Gorda Bank and Cabo Los Frailes
The first morning of our expedition started in a beautiful way, as the National Geographic Sea Bird sailed toward the Gorda Bank area. Located a few miles off the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula, the Gorda Bank is a seamount that rises from the depths up to 140 feet below the surface, and is a favorite gathering place for a number of interesting creatures. It is also right in the middle of one of the wintering areas of humpback whales.
Sure enough, we spotted several blows followed by large, humped backs and flukes rising high in the air. A group of at least three whales seemed to be engaged in some romantic exploits and even a few more were seen breaching far away. However, humpback whales were not the only ones exploring the vicinity of the seamount today; a couple of small groups of bottlenose dolphins followed us for a while, with many of them getting a free ride by the water pressure formed in front of the ship’s bow.
Another interesting sighting was that of a billfish seen swimming at the surface, showing its folded-down dorsal fin and the upper portion of its tail. The Cape area is world famous for its sport fishing, with many billfishes (including Pacific sailfish, striped, blue and black marlins), dorado, wahoo and tunas captured each season, giving Cabo San Lucas the nickname “the striped marlin capital of the world.” Billfishes are big, fast predators with high metabolic rates, and the individual we saw was possibly warming up after a hunting excursion in deep, cold waters looking for squid, a favorite prey.
By mid-morning we arrived at the shelter of Cabo Los Frailes and dropped the anchor. Located immediately to the south of the Cabo Pulmo National Park, this is one of the neighboring areas that has benefited from the protection given to marine life in the park for the past 15 years. A small federally- protected area, the Cabo Pulmo National Park was created by the Mexican government as a result of the desire and commitment of the local inhabitants to protect their resources, and is now a truly successful conservation story.
Many of us brave souls went snorkeling in the cold waters and were rewarded by big schools of yellowtail surgeon fishes and convict tangs, abundant coral heads and several species of parrot fish, wrasses and damsels. Several Moorish idols slowly cruised around, whereas larger horse jacks and machetes chased the super-abundant young sardines just off the surf line.
The same beach acted as our starting point for the different kinds of hikes during the afternoon. Either during long, short or medium hikes, we all learned about the diversity and marvelous adaptations of desert plants, while watching the occasional Costa’s hummingbird, osprey or ash-throated flycatcher.
Eventually the shadows grew larger and we all returned to our floating home, as the first full day of our expedition came to an end here in the Sea of Cortez.
