Magdalena Bay, Sand Dollar Beach & Cruising North
Before daybreak, over 30 guests climbed out of Zodiacs in the dim light onto Isla Magdalena. Some stood on the soft wet sand mesmerized by the orange glow to the east, while others explored the dunes or watched the morning commuters, lines of Brandt’s and double-crested cormorants flying to work.
After breakfast we returned to the dunes and the treasures they hold. The sand here is very fine and produces animal tracks of exquisite detail. Jackrabbits, kangaroo and pack rats, mice, many lizards and a snake had left their signatures. We found a side-blotched lizard that a shrike had hung on a boxthorn spine. Not a gentle advertisement of his hunting skills to a potential mate.
On a high dune we rediscovered the Pacific. Large waves curled into breakers then fell as white teeth into foam. They crashed upon a seemingly endless beach that extended for miles. Ghost crabs scurried to their holes to hide near large sand dollars. Hikers were drawn to the beach and enticed by shells to pick up or photograph. Back on board we washed the sand from our feet but never from our souls. We will return here perhaps in a few days.
Several Pacific white-sided dolphins passed near our bow as we left Bahia Magdalena and entered the Pacific. Our ship rolled gently as we cruised north. We passed sooty and pink-footed shearwaters, gulls and pelicans. Large blows were in the distance, but the animals never appeared. A small whale did stay around. We identified it as a Minke whale. This streamlined rorqual is sleek and fast and specializes in feeding on fish. We watched it perform four separate lunges at the surface. It turned often and unpredictably so was difficult to observe.
As the light began to cast warm golden tones, tall spouts began to appear. They were everywhere. We counted over 20 blue whales. One individual showed its flukes, which is always lucky for photographers. Soon they were feeding at the surface by lunging forward with the largest mouth to have ever engulfed prey in the world. This maneuver allows blue whales to take in over 100 tons of water and krill. As the lower jaw shuts, the muscles in the throat squeeze the large bag-like container closed, forcing water out through hundreds of fringed baleen plates that hang down from the upper jaws. Krill are strained from the water and then forced down the esophagus.
This amazing photograph is of an upside-down blue whale that has just arrived at the surface. The expandable pleats at the top of the throat stretch down into the water. The upper jaw is on the far side of the mouth out of sight and would be wide open below water level. The parallel pleats radiate out from the tip of the lower jaw in a beautiful pattern. The ones under water in the photo are more expanded and demonstrate how the throat can stretch to its enormous size.
The light began to fade, and we sailed north again. The swells were low and gentle, but our day had been extreme.
Before daybreak, over 30 guests climbed out of Zodiacs in the dim light onto Isla Magdalena. Some stood on the soft wet sand mesmerized by the orange glow to the east, while others explored the dunes or watched the morning commuters, lines of Brandt’s and double-crested cormorants flying to work.
After breakfast we returned to the dunes and the treasures they hold. The sand here is very fine and produces animal tracks of exquisite detail. Jackrabbits, kangaroo and pack rats, mice, many lizards and a snake had left their signatures. We found a side-blotched lizard that a shrike had hung on a boxthorn spine. Not a gentle advertisement of his hunting skills to a potential mate.
On a high dune we rediscovered the Pacific. Large waves curled into breakers then fell as white teeth into foam. They crashed upon a seemingly endless beach that extended for miles. Ghost crabs scurried to their holes to hide near large sand dollars. Hikers were drawn to the beach and enticed by shells to pick up or photograph. Back on board we washed the sand from our feet but never from our souls. We will return here perhaps in a few days.
Several Pacific white-sided dolphins passed near our bow as we left Bahia Magdalena and entered the Pacific. Our ship rolled gently as we cruised north. We passed sooty and pink-footed shearwaters, gulls and pelicans. Large blows were in the distance, but the animals never appeared. A small whale did stay around. We identified it as a Minke whale. This streamlined rorqual is sleek and fast and specializes in feeding on fish. We watched it perform four separate lunges at the surface. It turned often and unpredictably so was difficult to observe.
As the light began to cast warm golden tones, tall spouts began to appear. They were everywhere. We counted over 20 blue whales. One individual showed its flukes, which is always lucky for photographers. Soon they were feeding at the surface by lunging forward with the largest mouth to have ever engulfed prey in the world. This maneuver allows blue whales to take in over 100 tons of water and krill. As the lower jaw shuts, the muscles in the throat squeeze the large bag-like container closed, forcing water out through hundreds of fringed baleen plates that hang down from the upper jaws. Krill are strained from the water and then forced down the esophagus.
This amazing photograph is of an upside-down blue whale that has just arrived at the surface. The expandable pleats at the top of the throat stretch down into the water. The upper jaw is on the far side of the mouth out of sight and would be wide open below water level. The parallel pleats radiate out from the tip of the lower jaw in a beautiful pattern. The ones under water in the photo are more expanded and demonstrate how the throat can stretch to its enormous size.
The light began to fade, and we sailed north again. The swells were low and gentle, but our day had been extreme.
