Isla Carmen & Isla Santa Catalina
Our first morning proved to be a fantastic one! Not only were we greeted with a beautiful sunrise, but also early risers spotted whale blows. As the excitement spread throughout the ship, we scurried out to the bow, and got some good looks at a whale with a dark body and a prominent dorsal fin. We identified it as a fin whale. Then a whale surfaced with a small dorsal fin on a long back and we realized we were looking at a blue whale, the largest animal on earth. At one point, we saw both a fin whale and a blue whale in the same vicinity! Our final count before breakfast was three fin whales and four blue whales. Birders were also pleased as a long line of brown pelicans flew low over the water, a very stunning sight. Magnificent frigate birds and eared grebes were also spotted.
After lunch we anchored in Bahia Elefante at Isla Santa Catalina. An isolated granite island, it is known for its enedemic reptile, the rattleless rattlesnake and also the giant barrel cactus. Hikers made their way up a lovely arroyo where we were surrounded by huge cardon cacti and various sized barrel cacti. Others chose to go snorkeling and the water was refreshing. They saw a nice variety of reef fish including some tropical species like the king angel fish, and the yellow-tailed surgeon fish.
As we took Zodiacs back to the ship we watched the sun go down behind Elephant Rock for a very picturesque ending to our day.
Our first morning proved to be a fantastic one! Not only were we greeted with a beautiful sunrise, but also early risers spotted whale blows. As the excitement spread throughout the ship, we scurried out to the bow, and got some good looks at a whale with a dark body and a prominent dorsal fin. We identified it as a fin whale. Then a whale surfaced with a small dorsal fin on a long back and we realized we were looking at a blue whale, the largest animal on earth. At one point, we saw both a fin whale and a blue whale in the same vicinity! Our final count before breakfast was three fin whales and four blue whales. Birders were also pleased as a long line of brown pelicans flew low over the water, a very stunning sight. Magnificent frigate birds and eared grebes were also spotted.
After lunch we anchored in Bahia Elefante at Isla Santa Catalina. An isolated granite island, it is known for its enedemic reptile, the rattleless rattlesnake and also the giant barrel cactus. Hikers made their way up a lovely arroyo where we were surrounded by huge cardon cacti and various sized barrel cacti. Others chose to go snorkeling and the water was refreshing. They saw a nice variety of reef fish including some tropical species like the king angel fish, and the yellow-tailed surgeon fish.
As we took Zodiacs back to the ship we watched the sun go down behind Elephant Rock for a very picturesque ending to our day.
