At Sea & Isla San Marcos
An interesting and photogenic subject awaited our Photo Expedition at dawn. Who would have guessed that the first sperm whale of the day would be a carcass floating in calm water? Although the loss of this one young animal may have seemed sad, it provided a bonanza of food for gulls and hundreds of storm petrels that circled nearby. Beneath the surface sharks and other creatures also took advantage of the rich bounty.
This species has intrigued humans for centuries, and the account of Moby Dick brought them to the attention of the general public. The spermaceti oil from the protruding head was prized by whalers for its high quality. Ambergris from within the intestines of certain individuals was, and still is a valuable ingredient in some fine perfumes. Many a sailor, with time on his hands, carved intricate scrimshaw designs into teeth from their lower jaws.
We continued south. We passed several dwarf sperm whales, about the size of dolphins, and then motored on our way. This region is favored by sperm whales that feed on Humboldt or jumbo squid that we had seen the local fishermen catching by Santa Rosalia. In the distance, numerous spouts of these magnificent cetaceans caught our attention. The blowhole is off-center on the left and is aimed forward, so the blows are distinctively angled. The ship drew closer and closer. Whales surrounded us. Cows and calves rested like floating logs, then arched up and fluked, and then rose again. One big bull dwarfed their much smaller companions. Their skin was wrinkled and brown, like that of dried prunes. Conditions were so ideal that the Expedition Leader decided to drop Zodiacs for us to gain water-level views and photographs from different angles. The animals appeared relaxed and unconcerned by our presence. It was an almost unworldly experience, idling in the quiet sea listening to whale breaths. When the Zodiacs picked up speed, bottlenose dolphins raced in to bow-ride. It was difficult to pull away from this fabulous experience, but we needed to continue on to our afternoon destination.
The rest of the day had something for everyone. We had the chance to kayak, snorkel, walk or relax at Isla San Marcos. The crew put together a delicious evening barbecue ashore. Storytelling and singing to the guitar lasted well into the night around a blazing campfire. The sky remained dark enough for some stargazing before the nearly full moon rose over the crest of the island, and all returned to the Sea Bird to edit images and rest up after an amazing day in the Baja California.
An interesting and photogenic subject awaited our Photo Expedition at dawn. Who would have guessed that the first sperm whale of the day would be a carcass floating in calm water? Although the loss of this one young animal may have seemed sad, it provided a bonanza of food for gulls and hundreds of storm petrels that circled nearby. Beneath the surface sharks and other creatures also took advantage of the rich bounty.
This species has intrigued humans for centuries, and the account of Moby Dick brought them to the attention of the general public. The spermaceti oil from the protruding head was prized by whalers for its high quality. Ambergris from within the intestines of certain individuals was, and still is a valuable ingredient in some fine perfumes. Many a sailor, with time on his hands, carved intricate scrimshaw designs into teeth from their lower jaws.
We continued south. We passed several dwarf sperm whales, about the size of dolphins, and then motored on our way. This region is favored by sperm whales that feed on Humboldt or jumbo squid that we had seen the local fishermen catching by Santa Rosalia. In the distance, numerous spouts of these magnificent cetaceans caught our attention. The blowhole is off-center on the left and is aimed forward, so the blows are distinctively angled. The ship drew closer and closer. Whales surrounded us. Cows and calves rested like floating logs, then arched up and fluked, and then rose again. One big bull dwarfed their much smaller companions. Their skin was wrinkled and brown, like that of dried prunes. Conditions were so ideal that the Expedition Leader decided to drop Zodiacs for us to gain water-level views and photographs from different angles. The animals appeared relaxed and unconcerned by our presence. It was an almost unworldly experience, idling in the quiet sea listening to whale breaths. When the Zodiacs picked up speed, bottlenose dolphins raced in to bow-ride. It was difficult to pull away from this fabulous experience, but we needed to continue on to our afternoon destination.
The rest of the day had something for everyone. We had the chance to kayak, snorkel, walk or relax at Isla San Marcos. The crew put together a delicious evening barbecue ashore. Storytelling and singing to the guitar lasted well into the night around a blazing campfire. The sky remained dark enough for some stargazing before the nearly full moon rose over the crest of the island, and all returned to the Sea Bird to edit images and rest up after an amazing day in the Baja California.
