Our experiences today were diverse. We started with sunrise at Land’s End, moved on to birding in the town of San Jose del Cabo, and ended with us cheering on a cow and calf humpback whale as they breached nearby. In town we enjoyed the juxtaposition of an arid desert and a life-giving river. The diversity of birds we found included hooded orioles, cactus wrens, and white-faced ibis. The elusive Xantus’s hummingbird was found as we poised for a vigil at a blooming orchid tree. We fortified ourselves with paletas, the local ice cream favorite, as we waited for the hummingbird to call on the large pink flowers of the Bauhinia. The exuberance of a young humpback whale breaching repeatedly was mirrored by its mother. The two animals alternated between pectoral slapping at the surface and flinging their bodies free of their watery realm. The loud clap created by the slaps echoed across the water. Conditions were calm and we dropped our hydrophone into the water. Male humpback whales could be heard singing nearby and their chorus included screeches, blurps, groans and rude sounding digestive noises. It was magical.
The experiences of the last few days have inspired one of our shipmates to write a haiku. We share that with you now:
The whales flip and turn
So close we reach down and feel
Skin so rubbery
