Let me tell you something about gray whales.. .
Every year they make one of the longest migrations of any mammal on earth – from the icy waters of the Arctic down to the warm lagoons of Baja California, where they birth their young and rest. They do not have to come near the small wooden boats where humans sit quietly on the water. There is nothing in it for them. We don’t feed them, in fact they don’t eat anything after leaving Alaska.
But they come to the boats anyway. And They bring their babies! They surface right beside you and they stay.
Scientists have studied this behavior for decades and they do not have a clean answer for it. But the rest of us do, we know the whales are choosing connection. And when you are on that water and it happens to you, you will feel it in your heart before you can explain it.
WHAT THIS EXPERIENCE OFFERS
This is not a whale watching tour. It is a retreat on and in the water, built around presence, practice, and the kind of stillness that only arrives when a forty-foot animal surfaces beside you and holds perfectly still.
Through guided animal communication practice and time in the lagoon, I will help you get quiet enough to actually receive what these animals are offering. You will deepen your intuitive awareness in an environment that was made for exactly this. I assure you, you’ll never forget it.
AND THEN THE WHALE SHARKS
We also spend time in la Paz, where the Sea of Cortez is home to the largest fish on earth. Whale sharks are gentle, slow-moving giants, and swimming alongside one is one of those experiences that doesn’t translate into words. You find yourself swimming alongside a creature the size of a school bus, watching it move through the water with complete unhurried calm — mouth open, dozens of small fish riding along in its wake and on their tail as if they belong there. The whale shark asks nothing of you, it simply there as part of a shared journey. That gentleness, from something so enormous, stays with you. I’ve met people that make an annual pilgramage just to swim with them.
A NOTE ON TIMING AND DETAILS
Dates: approximately January 31 — February 5, 2027 | 5 nights | 6 spots | approximately $4,200
Some trips you plan. Some trips you feel first.
If you’ve been drawn to this one — the whales, the water, the idea of being that close to something that wild and that gentle — don’t wait for every detail to be confirmed before you claim your spot. A refundable $25 good-faith deposit holds your place while the final dates and logistics come together, and I’ll be in touch with you personally as soon as they do.
Here’s what I know:
You’ll arrive in Loreto on day one, where we’ll settle in and open our journey together with a ceremony that sets the intention for everything that follows. The next morning we head to the lagoons of San Ignacio — one of the only places on earth where gray whales actively seek out human contact. We’ll spend two full days there with four boat excursions out onto the water. These whales come to you. They surface beside the boat, they nudge it, sometimes they lift their heads and look directly at you. If you’re willing to reach out, you can touch one.
From San Ignacio we charter a flight to La Paz, where the Sea of Cortez opens up into something different entirely. Your first evening is free — dinner on your own, time to wander, time to let the lagoon experience settle. The next morning we swim with whale sharks and sea lions. Whale sharks are the largest fish on earth, and swimming alongside one is nothing like you’d expect. They move through the water with complete unhurried calm, mouth open, dozens of small fish riding along in their wake as if they belong there. They ask nothing of you. They simply allow you to be a companion for a small part of their journey. That gentleness, from something so enormous, stays with you long after you’ve climbed back into the boat.
We close our time together with a ceremony before flying home the following morning.
As with all my trips, you’ll receive two virtual animal communication classes before departure and join a group integration call one month after you return. You won’t just witness these animals. You’ll learn how to meet them.
Six spots. They’ll go fast.
This lagoon can only hold a small number of visitors at a time. This retreat does not run every season. If it is calling you, the time to respond to that call is now — not when the details are finalized, because by then the spots will be gone.
This IS an Animal Communication trip
I have been a professional animal communicator for over a decade. On trips marked Animal Communication, I will guide you through optional practices that help you slow down, get quiet, and connect with wildlife on a level that most people never experience.
Here is what I know to be true: animals are not passive in this, they are willing participants in our personal transformation. They want to be heard. They know that when human lives shift, so do theirs. And when you get present enough to actually listen, what comes back can be extraordinary.
You do not need to believe anything in advance. You only need to be willing and open.
To learn more about my animal communication work, visit karenclevelandandtheanimals.com