Isla Carmen, Sea of Cortez
A pod of pilot whales silhouetted through a silky Sea of Cortez surface in this morning’s scintillating sunrise. These large black members of the dolphin tribe have a characteristic chunky dorsal fin and pronounced globular head. Like their fellow ‘blackfish’ kin the killer whale, the species exhibits long-term stable family groups and a degree of aggressiveness. All three of the large males in the group we encountered had open wounds and kinked tailstocks, a possible result of genetic disposition or an aggressive tilt.
The beautiful wakeup call to short-finned pilot whales (and common dolphins nearby) was one-upped after breakfast by our discovery of a blue whale. This long large leviathan would systematically disappear for twelve minutes, but not before rolling the full length of its enormous body and lifting its triangular tail each time. We also came upon a seven-minute non-fluking blue, these animals making apparent clockwork foraging dives. All told we spied half a dozen blue and fin whales in the area south of Isla Carmen where we made afternoon landfall.
On approach to our anchorage at Puerto Ballandra, the Sea Lion cruised through long swirling streaks of red water -- a red tide of sorts -- reinforcing the Gulf of California’s reputation as the ‘Vermillion Sea’. Peering into the reddened water, neither pelagic red crabs nor pinkish krill, both possible suspects, were spied; our best guess was a red dinoflagellate bloom not of the toxic variety.
In the protected bay we paddled kayaks, swam or explored the underwater world with mask and snorkel, before embarking on guided desert hikes. A flock of seasonally- flightless eared grebes rafted up just off our anchored ship, adding to an impressive bird list for the day, including red-billed tropicbirds, blue-footed boobies and ladder-backed woodpeckers.
A spectrumized sunset book ended the beginning of our day -- a memorable and colorful excursion in the Sea of Cortez -- of blackfish, blue whales and red tides.
A pod of pilot whales silhouetted through a silky Sea of Cortez surface in this morning’s scintillating sunrise. These large black members of the dolphin tribe have a characteristic chunky dorsal fin and pronounced globular head. Like their fellow ‘blackfish’ kin the killer whale, the species exhibits long-term stable family groups and a degree of aggressiveness. All three of the large males in the group we encountered had open wounds and kinked tailstocks, a possible result of genetic disposition or an aggressive tilt.
The beautiful wakeup call to short-finned pilot whales (and common dolphins nearby) was one-upped after breakfast by our discovery of a blue whale. This long large leviathan would systematically disappear for twelve minutes, but not before rolling the full length of its enormous body and lifting its triangular tail each time. We also came upon a seven-minute non-fluking blue, these animals making apparent clockwork foraging dives. All told we spied half a dozen blue and fin whales in the area south of Isla Carmen where we made afternoon landfall.
On approach to our anchorage at Puerto Ballandra, the Sea Lion cruised through long swirling streaks of red water -- a red tide of sorts -- reinforcing the Gulf of California’s reputation as the ‘Vermillion Sea’. Peering into the reddened water, neither pelagic red crabs nor pinkish krill, both possible suspects, were spied; our best guess was a red dinoflagellate bloom not of the toxic variety.
In the protected bay we paddled kayaks, swam or explored the underwater world with mask and snorkel, before embarking on guided desert hikes. A flock of seasonally- flightless eared grebes rafted up just off our anchored ship, adding to an impressive bird list for the day, including red-billed tropicbirds, blue-footed boobies and ladder-backed woodpeckers.
A spectrumized sunset book ended the beginning of our day -- a memorable and colorful excursion in the Sea of Cortez -- of blackfish, blue whales and red tides.
