In the Company of Whales: A Morning off Cabo Blanco

Untamed waters, ancient humpback calls, and local custodians:
raw ocean exploration on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula.

Out on the open Pacific, a rare wildlife encounter unfolds entirely on the ocean's own terms. Pushing off from the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula on a Sunday morning alongside our guide, Ophelia, we headed straight into the waters of the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve. It was the height of Costa Rica's Pacific whale season, however Ophelia has a theory that shifting currents tied to El Niño meant many whales were lingering further south this year. There were no guarantees - there rarely are in the wild. But that is the magnetic pull of the ocean: you can study it for a lifetime and still never completely predict what the tide will bring.

On this particular morning, it brought everything.

The Keepers of the Coast

Cabo Blanco looks wild from the water. Dense jungle spills directly down to the shoreline, leaving almost nothing between the tree line and the vast expanse of the Pacific. As we navigated the reserve, Ophelia spoke of the delicate ecology that relies on this protected zone. Beside her was Capy, our captain and a second-generation custodian of Cabo Blanco. We weren’t merely passengers on a wildlife tour; we were traveling with people who had spent decades reading the subtle moods of this stretch of sea.

You can sense, almost instantly, how deeply Ophelia is anchored to this marine world. When asked if she ever runs fishing charters, her response was immediate and quietly resolute. Having spent years observing the intelligence of marine life, she hasn't eaten fish in years. When you dedicate your life to understanding an environment, your relationship to it inevitably changes. You move from consumer to protector.

Hearing the Whales

Not long after setting off, Ophelia lowered a hydrophone beneath the surface. The ocean, which looks so quiet from above, instantly came alive through the speaker. A low, rhythmic series of calls began to reverberate: a deep, ancient sound that felt closer to a prehistoric roar than any creature above the surface. Ophelia identified them as young male humpbacks, throwing their voices through the dark water in search of females. We knew whales were close. The only question was whether they would show themselves.

And then, the water broke.

When the first male surfaced, everyone on the boat reacted. There is a something so profound about seeing a humpback whale in the wild. The sheer scale of the creature is impossible to internalise until it is cresting right beside you. I had seen whales in these waters a year prior and assumed that initial sense of awe might have faded. It hadn't. I found myself in tears - a reaction Ophelia gently noted is common.

At one point, I peered over the edge, tracing what I assumed were the light ridges of the sandy seafloor. A moment later, the seabed moved. I wasn't looking at the bottom at all; I was looking at the stunning, immense expanse of a whale’s back, hovering silently just feet beneath our hull. It was a humbling moment realizing the vast shape moving below us wasn't part of the coast, but a living body.  

Courtship and Conservation

As the morning unfolded, the encounters intensified. We found ourselves bearing witness to a chaotic, beautiful courtship display. Several males were vying for the attention of females, their enormous bodies rolling through the swells, flashing pale pink fins as they breached and crashed against the surface.

Later, the frantic energy gave way to something quieter: a mother and calf diving in unison, their tails slipping silently out of sight. What struck me most in these moments was watching Ophelia and Capy transition from awe to action. They carefully documented the courtship behaviors, the mothers, and the calves, noting data to share with local conservation organizations. It was so special to watch them showing the difference between passive observation and active stewardship. Our memories would be personal, but their data would serve the species.

Beneath the Surface

Eventually, it was time to slip beneath the surface ourselves. Ophelia guided us to a specific reef for a snorkel session, instinctively directing us toward the most active corners of the coral. The water was vibrant with movement, thick with swirling schools of tropical fish.

Then, Ophelia darted ahead, pointing into the blue. Gliding effortlessly through the water was an eagle ray. This was a moment that meant a great deal to me as the eagle ray is one of the creatures that unexpectedly inspired the very foundation of The Current. Seeing one here, flying silently beneath us, felt like closing a circle. Shortly after, a nursing shark materialized from the shadows below, capping off a snorkel session that already felt impossibly lucky.

The Nursery

Returning to the boat, we pushed toward a stretch of calm, glassy water that served as a nursery. Suddenly, the surface was alive with dolphins. There were juveniles everywhere, leaping and traveling in tight, synchronized pods. Every few seconds, another few fins would break the surface. After the weight and scale of the whales, the frantic joy of the dolphins felt like an entirely different frequency of ocean life.

Even as we finally turned back toward the shore, the Pacific offered one last last gift: two turtles, drifting together in the water, mating at the surface.

What Ophelia Notices

We were incredibly lucky that morning. But what lingered long after we stepped back onto the sand wasn’t just how much marine life we saw, it was the realization of how different a landscape feels when you experience it with someone who holds the keys to it.

Ophelia saw the ocean before the rest of us did. She knew where to cast her eyes, how to decipher a ripple, and what an underwater sound meant for the miles ahead. Through her eyes, we began to see the water not just as a surface, but as a living ecosystem. Without her, we could have crossed that exact same coordinate of the Pacific and experienced an entirely different ocean.

That is the true philosophy behind The Current. Witnessing a beautiful place is a privilege. But witnessing it alongside someone who knows it intimately: that is truly special.

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Discover a Private Ocean Experience with Ophelia

Explore the waters around Cabo Blanco with the custodians who understand Costa Rica’s Pacific coast from both above and below the surface. Whether the tide brings humpback whales, eagle rays, or something entirely unexpected, the wild is never guaranteed and that is exactly what makes being on the ocean here so special.