At Sea and Santa Rosalia
An announcement of sperm whales is just about the most effective wake up call possible and most of us wasted no time in getting to the bow. From there we sighted numerous puffy blows proving indeed that the great creatures were logging at the surface catching up on a few breaths before their next deep, squid-hunting dive.
After breakfast the ship turned to position the wind at our backs and from a perfectly calm bow we saw the great whales surface again, blowing then gently diving and showing us dorsals and long backs as they continued to log nearby. We treaded water in their presence for most of the morning and were visited not only by the whales, but also by a playful group of bottlenose dolphins.
We also noticed a number of boobies gathering in the skies around us. At first the birds seemed to be just shopping, but quickly they changed their demeanor as they started dropping from the sky, folding their wings into streamlined arrow shapes for high-speed plunges after fish.
Soon we noticed that it was an all-out feeding frenzy as dolphins surfaced beneath the birds, themselves engaged in high speed chases. Fish were the quarry for mammals and birds alike and we had only to spy a group of boobies in order to locate a group of dolphins and in this way we could see that there was good fishing all around.
As the dolphins and boobies headed further from the ship and as the sperm whales gave us a break with another deep dive, we went downstairs for a photography talk by Ralph Lee Hopkins, our Expedition Leader. Finally, the ship turned and we headed to Santa Rosalia for an afternoon visit.
We walked the colorful streets, enjoying ice cream from the ice cream man, and photographing bright building facades and the unendingly tolerant local people. All of us wound our routes through town in the general direction of the Hotel Frances that hosted us with margaritas and guacamole and a fantastic view of the ocean. The local color and the productive day at sea (not to mention the margaritas) showed us the best of Baja.
An announcement of sperm whales is just about the most effective wake up call possible and most of us wasted no time in getting to the bow. From there we sighted numerous puffy blows proving indeed that the great creatures were logging at the surface catching up on a few breaths before their next deep, squid-hunting dive.
After breakfast the ship turned to position the wind at our backs and from a perfectly calm bow we saw the great whales surface again, blowing then gently diving and showing us dorsals and long backs as they continued to log nearby. We treaded water in their presence for most of the morning and were visited not only by the whales, but also by a playful group of bottlenose dolphins.
We also noticed a number of boobies gathering in the skies around us. At first the birds seemed to be just shopping, but quickly they changed their demeanor as they started dropping from the sky, folding their wings into streamlined arrow shapes for high-speed plunges after fish.
Soon we noticed that it was an all-out feeding frenzy as dolphins surfaced beneath the birds, themselves engaged in high speed chases. Fish were the quarry for mammals and birds alike and we had only to spy a group of boobies in order to locate a group of dolphins and in this way we could see that there was good fishing all around.
As the dolphins and boobies headed further from the ship and as the sperm whales gave us a break with another deep dive, we went downstairs for a photography talk by Ralph Lee Hopkins, our Expedition Leader. Finally, the ship turned and we headed to Santa Rosalia for an afternoon visit.
We walked the colorful streets, enjoying ice cream from the ice cream man, and photographing bright building facades and the unendingly tolerant local people. All of us wound our routes through town in the general direction of the Hotel Frances that hosted us with margaritas and guacamole and a fantastic view of the ocean. The local color and the productive day at sea (not to mention the margaritas) showed us the best of Baja.
