Los Islotes
This morning we once again arose to an odd sight in Baja California: an eerie dense cloud cover blanketed the sky. However, the darkness and clouds of the early morning disappeared with the rising of the sun. As we steamed towards the day’s adventures a platoon of common dolphins came to guide us towards the red crags of Los Islotes. Smaller than the bottlenose dolphins, these playful mammals are perhaps more picturesque, with their white swoop of coloration and their more delicate snouts. Nearing our anchorage, the vociferous greetings of the sea lions reached our ears, beckoning us closer. Standing on the bow we could see brown shapes splayed on the rocks and shark-like fins circling in the water. The sea lions were harnessing the first rays of sunlight to warm up. Although sea lions have two types of hair on their bodies which provides excellent insulation, bodies lose heat in water much more quickly than in air. The flippers of the sea lions are heavily vascularized. The blood traveling through the blood vessels is warmed by the sun before returning to the main body, an effective temperature regulation strategy. Bounding to our boats, we zoomed in for a closer look. High above magnificent frigate birds soared and a lone turkey vulture caught the rising early air currents. Blue-footed boobies flew by, the blue feet tucked tightly against their bodies and so invisible. We had good views of a number of brown boobies, their dark hoods clearly visible, but the island seemed oddly quiet in terms of bird life. This is the beginning of the nesting season and the birds present at this point are just a slim foreshadowing of what is to come, as evidenced by the white splatterings that have rained on the rocks in previous years.
For most visitors the biggest draw to this small island is not the bird life but rather the pinnipeds, and they were eager to greet us. Yearling California sea lions porpoised around our Zodiac and when one of the guests joked that sea lion was on the menu for dinner he was immediately splashed by a frisky pup. Can they understand English or was that purely coincidence? They are California sea lions after all, even if they are in Mexican waters. They face few predators here because this island is so far out in the sea and maybe they don’t like being reminded that consumption is a possibility. As we put on our masks and slipped beneath the water the sea lions swirled around us, much as they had swirled around our boats. They tugged at our flippers and when we dove down spiraling they imitated us, watching us with doe-like eyes as if they sought approval. At times I giggled at their antics and my mask started to fill with water. When finally I could drag my attention away from the larger show, I watched in amazement as large schools of blue and gold snapper sinuously swam past in uncountable numbers, scissortail damselfish dashed beyond my reach, yellowtail surgeonfish grazed on algae and flower urchins waved their innocuous-looking blossoms that are actually pinching defense organs. Reluctantly I left the water and climbed back on the Zodiac, only to gaze into the snout of a baby sea lion snoozing on the pontoon (pictured).
In the afternoon, drying out from the morning’s adventures, we wandered along la Playa Bonanza on Espiritu Santo Island. The fine sand oozed between our toes and held the telling tracks of turkey vultures, pelicans and great blue herons. The sands tell many tales to those who know how to listen. Those of us with keen eyes were lucky enough to see small antelope ground squirrels (looking very much like enlarged chipmunks) darting among the granite boulders. As the sun sank behind the hills, the pink tendrils of sunset caught by the low-lying clouds were reminiscent of the color patterns on the male blue chin parrotfish I earlier had seen munching on coral. Although sad to leave the ocean part of our voyage, we are eager to see the exciting sights on the land portion of our adventure. Copper Canyon here we come!
This morning we once again arose to an odd sight in Baja California: an eerie dense cloud cover blanketed the sky. However, the darkness and clouds of the early morning disappeared with the rising of the sun. As we steamed towards the day’s adventures a platoon of common dolphins came to guide us towards the red crags of Los Islotes. Smaller than the bottlenose dolphins, these playful mammals are perhaps more picturesque, with their white swoop of coloration and their more delicate snouts. Nearing our anchorage, the vociferous greetings of the sea lions reached our ears, beckoning us closer. Standing on the bow we could see brown shapes splayed on the rocks and shark-like fins circling in the water. The sea lions were harnessing the first rays of sunlight to warm up. Although sea lions have two types of hair on their bodies which provides excellent insulation, bodies lose heat in water much more quickly than in air. The flippers of the sea lions are heavily vascularized. The blood traveling through the blood vessels is warmed by the sun before returning to the main body, an effective temperature regulation strategy. Bounding to our boats, we zoomed in for a closer look. High above magnificent frigate birds soared and a lone turkey vulture caught the rising early air currents. Blue-footed boobies flew by, the blue feet tucked tightly against their bodies and so invisible. We had good views of a number of brown boobies, their dark hoods clearly visible, but the island seemed oddly quiet in terms of bird life. This is the beginning of the nesting season and the birds present at this point are just a slim foreshadowing of what is to come, as evidenced by the white splatterings that have rained on the rocks in previous years.
For most visitors the biggest draw to this small island is not the bird life but rather the pinnipeds, and they were eager to greet us. Yearling California sea lions porpoised around our Zodiac and when one of the guests joked that sea lion was on the menu for dinner he was immediately splashed by a frisky pup. Can they understand English or was that purely coincidence? They are California sea lions after all, even if they are in Mexican waters. They face few predators here because this island is so far out in the sea and maybe they don’t like being reminded that consumption is a possibility. As we put on our masks and slipped beneath the water the sea lions swirled around us, much as they had swirled around our boats. They tugged at our flippers and when we dove down spiraling they imitated us, watching us with doe-like eyes as if they sought approval. At times I giggled at their antics and my mask started to fill with water. When finally I could drag my attention away from the larger show, I watched in amazement as large schools of blue and gold snapper sinuously swam past in uncountable numbers, scissortail damselfish dashed beyond my reach, yellowtail surgeonfish grazed on algae and flower urchins waved their innocuous-looking blossoms that are actually pinching defense organs. Reluctantly I left the water and climbed back on the Zodiac, only to gaze into the snout of a baby sea lion snoozing on the pontoon (pictured).
In the afternoon, drying out from the morning’s adventures, we wandered along la Playa Bonanza on Espiritu Santo Island. The fine sand oozed between our toes and held the telling tracks of turkey vultures, pelicans and great blue herons. The sands tell many tales to those who know how to listen. Those of us with keen eyes were lucky enough to see small antelope ground squirrels (looking very much like enlarged chipmunks) darting among the granite boulders. As the sun sank behind the hills, the pink tendrils of sunset caught by the low-lying clouds were reminiscent of the color patterns on the male blue chin parrotfish I earlier had seen munching on coral. Although sad to leave the ocean part of our voyage, we are eager to see the exciting sights on the land portion of our adventure. Copper Canyon here we come!
