Cabo San Lucas/Gorda Banks, Baja California Sur, México
During the evening we cruised south from Magdalena Bay towards Cabo San Lucas. Despite predictions of weather and rough seas, our trip was a smooth one. We awoke to the onset of a beautiful sunrise just off the false Cape and soon were in sight of Friar’s Rocks at Land’s End outside Cabo. The weather was noticeably warmer after crossing the Tropic of Cancer, and promised a fine morning for a wide selection of varied activities while the ship refueled.
After leaving the “Land of the Milk Givers (sometimes referred to as whales)” in Magdalena Bay it was time to get our gills wet and see what marine ecosystems are really all about! After all, 50 million years ago the ancestors of modern whales were land-dwelling mammals. The modern gray whale did not appear until about 120,000 years ago. At that time plankton, invertebrates and little fishes had been floating and swimming for eons before the vicious predatory whales appeared. To put it succinctly, “which came first, the plankton or the whale?”
To paraphrase Hilary Clinton, “it takes an ecosystem to raise a whale.” By snorkeling and SCUBA diving in the region of Pelican Rock, many of the Sea Lion’s guests learned first-hand about the real stars of the underwater world. After all, what self-respecting “marine” animal has to constantly come to the surface to breathe!
The tropical and temperate marine life mixed nicely at our underwater site. Both snorkelers and divers saw a good sample of the highly diverse marine life in this region. Among the interesting species observed were the octopus and the long nose butterfly fish (see photos). Others among us went off to take nature walks to observe local plants and birds. The rest sampled margaritas, shopped or strolled the town in Cabo.
At noon we departed Cabo and had an excellent photo opportunity at Friar’s Rocks, complete with margaritas. We had hardly entered the open water when the “milk givers” once again besieged us. Hoards of humpback whales appeared out of nowhere to frolic near the ship. As we cruised north to Gorda Banks loud, raucous groups of male humpbacks demonstrated that testosterone is not limited to teenage boys of our own species. A small California sea lion tried to outperform the whales, and “porpoised” towards the ship to the delight of all.
Our evening recap highlighted the Ricketts-Steinbeck expedition to the Gulf of California in 1940, including readings from the Log of that scientific expedition. Following an excellent dinner, many guests went to the lounge to hear special guest speaker Bill Eichbaum present an informative talk about the World Wildlife Fund’s global efforts in marine conservation. Now onward into the Gulf of California with all it offers for us to experience.
