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GUERRERO NEGRO |
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There's little between Cataviña and the 28th parallel, where an
enormous metal monument, and a hotel, mark the border of Baja California
Norte and Baja California Sur ; you'll have to put your watch forward an
hour when you cross, unless Baja California Norte is on Daylight Saving
Time (April-Oct), in which case there's no change. GUERRERO NEGRO , just
across the border, offers little in the way of respite from the heat and
aridity that has gone before (winters, however, can find the town quite
chilly). Flat and fly-blown, it's an important centre for salt
production, surrounded by vast salt pans and stark storage warehouses.
At most times of year you'll want to do little more than grab a drink
and pass straight through. In January and February (and, peripherally,
Dec & March-May), however, Guerrero Negro is home to one of Mexico's
most extraordinary natural phenomena, when scores of California grey
whales congregate to calve just off the coast.
The whales, which spend most of their lives in the icy Bering Sea around
Alaska, can be watched (at remarkably close quarters; the young are
sometimes left stranded on the beaches) from an area within the Parque
Natural de la Ballena Gris , which surrounds the Laguna Ojo de Liebre.
The laguna is also known as Scammon's Lagoon after the whaling captain
Charles Melville Scammon, who first brought the huge potential of the
bay to the attention of rapacious whalers in 1857 - the town gets its
name from the Black Warrior , an overladen whaling barque that sank here
a year later.
During the season there are organized whale-watching trips , and an
observation tower that guarantees at least a distant sighting. Although
talk turns every year to restricting numbers or banning boats altogether,
there are currently more tours and boat trips than ever. If you can take
one, then do so - it's an exceptional experience, and many visitors
actually get to touch the whales, which often come right up to bobbing
vessels, engines switched off. Whale-watching trips are run from Don
Miguelito's and Mario's : both charge around US$40 per person for a four-hour
trip, including a complimentary drink or two. Laguna Whale Watching
Tours (tel 1/157-0050, www.bajalaguna.com ) a rather professional outfit
on Emiliano Zapata next to the Motel San Ignacio , also offer the
standard trip for about the same price. Malarrimo Eco-Tours (tel
1/157-0100, malarimo@telnor.net ), also run whale tours, plus they offer
eight-hour tours to Sierra de San Francisco to see cave paintings from
October until December. If you are heading south, keep in mind that you
will have two more opportunities to go whale-watching, at San Ignacio
and Ciudad Insurgentes.
To watch the whales from the shore , you'll need your own vehicle (it
needs to be sturdy): head south from town until you see the park sign,
from where a poor sand track leads 24km down to the lagoon. Midway
there's a checkpoint where you must register your vehicle and its
occupants, and at the park entrance a fee of around US$3 is charged. To
see the whales you'll need to get up early or stay late, as they move
out to the deeper water in the middle of the day.
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