Midriff Island Region
For the first time of this year, we were fortunate to sail north into the Midriff Island region. Early this morning we saw the first light as we cruised west of Salsipuedes Island. We headed towards Canal de Ballenas, “Channel of Whales,” which honored its name today. We spent the morning with four massive fin whales that surfaced repeatedly.
We turned south, towards one of the most amazing places of the planet, a tiny island inhabited by hundreds of thousands of breeding sea birds, Isla Rasa. Our first experience on the Island was to disembark and meet Dr. Enriqueta Velarde, who has spent the last 33 years of her life studying and protecting the birds. The numbers of Heermann’s gulls and elegant terns that swarmed in every direction impressed us.
The winds picked up, and the National Geographic Sea Lion repositioned to the south end of Rasa. From here, we deployed our Zodiacs to explore the rocky shorelines. Thousands of birds covered the rocks, which have been whitewashed by innumerable generations of birds. The white island was once a place where guano was mined in an industrial scale. The “Guaneros” modified the landscape, as they piled the loose rocks into small towers that cover most of the surface of Rasa.
Dr. Enriqueta joined us for our evening recap, where she talked more in detail about the results of her scientific studies. Today we were honored to meet one of the most dedicated conservationists, and the island that has inspired hundreds of people to promote respect to our only home, the home shared by humanity and other wonderful creatures, the Earth.
