Whale watching by Isla Carmen; visiting Isla Catalina
As the moon set in the mists over Isla Carmen, the sun rose simultaneously this morning, casting a golden hue over the crags of Isla Catalina. Our first morning in the Sea of Cortez was splendid: a very light breeze wafted sea scents to us as brown boobies and murrelets winged by, skimming the glassy waters. Soon after breakfast a roiling mass was viewed on the horizon. Steaming closer, we were soon training our binoculars on gulls, brown boobies and squadrons of brown pelicans folding their wings and plunge-diving into a bait ball, or school of swirling small fish that the birds were herding at the surface and picking off for breakfast. Frigate birds engaged in their piratical activities, master kleptoparasites that they are, and chased gulls to force them to regurgitate their hard-won fish catch. Our naturalist Larry predicted that there may be dolphins underneath the birds, but whether there were or not, we never knew for sure, because within a few minutes a shout went up: hundreds of dolphins were approaching the bait ball from the port side of the ship. We wheeled around, mirroring the actions of the birds, and trained our binoculars on this new sight. . .and what a sight it was! Dolphins jettisoned their bodies high into the air, flipping onto their sides to expose the white bellies that belie their name given by the local fishermen. As our boat drifted closer to the food source, the common dolphins swirled around us so that we could watch them glide effortlessly under the water, criss-crossing paths with each other as they played in the boat’s wake. However, their main goal was not to play but to munch on their breakfast, which they did with abandon. Motoring on, we did not travel far before another marine mammal came to join us. These were not the small, graceful, mascara-lined bodies of the common dolphins, but the grandiose, heavier bodies of the bottlenose dolphins. While the members of this species do not habitually travel in pods as large as the common dolphins, at least twenty of these magnificent cetaceans swirled languidly around the vessel. They were obviously finishing up their meal, as they rarely darted after fleeting fish, but instead spent the time to roll on their sides and lazily gaze up at us as we gazed down at them. In their midst, a lone juvenile male sea lion porpoised, either lonely for friends or hoping the dolphins would show him easy fish to catch. Three marine mammal species before 10 a.m. — an admirable start to our trip!
After our abandon ship drills, Zodiac and snorkel briefings, we were issued our snorkel gear and could hardly wait to use it. Anchoring at Isla Catalina, we divided into groups for snorkeling and hiking. The snorkelers found the water as promised: refreshing! It really wakes you up! Beneath the azure water swirled schools of Panamic sergeant majors, bevies of Mexican goatfish, and balloonfish that swam literally right into the face plates of our masks. Bright barberfish (pictured) flitted between rocks, waiting for clients to visit their cleaning stations and have themselves picked clean of parasites. In the sandy flats, Cortez garden eels reared their heads, swaying gently in the current like king cobras, retreating to their sandy dens as we swam closer to investigate. Those guests that hiked wended their way through blooming desert hibiscus, and met shrieking shrikes, soaring frigatebirds, calling ravens, and darting hummingbirds that fed from the blooming red tubular mistletoe. At recap, we marveled at the historic import of chili peppers, poked at the husk of a spiny lobster molt (no, it was not on the dinner menu!), and pondered the possibility of a green flash and the vermillion dye of the cochineal insects.
As the moon set in the mists over Isla Carmen, the sun rose simultaneously this morning, casting a golden hue over the crags of Isla Catalina. Our first morning in the Sea of Cortez was splendid: a very light breeze wafted sea scents to us as brown boobies and murrelets winged by, skimming the glassy waters. Soon after breakfast a roiling mass was viewed on the horizon. Steaming closer, we were soon training our binoculars on gulls, brown boobies and squadrons of brown pelicans folding their wings and plunge-diving into a bait ball, or school of swirling small fish that the birds were herding at the surface and picking off for breakfast. Frigate birds engaged in their piratical activities, master kleptoparasites that they are, and chased gulls to force them to regurgitate their hard-won fish catch. Our naturalist Larry predicted that there may be dolphins underneath the birds, but whether there were or not, we never knew for sure, because within a few minutes a shout went up: hundreds of dolphins were approaching the bait ball from the port side of the ship. We wheeled around, mirroring the actions of the birds, and trained our binoculars on this new sight. . .and what a sight it was! Dolphins jettisoned their bodies high into the air, flipping onto their sides to expose the white bellies that belie their name given by the local fishermen. As our boat drifted closer to the food source, the common dolphins swirled around us so that we could watch them glide effortlessly under the water, criss-crossing paths with each other as they played in the boat’s wake. However, their main goal was not to play but to munch on their breakfast, which they did with abandon. Motoring on, we did not travel far before another marine mammal came to join us. These were not the small, graceful, mascara-lined bodies of the common dolphins, but the grandiose, heavier bodies of the bottlenose dolphins. While the members of this species do not habitually travel in pods as large as the common dolphins, at least twenty of these magnificent cetaceans swirled languidly around the vessel. They were obviously finishing up their meal, as they rarely darted after fleeting fish, but instead spent the time to roll on their sides and lazily gaze up at us as we gazed down at them. In their midst, a lone juvenile male sea lion porpoised, either lonely for friends or hoping the dolphins would show him easy fish to catch. Three marine mammal species before 10 a.m. — an admirable start to our trip!
After our abandon ship drills, Zodiac and snorkel briefings, we were issued our snorkel gear and could hardly wait to use it. Anchoring at Isla Catalina, we divided into groups for snorkeling and hiking. The snorkelers found the water as promised: refreshing! It really wakes you up! Beneath the azure water swirled schools of Panamic sergeant majors, bevies of Mexican goatfish, and balloonfish that swam literally right into the face plates of our masks. Bright barberfish (pictured) flitted between rocks, waiting for clients to visit their cleaning stations and have themselves picked clean of parasites. In the sandy flats, Cortez garden eels reared their heads, swaying gently in the current like king cobras, retreating to their sandy dens as we swam closer to investigate. Those guests that hiked wended their way through blooming desert hibiscus, and met shrieking shrikes, soaring frigatebirds, calling ravens, and darting hummingbirds that fed from the blooming red tubular mistletoe. At recap, we marveled at the historic import of chili peppers, poked at the husk of a spiny lobster molt (no, it was not on the dinner menu!), and pondered the possibility of a green flash and the vermillion dye of the cochineal insects.
