At sunrise the air of expectation was high for the hope of seeing a green flash, and as thought becomes reality the flash appeared in true brilliance making believers of many. In the ever-growing light the rocky island of Los Islotes came into view and barks from anxious sea lions surrounded the ship in three-dimensional panoramic sound, as onlookers were capturing memories one shutter click at a time. Los Islotes is a sea lion rookery with a population of about three hundred animals and the question that formed in my mind as this scene unfolded in front of my eyes was were the sea lions more excited to greet us or were we more excited to see them? In the end I think it was a stalemate between two intellectual mammal species.
After getting close up Zodiac views of these Pinnipeds “feather footed” animals guests enjoyed swimming among them with snorkel and mask. Floating on the surface looking through the window of a face mask the aquarium known as the Gulf of California was inviting to all and muffled snorkel tube giggles could be heard from young and old from all directions.
Several guests wanted total immersion in the aquatic realm and took the opportunity to look awkward in this fluid medium in comparison with the agile antics of the sea lions which circled, flipped, and hung upside down motionless peering at these unusual neoprene visitors. After an hour surface interval absorbing heat from the sun which some call the “blanket for the poor”, and out-gassing nitrogen we were ready for our second diving excursion which was to be a wreck dive.
Starting off at seventy feet we explored the seven-foot prop and the enormous hull that composed the superstructure of the vessel and made quite the artificial reef while we made our way slowly upward to the top deck where schooling barracuda circled in formation around our expelled bubbles through smiling regulators.
Humpback whale encounters, kayaking, and a beach barbeque finished the day’s activities, but stay tuned for more exciting adventure tomorrow.
