Los Islotes and Bonanza Bay, Espiritu Santo-Partida Island
The eighth marine mammal of our fantastic voyage was seen this morning in great numbers in one of its headquarters. It was the California Sea Lion. The ship was stationed at Los Islotes, a small rockery offshore La Paz town, capital of Baja California Sur. Because of its size and isolation, this place attracts as much as 600 hundred sea lions that live permanently there, forming one of the most accessible and conspicuous colonies in the Sea of Cortes. Many expressions of their behavior were seen, like males pretending to scare each other or involved in a non-serious fight; one-year-old pups playing in the water, diving and swimming at a high speed and jumping out, with their funny faces looking at us as to ask for approval; pregnant females resting carelessly on their high rock spots, some like beautiful living statues; and animals of all ages competing for the most comfortable places on the rocks, pushing each other and barking. It was only one more day in the life of this colony. Also, sea birds were seen gliding, like frigate birds, brown boobies and turkey vultures, and others were nesting, like the blue footed boobies. Even more, a case of piracy was observed when a raven stole two eggs from one blue footed booby’s nest.
We snorkeled among the sea lions as well. Many fascinating moments were recorded by our Undersea Specialist, uncovering the secret life of the sea lions under the water, like bubbling, or gently biting and tasting the snorkelers flippers, and examining the Zodiac’s anchor. Groups of yearlings were also forming rafts, just showing the heads over the surface of the ocean. While doing Zodiac cruises in the same spot, an unexpected Bryde’s whale appeared from the nothing. We followed it until it disappeared as silently as it came. The rest of the afternoon was spent at Bahia Bonanza, a beautiful little harbor southeast of Espiritu Santo-Partida Island, where we hiked in searching of the elusive endemic black jackrabbit and explored the slopes of hills along a block fault, where the fantastic granite and volcanic formations are exposed together. That was the end of a very special trip in Baja California.
The eighth marine mammal of our fantastic voyage was seen this morning in great numbers in one of its headquarters. It was the California Sea Lion. The ship was stationed at Los Islotes, a small rockery offshore La Paz town, capital of Baja California Sur. Because of its size and isolation, this place attracts as much as 600 hundred sea lions that live permanently there, forming one of the most accessible and conspicuous colonies in the Sea of Cortes. Many expressions of their behavior were seen, like males pretending to scare each other or involved in a non-serious fight; one-year-old pups playing in the water, diving and swimming at a high speed and jumping out, with their funny faces looking at us as to ask for approval; pregnant females resting carelessly on their high rock spots, some like beautiful living statues; and animals of all ages competing for the most comfortable places on the rocks, pushing each other and barking. It was only one more day in the life of this colony. Also, sea birds were seen gliding, like frigate birds, brown boobies and turkey vultures, and others were nesting, like the blue footed boobies. Even more, a case of piracy was observed when a raven stole two eggs from one blue footed booby’s nest.
We snorkeled among the sea lions as well. Many fascinating moments were recorded by our Undersea Specialist, uncovering the secret life of the sea lions under the water, like bubbling, or gently biting and tasting the snorkelers flippers, and examining the Zodiac’s anchor. Groups of yearlings were also forming rafts, just showing the heads over the surface of the ocean. While doing Zodiac cruises in the same spot, an unexpected Bryde’s whale appeared from the nothing. We followed it until it disappeared as silently as it came. The rest of the afternoon was spent at Bahia Bonanza, a beautiful little harbor southeast of Espiritu Santo-Partida Island, where we hiked in searching of the elusive endemic black jackrabbit and explored the slopes of hills along a block fault, where the fantastic granite and volcanic formations are exposed together. That was the end of a very special trip in Baja California.
