Los Islotes and Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur
Barks from California sea lions greeted those who first appeared on the bow. These playful creatures improve any day with their antics. We snorkeled with them and watched their comical jousting and tussling. Their stretched-out bodies made us want to take relaxation lessons. While out in Zodiacs you can tell when our guests are watching sea lion pups swim through the clear water by looking at people’s expressions. A bright smile quickly appears that grows to total delight, often followed by a quiet chuckle. They draw us out of ourselves and into a world of underwater ballet, brown bodies whirling and dancing and then in a quick movement and a burst of speed, they’re gone.
In the middle of a bite of our delicious lasagna lunch, someone yelled, “blue whale!” The dining room emptied as we raced for the decks. Our views of this creature were superb. We stayed with it for about 45 minutes. After about 10 dives of three-and-a-half minutes each, it finally came close. Suddenly it surfaced right in front of the ship. We looked straight down upon it; the full length could be seen through the clear water. It took until the third surfacing for the screams of delight and the thrill of this close encounter to settle down enough to start taking pictures.
Blue whales feed on krill in the Gulf of California as they pass south to Central America. These are the same “blues” that feed off California’s Channel Islands and the Farallon Islands. By photographing the unique patterns along the sides of the body, researchers are able to identify individuals much like using fingerprints for people. The photo above shows a blue whale’s back with a distinct pigment pattern. Between 1991 and 1997, 908 blue whales were identified in the Costa Rica to California population. Censusing techniques using capture/recapture and line transect methods have allowed marine mammalogists to estimate that about 3,000 blue whales within this group.
We had a lot to talk about at the evening barbecue on the beach of Isla San Francisco. We had experienced truly memorable sights. It is good to be thrilled; it’s like being a kid again.
Barks from California sea lions greeted those who first appeared on the bow. These playful creatures improve any day with their antics. We snorkeled with them and watched their comical jousting and tussling. Their stretched-out bodies made us want to take relaxation lessons. While out in Zodiacs you can tell when our guests are watching sea lion pups swim through the clear water by looking at people’s expressions. A bright smile quickly appears that grows to total delight, often followed by a quiet chuckle. They draw us out of ourselves and into a world of underwater ballet, brown bodies whirling and dancing and then in a quick movement and a burst of speed, they’re gone.
In the middle of a bite of our delicious lasagna lunch, someone yelled, “blue whale!” The dining room emptied as we raced for the decks. Our views of this creature were superb. We stayed with it for about 45 minutes. After about 10 dives of three-and-a-half minutes each, it finally came close. Suddenly it surfaced right in front of the ship. We looked straight down upon it; the full length could be seen through the clear water. It took until the third surfacing for the screams of delight and the thrill of this close encounter to settle down enough to start taking pictures.
Blue whales feed on krill in the Gulf of California as they pass south to Central America. These are the same “blues” that feed off California’s Channel Islands and the Farallon Islands. By photographing the unique patterns along the sides of the body, researchers are able to identify individuals much like using fingerprints for people. The photo above shows a blue whale’s back with a distinct pigment pattern. Between 1991 and 1997, 908 blue whales were identified in the Costa Rica to California population. Censusing techniques using capture/recapture and line transect methods have allowed marine mammalogists to estimate that about 3,000 blue whales within this group.
We had a lot to talk about at the evening barbecue on the beach of Isla San Francisco. We had experienced truly memorable sights. It is good to be thrilled; it’s like being a kid again.
