This is my Humpback whale watching experience.
On the internet, you can find thousands of articles about Humpback Whale, so this is just a summary of what I experience every year and every season aboard one of our boats in the bays of Potrero and Flamingo.
In Costa Rica, we have the opportunity to observe humpback whales throughout the year, in two seasons each year.
From Playa Flamingo, we can see them jumping in front of the Las Catalinas Islands.
aboard a kayak. I have had the fortunate experience of observing them, but, definitely, it is on board a boat where I have had the best sightings.
The Humpback Whale migrations take place from the southernmost areas of the continent through the Pacific to the north and back; these are their feeding points, but in Costa Rica, the first reports are given in mid-December, which is when the whales enter our waters from the north, and these sightings extend until the end of March and the beginning of April.
The second season of Humpback Whales begins with reports of sightings in the southern area of Costa Rica; this is at the end of July, and we can observe them more frequently between August and September, off the coast of Flamingo and Playa Potrero Bay.
During these two seasons, it is very common to see humpback whales with their small calves with a weight of a good couple of tons.
Humpback whales are known to choose these warm waters of Central America to give birth to their calves, as they are far away from their potential predators here, so these are their breeding grounds.
Although their visit to these warm waters of the Pacific is fleeting and they usually go on their route, on a few occasions I have had the opportunity to observe the same whale with its small calf for about 4 or 5 days in the bay of Potrero. I have noticed that on these occasions, the calf has been very small, probably a few days old.
Although Flamingo Beach and Potrero Bay are very popular destinations for their beaches, sunsets, and water activities, among others, and although we can predict when the whales will arrive in this area, it is true that focusing on going to see a whale is very difficult, so if you ever board a boat and run into the great luck of seeing a whale and its calf, I tell you that you will have been very lucky.
My name is Luis Lobo, a sailboat captain, photographer, and ocean lover, and if you have read my post so far, I tell you that it is only from my experience; there are no scientific explanations, only experiences lived over the years.
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