Los Islotes and Pilot Whales

What an extraordinary day. The wildlife in the Sea of Cortez has outdone itself once again. This morning we had the opportunity to view sea lions from above and below water level. Our Zodiac cruisers were greeted by barking, belching and sneezing sea lions. Then the snorkelers jumped into the watery realm these marine mammals call home. Our undersea specialist, Iliana Ortega, jumped in as well and filmed the sea lions and snorklers. She and a curious sea lion soon became the featured attraction, as shown in the top photo. While Iliana blew bubbles into the sea lions’ face she was tickled with whiskered kisses. We stayed in the water for nearly two hours, it seemed like only minutes.

After lunch we started our navigation towards Bahia Bonanza for the afternoon and an evening barbeque celebration dinner. Our second mate, Tina Davis, spotted a pod of pilot whales. Not just any pod, but a breaching, spy hopping, diving, people watching, cute babies pod. These small toothed whales kept us oohing and ahhing and running in circles around the deck as they slowly swam around the ship, and then stopped to apparently “people watch.” The babies had us utterly enchanted as they poked their bulbous heads above the water and we saw their little grinning baby faces. We smiled back. The second photo shows the smiling baby along with (we presume) its mother.

Bahia Bonanza presented a white-crescent sandy embrace for our afternoon and evening. We whiled away the afternoon beachcombing, swimming, snorkeling and strolling through the desert. Evening brought a cool respite and becalmed winds. All the trimmings for our barbeque were brought ashore from chairs to ribs to blondies and smores. We reflected on our week under a brilliant half moon.

This week has been full and seemingly too short for all of the magical sights and sounds we have experienced. Some of our younger guests have written their impressions of our trip and have offered to share them with you. Enjoy.

Diving
Over and over again
Long and slick
Part of the ocean
Have a peaceful swim
In the ocean
Nothing can go wrong

Nikky Sweet, age 10

Mammoths of Baja
Overseeing vast oceans
Under the sky and over the sea
Nothing can match the rocky cliffs
The home to many in its might
Animals all over climb its heights
Inside burrows life blooms
No one can match the mammoths power

Bryce Summerhays, Age 14

Look for adventure in the sun and sea
Interesting things are there to see
New sights to see and people to meet
Dining is something that can’t be missed
Boring is definitely something not on the list
Lucky are those who choose to go
Ardent in pursuit of nature and knowledge
Desert is a beautiful and fragile place

Alex Sweet, Age 14

Soft and silky
Eat everything in sight
Are intelligent animals
Lie among the ocean
Intelligent
Over the sea they jump
New babies coming in spring
Sea lions are fascinating animals

Nikky Sweet, Age 10

Intriguing
Sandy
Luscious
Abundant

Dazzling
Edible plants
Lizards

Chuckwallas
Amazing
Rattlesnakes
Meandering wash
Enormous cacti
Nasty thorns

Jake Schual-Berke, Age 14