Bahia Alcatraz, Canal de Ballenas and Isla Angel de La Guarda
When we awoke this morning, the sea was relatively calm and the gentle motion of our ship allowed us to experience a peaceful night of sleep. But within the hour, the wind had picked up and was howling at us as we made our way to what we had hoped would be a protected bay. It looked as though we might have to switch to plan B and decided that kayaking might be better attempted on another day.
Just before breakfast, a shout rang out from the bow. “Thar she blows” was accompanied by the presence of a sleek dark back that appeared for a few moments at the surface. We were looking at the “greyhound of the oceans”– the fin whale. We were able to identify this whale by the tall columnar blow. And sometimes visible is the right lower jaw, which is white. This one appeared to be traveling alone.
Once our anchor was down at the somewhat protected bay of Alcatraz, our anxious guests, adults and children alike, headed ashore with mask, snorkels, and fins to explore the water from the white sand beach. The scuba divers did the same and disappeared below the surface. Even though the visibility wasn’t outstanding, this can be expected at this site. Upwellings frequently occur just offshore bringing in nutrient-rich water, providing a great food source for many organisms. There seemed to be no shortage of fish here. Large leopard groupers were in abundance as well as numerous other species of fish such as the gulf opal-eye and cortez angelfish. A black and white snake eel was spotted as it was foraging for food and as we watched, it backed its way quite quickly into the sand and disappeared within minutes!
The wind was still not cooperating as we approached Isla Angel de la Guarda, but did not affect our afternoons plans much as we found a secure anchorage at Isla Granito at Puerto Refugio. Here we had the opportunity to snorkel with the California sea lion. The large males barked loudly at us from shore as well as from underwater. Mating season coincides with pupping season at this time of the year and we took extra care so as not to upset this rookery. We wrapped up the day with incredible underwater footage from our Undersea Specialist at recap.
When we awoke this morning, the sea was relatively calm and the gentle motion of our ship allowed us to experience a peaceful night of sleep. But within the hour, the wind had picked up and was howling at us as we made our way to what we had hoped would be a protected bay. It looked as though we might have to switch to plan B and decided that kayaking might be better attempted on another day.
Just before breakfast, a shout rang out from the bow. “Thar she blows” was accompanied by the presence of a sleek dark back that appeared for a few moments at the surface. We were looking at the “greyhound of the oceans”– the fin whale. We were able to identify this whale by the tall columnar blow. And sometimes visible is the right lower jaw, which is white. This one appeared to be traveling alone.
Once our anchor was down at the somewhat protected bay of Alcatraz, our anxious guests, adults and children alike, headed ashore with mask, snorkels, and fins to explore the water from the white sand beach. The scuba divers did the same and disappeared below the surface. Even though the visibility wasn’t outstanding, this can be expected at this site. Upwellings frequently occur just offshore bringing in nutrient-rich water, providing a great food source for many organisms. There seemed to be no shortage of fish here. Large leopard groupers were in abundance as well as numerous other species of fish such as the gulf opal-eye and cortez angelfish. A black and white snake eel was spotted as it was foraging for food and as we watched, it backed its way quite quickly into the sand and disappeared within minutes!
The wind was still not cooperating as we approached Isla Angel de la Guarda, but did not affect our afternoons plans much as we found a secure anchorage at Isla Granito at Puerto Refugio. Here we had the opportunity to snorkel with the California sea lion. The large males barked loudly at us from shore as well as from underwater. Mating season coincides with pupping season at this time of the year and we took extra care so as not to upset this rookery. We wrapped up the day with incredible underwater footage from our Undersea Specialist at recap.
