Isla San Pedro Martir and Isla Tiburon, Baja California, Mexico
Here it was, the first day of our expedition before breakfast, and we found that we were surrounded by the lop-sided blows of many sperm whales! The name comes from a liquid wax that fills the spermaceti organ located in the massive head. It may function as an acoustic lens, used in echolocation, and as a regulator of buoyancy of deep diving. Our Undersea Specialist entered the water to capture video footage and was quite successful. Pieces of skin could be seen floating in the water. These immense mammals are constantly rubbing their bodies against each other; consequently, the skin is shed into the water.
Eventually, we had to leave these gentle giants behind because we still had a full day ahead of us and much to see. Just before lunch we finally arrived at our morning destination of San Pedro Mártir and used our Zodiacs to view the colonies of sea birds occupying this volcanic island. In the past, the guano had been collected and sold in the United States for fertilizer and gunpowder.
Later, we planned to go ashore at Isla Tiburon (Mexico’s largest island) very close to Sonora State on the mainland. Along our way, we were met by a group of feeding fin whales, probably a dozen or more! What a day this was turning out to be. This species is exceeded in size only by the blue whale and is also called “greyhound of the seas.” As we neared the mainland, we noticed the bright blue jellyfish floating in large numbers just below the surface of the sea. Their rigid structures and shapes reminded me of hot air balloons set off from a New Mexico desert early in the morning. They are called “cannonball” jellyfish and even though they belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which means “stinging nettle,” they are harmless to us. Strong swimmers, they most likely were busy feeding on the zooplankton found in huge numbers, in the green water.
Once ashore at Tiburon, a new landing for us, we zigzagged our way through the desert scrub trying to avoid the intricate and delicate webs of the orb weaver spiders. We spied antelope jackrabbits and some of us were able to view one closely. It almost ran into us as it hurriedly bounded away. One of our Naturalists found a rather large western diamondback rattler, winding under the bush and finding shelter in a pack rat’s den. This represents just one of the many reptilian species present on Isla Tiburon.
From the beach, we could see a nearly full moon rising over the Sea Voyager in the distance. And this how our first day in the Sea of Cortez ended.
Here it was, the first day of our expedition before breakfast, and we found that we were surrounded by the lop-sided blows of many sperm whales! The name comes from a liquid wax that fills the spermaceti organ located in the massive head. It may function as an acoustic lens, used in echolocation, and as a regulator of buoyancy of deep diving. Our Undersea Specialist entered the water to capture video footage and was quite successful. Pieces of skin could be seen floating in the water. These immense mammals are constantly rubbing their bodies against each other; consequently, the skin is shed into the water.
Eventually, we had to leave these gentle giants behind because we still had a full day ahead of us and much to see. Just before lunch we finally arrived at our morning destination of San Pedro Mártir and used our Zodiacs to view the colonies of sea birds occupying this volcanic island. In the past, the guano had been collected and sold in the United States for fertilizer and gunpowder.
Later, we planned to go ashore at Isla Tiburon (Mexico’s largest island) very close to Sonora State on the mainland. Along our way, we were met by a group of feeding fin whales, probably a dozen or more! What a day this was turning out to be. This species is exceeded in size only by the blue whale and is also called “greyhound of the seas.” As we neared the mainland, we noticed the bright blue jellyfish floating in large numbers just below the surface of the sea. Their rigid structures and shapes reminded me of hot air balloons set off from a New Mexico desert early in the morning. They are called “cannonball” jellyfish and even though they belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which means “stinging nettle,” they are harmless to us. Strong swimmers, they most likely were busy feeding on the zooplankton found in huge numbers, in the green water.
Once ashore at Tiburon, a new landing for us, we zigzagged our way through the desert scrub trying to avoid the intricate and delicate webs of the orb weaver spiders. We spied antelope jackrabbits and some of us were able to view one closely. It almost ran into us as it hurriedly bounded away. One of our Naturalists found a rather large western diamondback rattler, winding under the bush and finding shelter in a pack rat’s den. This represents just one of the many reptilian species present on Isla Tiburon.
From the beach, we could see a nearly full moon rising over the Sea Voyager in the distance. And this how our first day in the Sea of Cortez ended.
