Isla San Jose, Baja California
After an adventurous afternoon with the humpbacks on Gorda Bank, the National Geographic Sea Lion set off for an all night run north into the Sea of Cortez. Morning found us in the La Paz Channel looking for whales. We didn’t have to wait very long. We were soon regaled by the presence of three blue whales, with which we stayed for almost an hour. While viewing the blue whales, we also encountered a Brydes whale as well.
Continuing north into San Jose Channel we were greeted by a pod of feeding common dolphins estimated to number between 1200-1500 animals. The dolphins swarmed around the ship, moving as a single organism at times in pursuit of what we assumed was a large school of bait fish. After staying with the dolphins for some time we again continued north only to encounter a second common dolphin pod numbering about 500. Delighted by the antics of the dolphins we assembled in the lounge to hear a talk on the biology of sea birds by naturalist Bryan Gates. The talk was amply illustrated by Bryan’s fantastic photographs of sea birds from all over the globe.
Thinking we could relax a bit before lunch, we were quickly shaken from our lethargy by a call from the bow by naturalist Marylou Blakeslee; a pod of sperm whales had been spotted dead ahead! We poured out of the lounge and onto the deck to view a pod of whales estimated between 15-25 animals. Marylou informed us these whales were all females and calves as the adult male sperm whales are mostly elsewhere on feeding grounds. We followed the pod and witnessed multiple examples of tail slapping and fluking.
After lunch we anchored off Kelly’s Beach on Isla San Jose and went ashore for an afternoon of desert walks led by naturalist Lee Moll, kayaking and swimming in the glorious azure water of Kelly’s. The galley staff of National Geographic Sea Lion then came ashore with a wonderful dinner on the beach followed by a campfire and stargazing led by naturalist John Kernan. As the full moon rose over the mountains of Isla San Jose, all felt bathed in its glow, a fitting end to a magical day in Baja California.
After an adventurous afternoon with the humpbacks on Gorda Bank, the National Geographic Sea Lion set off for an all night run north into the Sea of Cortez. Morning found us in the La Paz Channel looking for whales. We didn’t have to wait very long. We were soon regaled by the presence of three blue whales, with which we stayed for almost an hour. While viewing the blue whales, we also encountered a Brydes whale as well.
Continuing north into San Jose Channel we were greeted by a pod of feeding common dolphins estimated to number between 1200-1500 animals. The dolphins swarmed around the ship, moving as a single organism at times in pursuit of what we assumed was a large school of bait fish. After staying with the dolphins for some time we again continued north only to encounter a second common dolphin pod numbering about 500. Delighted by the antics of the dolphins we assembled in the lounge to hear a talk on the biology of sea birds by naturalist Bryan Gates. The talk was amply illustrated by Bryan’s fantastic photographs of sea birds from all over the globe.
Thinking we could relax a bit before lunch, we were quickly shaken from our lethargy by a call from the bow by naturalist Marylou Blakeslee; a pod of sperm whales had been spotted dead ahead! We poured out of the lounge and onto the deck to view a pod of whales estimated between 15-25 animals. Marylou informed us these whales were all females and calves as the adult male sperm whales are mostly elsewhere on feeding grounds. We followed the pod and witnessed multiple examples of tail slapping and fluking.
After lunch we anchored off Kelly’s Beach on Isla San Jose and went ashore for an afternoon of desert walks led by naturalist Lee Moll, kayaking and swimming in the glorious azure water of Kelly’s. The galley staff of National Geographic Sea Lion then came ashore with a wonderful dinner on the beach followed by a campfire and stargazing led by naturalist John Kernan. As the full moon rose over the mountains of Isla San Jose, all felt bathed in its glow, a fitting end to a magical day in Baja California.
