North to Cataviña and San Quintin

 

Itinerary for the day, March 4, 2026

Today we are heading back north.  It's the 6th day of our 8-day trip.  But we have another exciting whale watching trip in Scammon's Lagoon.  It's about a 2-hour drive from San Ignacio to Guerrero Negro.  After our stroll around the oasis in San Ignacio, we boarded our bus for another beautiful drive through the Baja California desert.  

For our third whale excursion we engaged a different company - Malarrimo (www.malarrimo.com).  This time we did not do a briefing but were taken straight to Scammon's Lagoon, known in Spanish as Ojo de Liebre Lagoon (meaning hare eye lagoon).  On the way there we passed by the biggest saltworks plant in the world.   Salt is made from evaporation ponds around the lagoon.

A mound of salt ready for export

A barge full of sale heading to the ocean for markets around the world

In the mid-1800s' Scammon's Lagoon was a popular whale hunting site.  However, after over-hunting, less and less whales were taken from the lagoon and eventually abandoned.  With the discovery of oil whale-hunting or Whaling became almost obsolete.  Only Japan, Iceland and Norway still engage and support commercial whaling for food.  Some coastal indigenous communities still hunt whales for food.

We went through the same process as the first day at Scammon's Lagoon except this time we have a different company to take us.  With wildlife you never know what to expect.  Will the whales show up or will they keep a distance?  Our boat took us about 20 minutes out into the lagoon.  We saw some spouts so our guide slowed down and hung around the area.

Before we know it we had a mother and calf coming to our boat.  They kept swimming and playing around out boat for about an hour.  It was one of the most thrilling wildlife encounters I have experienced.  The whales were not shy.  They came close to the boat and allowed us to rub them.  They spouted next to our boat.  They turned their heads to look at us.  Sometimes they just popped up and let us rub them.  Touching a whale is something I never thought I could do in my lifetime!

Mother and calf swimming near our boat

The highlights of our trip is now over.  We had lunch provided by the guide company, then got into the van back to the company office.  Roberto, our driver, was waiting for us with more freshments.  We changed into comfortable clothings, freshen up, then drove about 2 hours to our hotel in Catavina.  This is a very isolated location.  Our internet access came through a satellite.  The hotel is not fancy but very nice for this area.

In the evening we got together for a story about tequila and a taste of it.  For the first time I ate chimichanga in Mexico!  This is really an American food.  We continued with the Mexican tradition of trying to hit a piñata.  We ended the evening with a couple of birthday celebrations.

Before breakfast in the morning we took a walk in the desert around the hotel.  It was a beautiful unspoiled setting.  It was refreshing smelling the desert air and admiring the vegetation.

Desert behind the hotel

Boojum and Cardon trees

It is a long drive from Catavina to Ensenada so there were a couple of stops.  We took a short hike and walked to a rock cave.  Local school children lended helping hands for those who were unsteady in their walk on uneven surfaces.  This part of Baja California is called Valle de los Cirios Nature Reserve.

Our final stop for the day before we reach Ensenada is San Quintin, a coastal town.  We had lunch at a restaurant that used to be a flour mill.  It's in a beautiful setting by the bay.

Location of San Quintin

We had time to stroll around the restaurant before settling down for another excellent lunch.

As we drive north towards Ensenada we passed agricultural fields, tended by migrant workers from other parts of Mexico.  We can't see what is being grown but I understand there is an office for Driscoll's, which is a big wholesaler of produce in the US.

Finally, we reached our destination in Ensenada, where we checked into the Las Rosas Hotel and Spa.  It is set by a beautiful beach by the Pacific Ocean.  It is our farewell dinner.  Again, it was another excellent dinner and nice conversations.