Boca de Soledad
“From space, the planet is blue.
From space, the planet is the territory
Not of humans, but of the whale.”
-Heathcote Williams
At no time has this been more obvious than over the past few days. This morning we cruised out into the Boca de Soledad following the faint but unmistakable sounds of gray whale blows in the distance. After yesterday’s love fest with mother and calves, today’s interactions with several adults proved to be very interesting as well. One gets the impression that gray whales young or old are very curious about the shape, sound and feel of the Zodiacs, if not outwardly attracted to the rubbery boats. “Loca,” a nickname we thought of to describe the behavior of one of the more amorous female adults in the area, paid special attention to the fleet of Zodiacs. While rolling, rubbing and bubbling against the boat, “Loca” had her way with the motorized floaty toy. At one point, a few of the boats sailed under “whale power” as “Loca” used the tip of her rostrum to push the boats along. Later in the morning, several groups of adult gray whales gathered in the area with a multitude of body parts poking out of the water including the mighty “pink floyd!” Love was truly in the air.
Just before lunch we said our goodbyes to the Boca and started sailing south through Hull Canal. We passed several mother and calf pairs and quite a few small groups of bottlenose dolphins. Shortly after lunch we arrived at El Barril, a section of Isla Magdalena perfect for kayaking and Zodiac cruises. Those who kayaked paddled close to the roots of the mangroves spying for creatures of the roots. Those of us who preferred the motorized option sailed back into the mangrove-lined bay listening to the calls of yellowlegs and kingfishers while watching small rays dart about the bottom.
This past week will remain vivid in our memories for a long time to come: blue whales with their wisdom off Isla Carmen, humpbacks frolicking on Gorda Banks and dolphins leading us into watery adventure. Experiences like these, when all the elements come together, make us feel like there is nowhere else we would rather be than sailing the ocean blue.
“From space, the planet is blue.
From space, the planet is the territory
Not of humans, but of the whale.”
-Heathcote Williams
At no time has this been more obvious than over the past few days. This morning we cruised out into the Boca de Soledad following the faint but unmistakable sounds of gray whale blows in the distance. After yesterday’s love fest with mother and calves, today’s interactions with several adults proved to be very interesting as well. One gets the impression that gray whales young or old are very curious about the shape, sound and feel of the Zodiacs, if not outwardly attracted to the rubbery boats. “Loca,” a nickname we thought of to describe the behavior of one of the more amorous female adults in the area, paid special attention to the fleet of Zodiacs. While rolling, rubbing and bubbling against the boat, “Loca” had her way with the motorized floaty toy. At one point, a few of the boats sailed under “whale power” as “Loca” used the tip of her rostrum to push the boats along. Later in the morning, several groups of adult gray whales gathered in the area with a multitude of body parts poking out of the water including the mighty “pink floyd!” Love was truly in the air.
Just before lunch we said our goodbyes to the Boca and started sailing south through Hull Canal. We passed several mother and calf pairs and quite a few small groups of bottlenose dolphins. Shortly after lunch we arrived at El Barril, a section of Isla Magdalena perfect for kayaking and Zodiac cruises. Those who kayaked paddled close to the roots of the mangroves spying for creatures of the roots. Those of us who preferred the motorized option sailed back into the mangrove-lined bay listening to the calls of yellowlegs and kingfishers while watching small rays dart about the bottom.
This past week will remain vivid in our memories for a long time to come: blue whales with their wisdom off Isla Carmen, humpbacks frolicking on Gorda Banks and dolphins leading us into watery adventure. Experiences like these, when all the elements come together, make us feel like there is nowhere else we would rather be than sailing the ocean blue.
