Los Islotes and Bonanza Bay
A large group of long-beaked common dolphins joined us just after sunrise. They stole a ride on our bow’s pressure wave as many of us peered down into their universe. This is a time to easily observe them. They are less than 20 feet away and turn and rotate giving excellent views of their superb, streamlined bodies and beautiful markings. It’s fascinating to watch them take a breath; their blowhole opens and closes within a third of a second. For some people, watching them so closely mostly makes you wish you could be a dolphin, even if it were for only a few minutes.
We dropped anchor at the rocky islands of Los Islotes and were soon in Zodiacs amongst California sea lions. This colony has about 150 winter residents and swells to 300 during the summer breeding season. Although we saw some of the bulls perform their open-mouth threat displays to each other, only the subadults made contact. We never saw the ferocity of summer. Most pups are weaned after about 6 months, but many suckle for much longer, like the one in today’s photo. These pinnipeds are a joy to observe under water. The subadults and especially the yearlings like to interact with swimmers. Sometimes they will come directly at you and in the last second, open their mouths and veer off, banking into a tight turn. Your emotions turn quickly from fright to a joyful giggle. A few adept flipper strokes, and the brown body changes direction in an instant to shoot at high speed past your flippers. The agility and athletic grace seems unequalled. If you're lucky, these may be the images that play in your mind as you wait for a traffic light in another place and time.
We passed along the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo during the afternoon. We saw several brief views of dwarf sperm whales from the bow. These shy animals are only about 8 feet long, are in groups of six or less, and simply drop out of sight when disturbed.
The Sea Lion anchored at Bonanza Beach for our adventure-filled afternoon and evening. Some guests took advantage of our kayaks, while others explored the granite-filled arroyos and ridgelines. During the evening we enjoyed a barbeque on the beach. Campfire flames set the mood as we enjoyed legends, stories and original songs by our naturalists.
A large group of long-beaked common dolphins joined us just after sunrise. They stole a ride on our bow’s pressure wave as many of us peered down into their universe. This is a time to easily observe them. They are less than 20 feet away and turn and rotate giving excellent views of their superb, streamlined bodies and beautiful markings. It’s fascinating to watch them take a breath; their blowhole opens and closes within a third of a second. For some people, watching them so closely mostly makes you wish you could be a dolphin, even if it were for only a few minutes.
We dropped anchor at the rocky islands of Los Islotes and were soon in Zodiacs amongst California sea lions. This colony has about 150 winter residents and swells to 300 during the summer breeding season. Although we saw some of the bulls perform their open-mouth threat displays to each other, only the subadults made contact. We never saw the ferocity of summer. Most pups are weaned after about 6 months, but many suckle for much longer, like the one in today’s photo. These pinnipeds are a joy to observe under water. The subadults and especially the yearlings like to interact with swimmers. Sometimes they will come directly at you and in the last second, open their mouths and veer off, banking into a tight turn. Your emotions turn quickly from fright to a joyful giggle. A few adept flipper strokes, and the brown body changes direction in an instant to shoot at high speed past your flippers. The agility and athletic grace seems unequalled. If you're lucky, these may be the images that play in your mind as you wait for a traffic light in another place and time.
We passed along the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo during the afternoon. We saw several brief views of dwarf sperm whales from the bow. These shy animals are only about 8 feet long, are in groups of six or less, and simply drop out of sight when disturbed.
The Sea Lion anchored at Bonanza Beach for our adventure-filled afternoon and evening. Some guests took advantage of our kayaks, while others explored the granite-filled arroyos and ridgelines. During the evening we enjoyed a barbeque on the beach. Campfire flames set the mood as we enjoyed legends, stories and original songs by our naturalists.
