Bonanza Bay to Los Islotes
Warning: for those of you reading this who are not on the boat, you may experience bouts of jealousy and disbelief. However, we’re so happy here, we won’t really care. Before dinner I heard one guest say, “I feel like we just had an entire expedition in one day.”
Exhausted via exhilaration is what most of us on the National Geographic Sea Lion are feeling tonight. It’s the first day of our trip and we’ve already seen over 1000 marine mammals, 65 different types of fish and marine invertebrates, 25 different bird species, and we can’t get the sound of yelping California sea lions out of our heads.
We began our day with an enormous blazing orange sunrise. A perfect cool breeze, a calm sea, and anticipation were all in our favor. Soon, an estimated 1000 long-beaked common dolphins surrounded us. We all laughed and loved their playful nature as we heard them taking gulps of air while launching themselves out of the water.
After breakfast we arrived at Bonanza Bay. The deep turquoise water and white sand beach was inviting. Some hiked the shorelines while others explored the desert. Following the hikes we went snorkeling. For some it was their first time discovering this new underwater world. We could hear screams of enjoyment coming out of snorkel tubes while people were amazed with the experience snorkeling can bring. Long cornet reef fish, huge lobsters, vibrant damselfish, and schools of porcupine fish all mingled around diverse types of crustaceans, coral and invertebrates. Also interesting were flamboyant sea slugs. It was difficult getting people out of the water and off the beach for lunch.
As we got underway to go to the California sea lion haul-out of Los Islotes we found Sperm Whales! It’s extremely rare to see these whales. They’re deep divers who can stay underwater for up to an hour. This was the first sighting of a sperm whale for us this season. However, there was not one Sperm Whale, but many. As crooked blows filled the horizon we guessed we had at least 20 around us! As one surfaced five feet from our hull, we could easily see that these toothed whales have disproportionately large square melon heads and their blowholes are forward and tilted to the left.
But we didn’t just encounter rare sperm whales. To add to our afternoon delight we also spotted blue whales. All around us was activity in the water. One moment, sperm whales would surface near us to breathe, and a blue whale would fluke in the distance, and even bottle-nose dolphins could be seen in the distance. The blue whale is the largest mammal to ever live on the planet. This blue whale was one of the largest blue whales the naturalists onboard had ever seen.
As if all this wasn’t enough, we continued with out original plan to see some California sea lions at Los Islotes by Zodiac. It could not have been better. The sun was setting, casting a photographer’s dream over the rocks filled with sea lions. It was golden hour. Camera shutters snapped and sea lions barked.
The ending to this almost perfect day was just that, perfect. As the sun set above the horizon, a green flash occurred. Under unique conditions, the sun appears green for a fragment of a second as it sets.
In all honesty, few words can justly describe what we’ve just experienced. Expedition travel doesn’t get much better than today.
To see video footage from today's Baja expedition, click here.
