already have newborn calves. They deserve to rest once they get to their house before having people over to visit. We care and worry about the whales future and for this reason have shortened up our season to January 15-April 15. Our season ends in mid-April so the whales can prepare their calves for the long migration.
A note about friendly whales.
Most tourists who make the magical journey to San Ignacio Lagoon for a multi-day adventure are appropriately rewarded with a "Friendly Whale" encounter - a chance to touch, pet, scratch, or otherwise make a meaningful contact with a gray whale. However, we at Pachico's Eco Tours do not pursue, chase, or harass the whales to ensure a friendly encounter.
What are the odds of a "friendly encounter" if the whales aren't feeling friendly? It is up to the whales to decide to approach us. It is a guarantee that people will see them within a few yards (meters) of the boat, however, it is solely the whale's decision to come to the boat to be pet. San Ignacio Lagoon is the place with the highest percentage of "friendly" encounters, and almost every day there are many "friendly" encounters within the Lagoon. The regulations permit only two boats around one friendly whale, so we might see other boats with a "friendly" whale but not necessarily have access to it. One of the wonderful things about Pachico's Eco Tours is that Pachico and his family have an over three decades-old relationship with these whales. The Mayoral's may have spent more time watching and interacting with the gray whales than any other humans alive!
Pachico's, nor any other whale watching operation, can ever guarantee a "friendly" experience with a gray whale. However, our immediate family in San Ignacio Lagoon and our ever expanding extended family of visitors from all over the world can attest to the fact that there is nothing quite like a "friendly" experience with the Mayoral family of San Ignacio Lagoon and Pachico's Eco Tours.
 Accommodations
Our comfortable eco-camp is the perfect place to relax shore-side while visiting San Ignacio Lagoon. Enjoy the seashore, walking trails and exceptional views of the lagoon and the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve.
Five solar/wind powered cabins are available for nightly rentals. Our double cabins sleep 2 in twin beds and we also have cabins equipped with a double bed and twin bed, comfortably sleeping three. Oversized windows line the shore-side wall letting you enjoy the lagoon surroundings even from bed! Take a nap, listening to the water reaching the shore, while the breezes of San Ignacio Lagoon keep the cabin feeling fresh.
Clean composting toilets and showers are shared and located close to the cabins.
Camping is available with space for tents, truck campers, and RV's.
Our cavernous dinning tent serves as camp central for all visitors. Enjoy complementary coffee and tea while looking through our natural history library. Cold soda's, cervezas and mix drinks are available for purchase. At breakfast, lunch, and dinner guests trade stories about whale encounters, desert surprises, and all things Baja. The chefs at Pachico's Eco Tours utilize fresh seafood and organic produce grown locally.
 Our Boats
The boats Pachico's Eco Tours uses for whale watching are 22 feet long and with maximum capacity of 8 passengers, however, 7 passengers are preferred to maximize comfort for the passengers and ease of contacting a friendly whale. Each boat is replete with all the safety equipment required by the Port Captain for this type boat. Pachico's boats are available daily through January, February, March and mid-April. You can see from the photo at left and throughout this site that the small size of the boats allows us to be very close to the surface of the water – within petting distance, and ideal for photographs.
Seasonal Whale and Bird Activity in San Ignacio Lagoon (Our season runs January 15th-April 15th)
November:
Gray whales begin their southbound migration and some are already in Southern California at this time. Only occasionally do we see the first arriving whales in San Ignacio Lagoon in November, and these whales typically do not stay and move out, probably heading further south.
Migratory birds start arriving to the shores of the Lagoon. Many arrive from Northern Alaska, Russia, and Canada (particularly black brant and white pelicans) to spend the winter in the warmer climate of Baja California.
December:
Gray whales begin arriving in earnest in December. Pregnant cows are checking out the Lagoon while adult males enter the Lagoon and display courtship behavior. By the end of December there are typically between 2-12 whales who will spend the duration of their winter stay here in San Ignacio Lagoon.
Black brants are now typically covering most of the intertidal feeding zone on the well preserved eel grass on the shores of the Lagoon.
January:
January is a busy month in San Ignacio Lagoon. 30% of the season's calves are already born by the end of January, and friendly interactions between the year's newborns and human visitors to San Ignacio Lagoon are already in full swing. At the same time, there is tumultuous mating behavior occurring between males and the non-calving females. January is a great time of year to experience both the explosive courtship behavior for which gray whales are known as well as the gentle interactions between new mothers with calves and we whale watchers.
Additionally, bird watching is often spectacular in January. Residents birds are now nesting, mostly on two northern islands in San Ignacio Lagoon named Pelicano and Garza. The dense mangroves found in other areas of the Lagoon are nesting grounds for other large birds and smaller shore birds.
February:
February is a truly transcendent time in San Ignacio Lagoon. Mating activity of the males and non-birthing females reaches a crescendo before these groups begin heading north in March. –Friendly– encounters are most commonly experienced in February (though one can never be guaranteed of getting close enough to pet or caress a friendly whale, no matter what time of year).
The amazing thing about February is that there is so much activity that is it hard to decide where to look at any one time! It is typical that there is a cow / calve pair frolicking near the boat, other groups of whales are mating in the near distance, and uncountable whales are breaching and spy-hopping in every direction. What a pleasure for the senses! The highest population of gray whales in San Ignacio Lagoon is typically recorded in February.
February is a month of fascinating diversity in bird life as well. Many migratory birds are now nesting and some resident as well as migratory species will see eggs hatch into chicks before the end of the month.
March:
March is a time when males, now exhausted and/or satiated from mating, and juvenile whales (yearlings and sub-adults) begin the northbound migration back to the Bering sea and their cold water summer feeding areas. Cows with calves seem to relax once the intense courtship activity abates, and the newborn calves have gained strength and awareness since their recent birth, making them more willing to –play– than ever. March offers the highest chances of a –friendly– encounter, or at least a –close encounter,– between us and a cow / calf pair. Additionally, the weather is typically warmer, sunnier, and somewhat less breezy during March, but the weather is always the least predictable element in the gray whale life cycle.
Migratory birds begin their northbound migration during March, and resident juvenile chicks are typically taking their flying lessons this month.
April:
April is a special time in San Ignacio Lagoon. Accompanying wonderful weather is a lagoon with just a couple of dozen cows and newborn calves. The remaining calves are now strong and especially playful and ready for the northbound migration. While all of the major activity is over and the crowds have also departed, April provides a special time when every visitor to San Ignacio Lagoon (most likely even the whales) can feel a special, singular connection to this special place with endless opportunities to feel like you are the only ones in this magical world at this special time.
The young birds have now progressed to the challenge of hunting and catching their own food and can provide hours of fascinating bird watching in the morning and afternoons.
 Weather in San Ignacio Lagoon
Unlike elsewhere in the world, the weather in Baja is somewhat unpredictable. However, one might expect the following weather patterns during the gray whale watching season. Often, one awakes to a northwest wind up to 25 knots (about 25 mph), which calms down substantially by 10:30-11:00 am to a sustained mild blow from the southwest of 10 knots from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm. As afternoon and evening approach the winds dominate from the northwest again and this wind often is left to blow out the campfires and make you feel like retreating to your windproof cabin.
Given this wind pattern, Pachico's Eco Tours tends to work between 10:00 am (departure for first whale watching experience) and 2:30-3 pm (return from double-tour experience). Air temperatures in February range from 85F during the day to 50F during the evening (great sleeping weather). You'll want to be wearing shorts and a sunhat, with appropriate sunscreen during the day, and a fleece or sweatshirt at night to ward off the chill and allow you to enjoy the howls of the coyotes outside camp as well as the glow of the milky-way above.
Given the extremes of temperature one encounters, a layered wardrobe is critical, with very light apparel available for the hot days and heavier sweaters, sweatshirts, and warm pants available in the evenings and at night.
For a detailed description of packages available for the upcoming 2012 season
(click here).
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For further information contact: