Isla San Marcos
We awoke this morning cruising south with hopes of marine mammals and were rewarded with a show that probably could not be topped anywhere in the world. Before the crimson sun had even risen, we had pods of two species of dolphins and the flukes of a giant male sperm whale. As everyone groggily made their way to the bow, we were surrounded by blows of every shape and size. Sensory overload set in as we witnessed short, puffy blows; tall, columnar blows; and angular ones, too. We headed out to the farthest, tallest blows, and were rewarded with lunging fin whales and the bottlenose dolphins bow riding on them. We headed back closer to shore and were surrounded by pilot whales. At least 50 of these “blackfish” encircled the vessel and even surfaced within 30 feet of the fantail, causing many to frantically go from bow to stern and then back again. Many people wished that all whales were this accommodating.
After at least an hour with the pilot whales, we needed a break, so we enjoyed a lecture on the biodiversity of the Gulf of California by Richard Brusca, but had to interrupt the final questions for sperm whales. Once again marine mammals surrounded us, as at least 25 of these largest of toothed whales surrounded the ship. Many “logged” close to the ship, recharging their oxygen supply, before showing us their flukes and returning to the depths to hunt squid.
We broke off from the sperm whales and attempted to head to Isla San Marcos for the afternoon, but were continually interrupted by thousands of dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins put on an amazing leaping display, while gigantic groups of long-beaked common dolphins covered the surface of the ocean as we enjoyed a deck barbecue lunch. With ice cream sundaes in hand, our eyes gazed out over a sea filled with marine mammals as we approached our afternoons landing. After snorkeling under a grotto filled with fish and hiking up a narrow arroyo, a spectacular fiery red-sunset over the Tres Virgenes volcanoes was a fitting end to this spectacular day. However, we were not through yet. Our marine mammal day ended after dinner with bioluminescent bow riding bottlenose dolphins escorting us south.
We awoke this morning cruising south with hopes of marine mammals and were rewarded with a show that probably could not be topped anywhere in the world. Before the crimson sun had even risen, we had pods of two species of dolphins and the flukes of a giant male sperm whale. As everyone groggily made their way to the bow, we were surrounded by blows of every shape and size. Sensory overload set in as we witnessed short, puffy blows; tall, columnar blows; and angular ones, too. We headed out to the farthest, tallest blows, and were rewarded with lunging fin whales and the bottlenose dolphins bow riding on them. We headed back closer to shore and were surrounded by pilot whales. At least 50 of these “blackfish” encircled the vessel and even surfaced within 30 feet of the fantail, causing many to frantically go from bow to stern and then back again. Many people wished that all whales were this accommodating.
After at least an hour with the pilot whales, we needed a break, so we enjoyed a lecture on the biodiversity of the Gulf of California by Richard Brusca, but had to interrupt the final questions for sperm whales. Once again marine mammals surrounded us, as at least 25 of these largest of toothed whales surrounded the ship. Many “logged” close to the ship, recharging their oxygen supply, before showing us their flukes and returning to the depths to hunt squid.
We broke off from the sperm whales and attempted to head to Isla San Marcos for the afternoon, but were continually interrupted by thousands of dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins put on an amazing leaping display, while gigantic groups of long-beaked common dolphins covered the surface of the ocean as we enjoyed a deck barbecue lunch. With ice cream sundaes in hand, our eyes gazed out over a sea filled with marine mammals as we approached our afternoons landing. After snorkeling under a grotto filled with fish and hiking up a narrow arroyo, a spectacular fiery red-sunset over the Tres Virgenes volcanoes was a fitting end to this spectacular day. However, we were not through yet. Our marine mammal day ended after dinner with bioluminescent bow riding bottlenose dolphins escorting us south.
