Los Cabos and Gorda Bank
Coming from Magdalena Bay’s calming world of sand dunes and gray whales, the touristy town of Cabo San Lucas came as a bit of a shock. We set out to find Cabo’s natural highlights. Snorkelers slipped into the water at Pelican Rock, which lies a few hundred meters away from Finisterra, or Land’s End, the southern most point of the Baja California peninsula. Big schools of yellowtail surgeonfish, Mexican goatfish and damsels hovered in clear, blue water. Birders had wonderful luck at an estuary in San Jose del Cabo. Wildlife persists still, in spite of the odds!
In the afternoon we left the town’s timeshares, bars and salesmen behind, and headed east. Less than a mile away there were common dolphins and humpback whales. We passed several pairs of whales, but they stayed submerged for long dives, so we continued east. In unusually calm waters, we sighted skipjack tuna, black marlin, a short fin mako shark, and mobula rays breaking the surface. We had a long, leisurely afternoon looking for active whales. One can never predict nature’s surprises. We dropped the hydrophone into water, and magic happened as we heard the eerie, mysterious sounds of two humpback whales singing. The sound was broadcast all over the ship and we listened, spellbound. We could have listened for hours.
Off in the distance, two humpback whales breached and we headed towards them. The day was overcast and gray, and the air felt humid - unusual for this region. Over the next two hours, the sky transformed into a palette of silvers, blues, purples, pinks and oranges, and glassy water reflected it all. Captain Kaulbach maneuvered Sea Bird so that as we watched the whales, we were looking towards the sunset. With whale songs lingering in our minds, the sky transformed from pinks and peaches to reds and oranges. Humpback whales surfaced and breathed in the middle of this masterpiece.
Coming from Magdalena Bay’s calming world of sand dunes and gray whales, the touristy town of Cabo San Lucas came as a bit of a shock. We set out to find Cabo’s natural highlights. Snorkelers slipped into the water at Pelican Rock, which lies a few hundred meters away from Finisterra, or Land’s End, the southern most point of the Baja California peninsula. Big schools of yellowtail surgeonfish, Mexican goatfish and damsels hovered in clear, blue water. Birders had wonderful luck at an estuary in San Jose del Cabo. Wildlife persists still, in spite of the odds!
In the afternoon we left the town’s timeshares, bars and salesmen behind, and headed east. Less than a mile away there were common dolphins and humpback whales. We passed several pairs of whales, but they stayed submerged for long dives, so we continued east. In unusually calm waters, we sighted skipjack tuna, black marlin, a short fin mako shark, and mobula rays breaking the surface. We had a long, leisurely afternoon looking for active whales. One can never predict nature’s surprises. We dropped the hydrophone into water, and magic happened as we heard the eerie, mysterious sounds of two humpback whales singing. The sound was broadcast all over the ship and we listened, spellbound. We could have listened for hours.
Off in the distance, two humpback whales breached and we headed towards them. The day was overcast and gray, and the air felt humid - unusual for this region. Over the next two hours, the sky transformed into a palette of silvers, blues, purples, pinks and oranges, and glassy water reflected it all. Captain Kaulbach maneuvered Sea Bird so that as we watched the whales, we were looking towards the sunset. With whale songs lingering in our minds, the sky transformed from pinks and peaches to reds and oranges. Humpback whales surfaced and breathed in the middle of this masterpiece.
