Isla San Jose
This morning before breakfast, we cruised the smooth waters east of Isla San Jose, the third largest of the islands of the Sea of Cortez. As the sun rose, it flashed green, and as if on cue, three blue whales began to blow directly ahead of the Sea Bird. We followed these whales until breakfast time, marveling at the immensity of these, the largest animals ever to grace the planet.
After breakfast, we went ashore at the beautiful arroyo of Punta Colorado whose varicolored volcanic ashes, stacked layer on layer by the hundreds, are testament to millions of years of explosive activity which would have rivaled Mount St. Helens and Mount Pinatubo. These volcanoes, in what is now Sinaloa, shed these extensive ashes west covering much of what is now the southern peninsula. We hiked up the arroyo and snorkeled beneath a sheer cliff of red and white ash 100 feet tall. After we left Punta Colorado and sailed for our afternoon anchorage at Puerto Gato on the peninsula, we encountered several more blue whales. The blue whale is recognized by the characteristic bluish-gray skin color and an incongruously small dorsal fin set far aft on the very long back. These large numbers that we observed today are a change from years past when we saw only a few blues and is probably indicative of the recovery of the species.
This morning before breakfast, we cruised the smooth waters east of Isla San Jose, the third largest of the islands of the Sea of Cortez. As the sun rose, it flashed green, and as if on cue, three blue whales began to blow directly ahead of the Sea Bird. We followed these whales until breakfast time, marveling at the immensity of these, the largest animals ever to grace the planet.
After breakfast, we went ashore at the beautiful arroyo of Punta Colorado whose varicolored volcanic ashes, stacked layer on layer by the hundreds, are testament to millions of years of explosive activity which would have rivaled Mount St. Helens and Mount Pinatubo. These volcanoes, in what is now Sinaloa, shed these extensive ashes west covering much of what is now the southern peninsula. We hiked up the arroyo and snorkeled beneath a sheer cliff of red and white ash 100 feet tall. After we left Punta Colorado and sailed for our afternoon anchorage at Puerto Gato on the peninsula, we encountered several more blue whales. The blue whale is recognized by the characteristic bluish-gray skin color and an incongruously small dorsal fin set far aft on the very long back. These large numbers that we observed today are a change from years past when we saw only a few blues and is probably indicative of the recovery of the species.
