Los Islotes & Playa Dispensa
This morning we woke up with just a glimpse of the new moon steady in the sky like a smiling promise for another splendid day in the Sea of Cortes. A nice reddish sunrise occurred as we approached our morning destination: Los Islotes, or The Islets, a colony of California sea lions located north of Isla Partida. Los Islotes is one of the 13 breeding colonies of this species in the Gulf of California and is also the southernmost. It is relatively small, and during the breeding season (starting in May) it may have as many as 500 individuals, including females that give birth and mating adults. Sea lions are members of the group known as pinnipeds (that means “fin-footed animals”), which includes walruses, seals and sea lions. At this time of the year most individuals are far away from the islets in their search for food and getting ready for the next breeding season.
We started operations with Zodiac cruises around the islets. Most of us got good close views of these smart animals. Some young pups (about 10 months old) were still suckling milk from their mothers. The big mature males were getting ready for the upcoming breeding season, eating a lot and accumulating energy, as derived from the huge size and thick necks. We also saw the diversity of bird species that use this island as home, like the brown and blue-footed boobies and peregrine falcons.
After everybody had a chance to observe the sea lions from the Zodiacs, we were invited to jump into the water to snorkel among them. A great variety of fish, some coral, small stinging invertebrates and sea lions were seen under the water. We were delighted with the graciousness and agility that characterize these marine mammals. We all resisted getting out of the water but we had to do it!
Our afternoon destination, Playa Dispensa, one of the most wonderful sandy beaches of the gulf, and located at the southern end of Isla Espiritu Santo, was the scenario for our last activities off of the Sea Bird. We launched our fleet of kayaks for a nice exercise along the shoreline, while some others just enjoyed by themselves the extension of the beach. As if written for a famous masterpiece, it was announced that a couple of spouts were sighted close to our ship. All hands ran to try to get everybody together. We all went then into the “grand finale” of this trip with two different species of marine mammals: two humpback whales and a group of bottlenose dolphins. We couldn’t believe how fortunate we were during this voyage.
This morning we woke up with just a glimpse of the new moon steady in the sky like a smiling promise for another splendid day in the Sea of Cortes. A nice reddish sunrise occurred as we approached our morning destination: Los Islotes, or The Islets, a colony of California sea lions located north of Isla Partida. Los Islotes is one of the 13 breeding colonies of this species in the Gulf of California and is also the southernmost. It is relatively small, and during the breeding season (starting in May) it may have as many as 500 individuals, including females that give birth and mating adults. Sea lions are members of the group known as pinnipeds (that means “fin-footed animals”), which includes walruses, seals and sea lions. At this time of the year most individuals are far away from the islets in their search for food and getting ready for the next breeding season.
We started operations with Zodiac cruises around the islets. Most of us got good close views of these smart animals. Some young pups (about 10 months old) were still suckling milk from their mothers. The big mature males were getting ready for the upcoming breeding season, eating a lot and accumulating energy, as derived from the huge size and thick necks. We also saw the diversity of bird species that use this island as home, like the brown and blue-footed boobies and peregrine falcons.
After everybody had a chance to observe the sea lions from the Zodiacs, we were invited to jump into the water to snorkel among them. A great variety of fish, some coral, small stinging invertebrates and sea lions were seen under the water. We were delighted with the graciousness and agility that characterize these marine mammals. We all resisted getting out of the water but we had to do it!
Our afternoon destination, Playa Dispensa, one of the most wonderful sandy beaches of the gulf, and located at the southern end of Isla Espiritu Santo, was the scenario for our last activities off of the Sea Bird. We launched our fleet of kayaks for a nice exercise along the shoreline, while some others just enjoyed by themselves the extension of the beach. As if written for a famous masterpiece, it was announced that a couple of spouts were sighted close to our ship. All hands ran to try to get everybody together. We all went then into the “grand finale” of this trip with two different species of marine mammals: two humpback whales and a group of bottlenose dolphins. We couldn’t believe how fortunate we were during this voyage.
