A quote from Arthur C. Clarke caught my eye: “How inappropriate to call this planet earth, when clearly it is ocean.” Planet Ocean is where we started our discoveries this morning as we cruised slowly through mirror flat waters. Tiny ripples formed as terns and gulls plucked their breakfast from the planet’s watery pantry. Opalescent jellies filled the waters and bobbed in our wake.
Jellies were not the only creatures bobbing on planet ocean. We found sperm whales. They too were bobbing, or logging at the waters surface in small groups. We made a cautious approach. The rhythmic breathing of whales was soon all around us, and we were lulled into an awed hush. The silence was broken with the arrival of a large male sperm whale surfacing nearby. It was now sheer size that left us in awe.
We took to terra firma for a few hours to wander the arroyo of Isla San Esteban and look for iguanas and chuckwallas. It was easier than you’d think. Looking up into the branches of flowering cardon cactus we found spiny tailed iguanas munching on a brunch of creamy white blossoms. The iguanas cast a disdainful stare in our direction and continued with their meal. Chuckwalla’s were found outstretched amongst the dappled shade cast by leafless trees.
Returning to the water we immediately found more toothy creatures of the sea, and this time, it was pilot whales. A chorus line was the best comparison to describe their orderly formation as they repeatedly surfaced. As with the sperm whales earlier, a large male in the group stood out amongst the rest, his thick dorsal fin dwarfing those of the smaller finned females in the pod.
Finishing our day we played along the edge of land and water. From kayaks we plied the waters skirting Isla Tiburon to further investigate the secrets of the planet. Along the sandy fringe of shoreline we shared our discoveries of shells and bones, fragments of inhabitants that live in the rich waters of Planet Ocean.
Jellies were not the only creatures bobbing on planet ocean. We found sperm whales. They too were bobbing, or logging at the waters surface in small groups. We made a cautious approach. The rhythmic breathing of whales was soon all around us, and we were lulled into an awed hush. The silence was broken with the arrival of a large male sperm whale surfacing nearby. It was now sheer size that left us in awe.
We took to terra firma for a few hours to wander the arroyo of Isla San Esteban and look for iguanas and chuckwallas. It was easier than you’d think. Looking up into the branches of flowering cardon cactus we found spiny tailed iguanas munching on a brunch of creamy white blossoms. The iguanas cast a disdainful stare in our direction and continued with their meal. Chuckwalla’s were found outstretched amongst the dappled shade cast by leafless trees.
Returning to the water we immediately found more toothy creatures of the sea, and this time, it was pilot whales. A chorus line was the best comparison to describe their orderly formation as they repeatedly surfaced. As with the sperm whales earlier, a large male in the group stood out amongst the rest, his thick dorsal fin dwarfing those of the smaller finned females in the pod.
Finishing our day we played along the edge of land and water. From kayaks we plied the waters skirting Isla Tiburon to further investigate the secrets of the planet. Along the sandy fringe of shoreline we shared our discoveries of shells and bones, fragments of inhabitants that live in the rich waters of Planet Ocean.
