“Exploring nature with your child is largely a matter of becoming receptive to what lies all around you. It is learning again to use your eyes, ears, nostrils and fingertips, opening up the disused channels of sensory impression.” --Rachel Carson
This morning’s temperamental seas encouraged a postponement of our visit to Los Islotes, in favor of a more inviting site offering a wealth of opportunities to explore. On the way, we encountered a mother-calf pair of a new whale species for this voyage: Bryde’s Whales. A smaller species than those who enticed many of us to these waters, they engaged us the way sighting a rarely seen bird species excites those whose eyes are on the sky more often than on the water. Watching with anticipation, each of us longed for a closer view of these unique animals. If only we could be in the water with them instead of watching wistfully for the next exhalation of breath and graceful arch of back.
Two groups of common dolphins entertained us as we continued our voyage north to Isla San Francisco, where the afternoon offered hiking, tidepooling, kayaking, snorkeling, and the opportunity to play or stroll independently, on the beach and beyond. Pleasantly exhausted from the afternoon’s activity, we moved on down the beach where the ship’s crew had prepared a bonfire and barbecue. As the just-past-full moon rose in a white-gold brilliance that lit the sky, we enjoyed the simple pleasure of a meal shared with new and dear friends under the open sky.
Returning to the ship, we observed brown pelicans patrolling near the bow. They had been attracted by surging, pulsating swarms of small silver-sided fish, who in turn had been drawn to planktonic organisms, gathering in the glow of the ship’s floodlights. Tiny pink and bioluminescent green organisms could be seen darting in the floodlights’ beam. Unable to resist the pull of curiosity, we dropped the plankton net into the water for a few moments and put the results on ice for the morning. Even if the results defy identification, an innate and insuppressible curiosity demands a closer look.
