Los Islotes & San Jose Channel
Los Islotes are rocky islets with very little vegetation, and no land mammals. They appear to be covered in white frosting... brown boobies and blue-footed boobies leave behind white guano, and there is rarely any rain to rinse it off. California sea lions haul out on the lower portions of the islets. At this time of year about 250 of them are here; the number increases during breeding season in early summer. This morning, many of us aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion got our early morning wake up calls from them – quite appropriate considering the name of our vessel!
Many of us snorkeled with the sea lions soon after breakfast, and they were especially playful today! Several juveniles swam among us; the experience seemed to amuse everyone. Occasionally a feisty sea lion nipped the tip of a plastic swim fin. Schools of fishes swam among us, and there were corals, sea stars and urchins on the boulders below. As the undersea specialist swam beneath the snorkelers, juvenile sea lions played with her dive gear and camera lights. One young sea lion wrapped his fore flippers around her scuba tank!
We cruised in Zodiacs along the islets, and from that vantage point we had nice views of the boobies above, and the numerous sea lions that were hauled out on the rocks. One of last year’s sea lion pups was nursing. Many sea lions were crowded together, piled on top of one another. Other slept peacefully, their bodies draped over rocky ledges.
Later in the day we cruised north toward the channel between San Jose Island and the Baja peninsula. Blue whales were here! We saw four of the enormous mammals. When a whale surfaced, its gray-blue back seemed to go on and on, before the tiny dorsal fin appeared. At one time blues were known to reach lengths over 100 feet, but today they are more likely to be in the 60-80 foot range, still enormous by any measure!
Los Islotes are rocky islets with very little vegetation, and no land mammals. They appear to be covered in white frosting... brown boobies and blue-footed boobies leave behind white guano, and there is rarely any rain to rinse it off. California sea lions haul out on the lower portions of the islets. At this time of year about 250 of them are here; the number increases during breeding season in early summer. This morning, many of us aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion got our early morning wake up calls from them – quite appropriate considering the name of our vessel!
Many of us snorkeled with the sea lions soon after breakfast, and they were especially playful today! Several juveniles swam among us; the experience seemed to amuse everyone. Occasionally a feisty sea lion nipped the tip of a plastic swim fin. Schools of fishes swam among us, and there were corals, sea stars and urchins on the boulders below. As the undersea specialist swam beneath the snorkelers, juvenile sea lions played with her dive gear and camera lights. One young sea lion wrapped his fore flippers around her scuba tank!
We cruised in Zodiacs along the islets, and from that vantage point we had nice views of the boobies above, and the numerous sea lions that were hauled out on the rocks. One of last year’s sea lion pups was nursing. Many sea lions were crowded together, piled on top of one another. Other slept peacefully, their bodies draped over rocky ledges.
Later in the day we cruised north toward the channel between San Jose Island and the Baja peninsula. Blue whales were here! We saw four of the enormous mammals. When a whale surfaced, its gray-blue back seemed to go on and on, before the tiny dorsal fin appeared. At one time blues were known to reach lengths over 100 feet, but today they are more likely to be in the 60-80 foot range, still enormous by any measure!
