Baja, California
The north wind provided us with a little rocking and rolling as we headed south to Islas Los Islotes in the dark of the early morning hours. As breakfast was called, the Sea Bird dropped anchor in the protected lee of the island in preparation for our morning outings with California sea lions. Divided into two groups, we alternately went snorkeling with the sea lions or explored this beautiful, red volcanic island in our Zodiacs. “Arf, arf, arf” was the acoustic background for the entire morning as these curious and intelligent animals spoke “sea lionese” among themselves, and small marauding groups of 6 month olds glided among us. Acting like puppies, the youngsters played with anything in their environment, including anchor lines, Zodiacs, debris in the water, sea stars and, of course, all of us. What a treat to see them flying through the water with their broad fore flippers, sometimes arching supplely backwards to touch their snouts to their tails.
After a wonderful slide illustrated talk on desert adaptations, the Sea Bird headed south along the eastern shore of Isla Espiritu Santo toward our afternoon destination of Bahia Bonanza. Just as the ship was turning into the anchorage, a pod of pilot whales was spotted heading in the opposite direction. After a hasty announcement to hold on as the ship turned, we headed back upwind to get a closer look at these graceful animals. There were about 35 whales ranging in size from a couple of large males (they grow to 25 feet) to some very small youngsters. They dove repeatedly as a group and also surfaced synchronously, probably feeding on squid or mid-water fish. At one point the whole pod swam directly toward the ship, sank deeply into the blue water and passed right under us on their way to further feeding. Our naturalist team put a hydrophone into the water in order to hear whatever sounds the whales might be emitting, and we heard a brief exchange of high pitched squeals in the first few minutes of listening. Mostly the pilot whales dove and surfaced and swam a ways and dove again, but a few individuals slapped their tails showing us the beautiful white markings on the underside of their flukes. These were extremely interesting animals with their black, bulbous heads and strange, broad-based dorsal fins, and it was interesting to wonder what they were doing out there and how it must feel to be a pilot whale in the Sea of Cortez.
By mid-afternoon we were anchored in the protected bight at Bahia Bonanza and ready to board our trusty Zodiacs for a ride to the beautiful, pristine beach. Some of us took long hikes into the hills or arroyo behind the bay while others took a short walk or snorkeled or glided across the glassy waters of the bay in our kayaks. As we made our way back to the ship in the late afternoon we were treated to a glorious sunset, a fitting finale to our rich and full 3 days with our shipmates aboard the good ship Sea Bird.
The north wind provided us with a little rocking and rolling as we headed south to Islas Los Islotes in the dark of the early morning hours. As breakfast was called, the Sea Bird dropped anchor in the protected lee of the island in preparation for our morning outings with California sea lions. Divided into two groups, we alternately went snorkeling with the sea lions or explored this beautiful, red volcanic island in our Zodiacs. “Arf, arf, arf” was the acoustic background for the entire morning as these curious and intelligent animals spoke “sea lionese” among themselves, and small marauding groups of 6 month olds glided among us. Acting like puppies, the youngsters played with anything in their environment, including anchor lines, Zodiacs, debris in the water, sea stars and, of course, all of us. What a treat to see them flying through the water with their broad fore flippers, sometimes arching supplely backwards to touch their snouts to their tails.
After a wonderful slide illustrated talk on desert adaptations, the Sea Bird headed south along the eastern shore of Isla Espiritu Santo toward our afternoon destination of Bahia Bonanza. Just as the ship was turning into the anchorage, a pod of pilot whales was spotted heading in the opposite direction. After a hasty announcement to hold on as the ship turned, we headed back upwind to get a closer look at these graceful animals. There were about 35 whales ranging in size from a couple of large males (they grow to 25 feet) to some very small youngsters. They dove repeatedly as a group and also surfaced synchronously, probably feeding on squid or mid-water fish. At one point the whole pod swam directly toward the ship, sank deeply into the blue water and passed right under us on their way to further feeding. Our naturalist team put a hydrophone into the water in order to hear whatever sounds the whales might be emitting, and we heard a brief exchange of high pitched squeals in the first few minutes of listening. Mostly the pilot whales dove and surfaced and swam a ways and dove again, but a few individuals slapped their tails showing us the beautiful white markings on the underside of their flukes. These were extremely interesting animals with their black, bulbous heads and strange, broad-based dorsal fins, and it was interesting to wonder what they were doing out there and how it must feel to be a pilot whale in the Sea of Cortez.
By mid-afternoon we were anchored in the protected bight at Bahia Bonanza and ready to board our trusty Zodiacs for a ride to the beautiful, pristine beach. Some of us took long hikes into the hills or arroyo behind the bay while others took a short walk or snorkeled or glided across the glassy waters of the bay in our kayaks. As we made our way back to the ship in the late afternoon we were treated to a glorious sunset, a fitting finale to our rich and full 3 days with our shipmates aboard the good ship Sea Bird.
