Close Encounter with Whales
I LOVE whales and all things Cetacean so I was so excited that I had an unforgettable experience with an adult female humpback whale and her calf a few weeks ago. There are quite a few humpbacks in Banderas Bay - an estimated four hundred plus Humpback whales come to Banderas Bay every winter to breed and give birth to their calves. There's so many whales, especially near the south side of the bay, that the whale experts recommend running an engine or generator while sailing so that the whales can hear you and move out of your way (you don't want to hit a whale in a boat for their sake and yours). When you're in the La Cruz anchorage, it's common to hear the exhale of the whale coming up for air near your boat. The whales, along with the other marine wildlife, adds to the specialness of Banderas Bay. 
While helping a friend, John, with his sail, two whales, an adult female and her calf, were putting on show in the La Cruz anchorage near his boat. A few kayakers and SUP boarders were pretty close and getting a great close-up show.
After we were finished installing the sail, John and I went out in his dinghy to see the whales, which had a few powerboats near them. We kept our distance but after the power boats left, the whales came over to us. First, the adult female swam under the dinghy. Then the calf and the adult swam right next to the dinghy - I felt like I could have touched her fluke! It was SCARY but so exciting at the same time - they are HUGE animals (Average size of an adult female is 49' and 40 metric tons - the dinghy I was in was 13') and although they are gentle animals, the mother humpbacks will defend their calves if they detect a threat or she could have accidentally flipped the dinghy - but it was so amazing and a special experience!
You can check out the short videos of our whale encounter in the dinghy here, which are in order of the farthest to the closest the whale was to us (i.e., the last video it was right next to us).
Here are slightly longer versions of the videos above, which I recommend watching if you have a few minutes. These videos show a cool perspective of how large and close they are:
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