Isla Los Islotes and Ensenada Grande, Gulf of California, México
The largest animal in our planet’s history, the blue whale, decided to pay us a visit this morning and its tall columnar spout was a giveaway as to its identity. This was the last day of our travels through the Sea of Cortez, and we had experienced many wonderful things.
At the moment, we were on our way to Isla Los Islotes and a chance to snorkel with the California sea lions. The surrounding highly productive waters provide ample food for the nesting seabirds. The sea lions also share this bit of prime real estate, but at the water level, and the large and boisterous males were busy staking out their territories. Below the surface, myriad species of fish moved about restlessly. It was an overwhelming sight because there was such an abundance of them. The water suddenly darkened with the arrival of a huge school of large barracuda. They circled above our heads in a tight descending spiral and then they were gone as suddenly as they had appeared. It was a heady experience!
We broke away from our oasis for a little whale watching activity and soon a Bryde’s whale crossed our path. It is thought that a third of the world’s marine cetaceans occur here in the Gulf of California. This species seems to prefer the warmer water found here and are frequently encountered in the southern gulf. We abandoned our delicious lunch of paella temporarily to enjoy the cavorting efforts of a spirited group of bottlenose dolphin.
Once things calmed down a bit, we dropped our hook into the shallow protected water of Ensenada Grande, located on the west side of beautiful Isla Espiritu Santo. The afternoon seemed to fly by as we snorkeled, kayaked and took our last hike, exploring the rocky arroyo. As the sun sunk lower on the horizon, we reluctantly turned our backs on this place of profound beauty. Our silent trip back to the ship reflected our thoughts within.
Short-lived but sweet, our mental meanderings were interrupted by our arrival at the ship. Our Undersea Specialist soon distracted us with a video clip of garden eels. These elusive fish spend their lives living in burrows along the sandy sea floor with only about a third of the body protruding from their tunnels. They twist this way and that to feed on the minute plankton drifting by.
As we motored slowly into our final destination of La Paz, we could see the distant blows of yet another species of whale, perhaps a fin or humpback? That would have to be left to our imagination.
The largest animal in our planet’s history, the blue whale, decided to pay us a visit this morning and its tall columnar spout was a giveaway as to its identity. This was the last day of our travels through the Sea of Cortez, and we had experienced many wonderful things.
At the moment, we were on our way to Isla Los Islotes and a chance to snorkel with the California sea lions. The surrounding highly productive waters provide ample food for the nesting seabirds. The sea lions also share this bit of prime real estate, but at the water level, and the large and boisterous males were busy staking out their territories. Below the surface, myriad species of fish moved about restlessly. It was an overwhelming sight because there was such an abundance of them. The water suddenly darkened with the arrival of a huge school of large barracuda. They circled above our heads in a tight descending spiral and then they were gone as suddenly as they had appeared. It was a heady experience!
We broke away from our oasis for a little whale watching activity and soon a Bryde’s whale crossed our path. It is thought that a third of the world’s marine cetaceans occur here in the Gulf of California. This species seems to prefer the warmer water found here and are frequently encountered in the southern gulf. We abandoned our delicious lunch of paella temporarily to enjoy the cavorting efforts of a spirited group of bottlenose dolphin.
Once things calmed down a bit, we dropped our hook into the shallow protected water of Ensenada Grande, located on the west side of beautiful Isla Espiritu Santo. The afternoon seemed to fly by as we snorkeled, kayaked and took our last hike, exploring the rocky arroyo. As the sun sunk lower on the horizon, we reluctantly turned our backs on this place of profound beauty. Our silent trip back to the ship reflected our thoughts within.
Short-lived but sweet, our mental meanderings were interrupted by our arrival at the ship. Our Undersea Specialist soon distracted us with a video clip of garden eels. These elusive fish spend their lives living in burrows along the sandy sea floor with only about a third of the body protruding from their tunnels. They twist this way and that to feed on the minute plankton drifting by.
As we motored slowly into our final destination of La Paz, we could see the distant blows of yet another species of whale, perhaps a fin or humpback? That would have to be left to our imagination.
