Boca de Soledad
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day! Whale watching in this place of profound physical beauty was the very best it could be and certainly the highlight of everyone’s day. For the entire day the Sea Bird was anchored in Boca de Soledad, one of several important calving areas for the Eastern Pacific gray whale population, and from dawn to dusk, this peaceful place was teaming with both large and small whale blows. We soon realized we could see whales from the ship and from land on our beach hikes. The very best views, however, were to be had while cruising in our Zodiacs. From this perspective, we could really appreciate their immense size. We saw moms and calves swimming leisurely with the currents, appearing to enjoy this peaceful place just as much as we were. What a thrill it was to hear and see the blows that were followed by the enormous body of the female, water glistening and flowing from her massive back, quickly followed by the tiny (relatively speaking!) calf as it surfaced right next to it’s mother. Because a few whales came so close to the Zodiacs, we didn’t think we could get anything in our photos but the gray whale barnacles! Perhaps the most spectacular of our sightings was a calf on its mom’s back (this can’t be piggy-backing, we thought). It was such a delight to see this calf (we called it Frisky) frolicking with its mom! We watched in amazement as the calf would surface, slide and roll onto its mother’s back, reminding us how much fun it is to be a little kid. These calves are spending their time here nursing on fat-rich milk from mom and gaining approximately 24 pounds per day. At this rate, they will gain enough weight in just a few weeks to be able to make the long journey of several thousand miles north to higher latitudes where they will learn to feed as an adult. Just when we thought things could not be better, a few Bottlenose dolphins made a beeline for our Zodiac and started bow-riding as we headed back to our ship. The grand finale to our day was the fabulous Mexican Fiesta with live music provided by the locals of Lopez Mateos that inspired many guest to put on their dancing shoes. What new experiences of wildlife and shared adventure will tomorrow bring?
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day! Whale watching in this place of profound physical beauty was the very best it could be and certainly the highlight of everyone’s day. For the entire day the Sea Bird was anchored in Boca de Soledad, one of several important calving areas for the Eastern Pacific gray whale population, and from dawn to dusk, this peaceful place was teaming with both large and small whale blows. We soon realized we could see whales from the ship and from land on our beach hikes. The very best views, however, were to be had while cruising in our Zodiacs. From this perspective, we could really appreciate their immense size. We saw moms and calves swimming leisurely with the currents, appearing to enjoy this peaceful place just as much as we were. What a thrill it was to hear and see the blows that were followed by the enormous body of the female, water glistening and flowing from her massive back, quickly followed by the tiny (relatively speaking!) calf as it surfaced right next to it’s mother. Because a few whales came so close to the Zodiacs, we didn’t think we could get anything in our photos but the gray whale barnacles! Perhaps the most spectacular of our sightings was a calf on its mom’s back (this can’t be piggy-backing, we thought). It was such a delight to see this calf (we called it Frisky) frolicking with its mom! We watched in amazement as the calf would surface, slide and roll onto its mother’s back, reminding us how much fun it is to be a little kid. These calves are spending their time here nursing on fat-rich milk from mom and gaining approximately 24 pounds per day. At this rate, they will gain enough weight in just a few weeks to be able to make the long journey of several thousand miles north to higher latitudes where they will learn to feed as an adult. Just when we thought things could not be better, a few Bottlenose dolphins made a beeline for our Zodiac and started bow-riding as we headed back to our ship. The grand finale to our day was the fabulous Mexican Fiesta with live music provided by the locals of Lopez Mateos that inspired many guest to put on their dancing shoes. What new experiences of wildlife and shared adventure will tomorrow bring?
