At Sea to Isla San Pedro Mártir
Our day began at sea, northeast of the dramatic Tres Virgenes mountains as they caught the first rosy rays of the sun. Soon after sunrise we encountered a group of short-finned pilot whales in wonderfully calmer waters. After breakfast, we found another group of pilot whales rising again and again just off the ship’s bow, while more animals were seen further in the distance. Continuing northward, our destination of Isla San Pedro Mártir rose steadily on the horizon ahead of us. However, our path there was pleasantly erratic as we routinely turned and paused to view marine wildlife.
A highlight of our morning at sea was encountering sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales. With gentle maneuvering of the ship, we eventually had many fantastic close views of these unusual creatures. After watching many female and immature-sized animals, we found a large adult male sperm whale that dwarfed the nearby females with his immense bulk and length. As we neared the island, a small band of bottlenose dolphins hurried over to swim in our ship’s bow wave, occasionally leaping high into the air amid our cheers.
During the afternoon, we explored the near-shore waters around San Pedro Mártir by Zodiac. The day had become beautifully calm, and we enjoyed mirrored seas all around us as we marveled at this remote island’s many denizens. Overhead, dozens of red-billed tropicbirds flew by, calling exuberantly with shrill voices as they swooped close to the rocky cliffs, investigating possible nest sites. Thousands of blue-footed boobies and brown boobies crisscrossed the air above us. Brown pelicans coasted low over the water to rest stately on the shoreline rocks, and California sea lions jumped and played in the waters around our boats. Many of the younger sea lions appeared fascinated by our presence, and swam along with the Zodiacs at times.
As the shadow of San Pedro Mártir drew long across the sea, we watched in amazement as thousands of birds returned to the island. We returned to the ship, delighted by the great abundance of marine life that we had found in this seldom visited part of the Sea of Cortez.
