Boca de Soledad
Even before sunrise, the spouts of gray whales could be seen against the dark of the mangroves. Their soundless breaths formed light columns of vapor. After the clang of the anchor we slowly cruised the few short miles to Boca de Soledad. Flocks of cormorants and brown pelicans commuted out to their feeding grounds and a coyote traced the dunes.
At anchor at the southern edge of the wide bay, some of us headed for shore to hike the beaches while others headed out for whale watching. Mother/calf gray whale pairs dotted the blue water. Protected by the sandbars stretching across the Boca, the pairs nursed, bonded and exercised in the tides. With most of the males already gone on migration, these pairs had a relatively quiet habitat to ready for their migration north. Some of the whales took time out of their busy day to inspect us. Using an underwater video, we caught them in the middle of this interaction, eye and all.
As the day wound down, white pelicans formed snowy flocks at the bay’s edge and we returned to the Sea Lion with the sounds of guitars and voices, whale watchers prepared for a fiesta, complete with local cuisine and music.
Even before sunrise, the spouts of gray whales could be seen against the dark of the mangroves. Their soundless breaths formed light columns of vapor. After the clang of the anchor we slowly cruised the few short miles to Boca de Soledad. Flocks of cormorants and brown pelicans commuted out to their feeding grounds and a coyote traced the dunes.
At anchor at the southern edge of the wide bay, some of us headed for shore to hike the beaches while others headed out for whale watching. Mother/calf gray whale pairs dotted the blue water. Protected by the sandbars stretching across the Boca, the pairs nursed, bonded and exercised in the tides. With most of the males already gone on migration, these pairs had a relatively quiet habitat to ready for their migration north. Some of the whales took time out of their busy day to inspect us. Using an underwater video, we caught them in the middle of this interaction, eye and all.
As the day wound down, white pelicans formed snowy flocks at the bay’s edge and we returned to the Sea Lion with the sounds of guitars and voices, whale watchers prepared for a fiesta, complete with local cuisine and music.
