Bahía de La Paz and Los Islotes, Baja California
An early morning gamble paid off big time today, and the rest of the day just fell into place as easily as snorkelers fall into the ocean. We began in the southern reaches of the Bahía de La Paz (Bay of La Paz) with hopes of finding and viewing the largest fish in the ocean – the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Previous efforts were aided by radios and ultra-light flying craft to spot the animals from the air, but this morning we would be on our own to find them. Whale sharks grow to at least forty feet in length and some reports are of up to sixty feet. The individuals we expected to encounter, however, were juvenile animals in the range of a Zodiac length or so – approximately twenty feet. Their habits as we knew them would aid us, for they frequently swim slowly at the surface with their dorsal and/or tail fin protruding above waterline as they strain plankton from the seawater through their enormous mouths. Even when the entire animal is just below the water a slight surface disturbance often gives away their presence. But if the wind were to be blowing as well, such advantages would be lost.
Our pre-breakfast search efforts by Zodiac were rewarded with sightings of several animals, now if we could just keep track of them until the M.V. Sea Lion arrived with our guests. To help get everyone out on the water in as timely manner as possible, we hired launches from a local dive club in addition to our Zodiacs. As you can see from the photo, we were successful in introducing our guests to the whale sharks, and everyone was treated to fantastic views of these beautifully patterned creatures. Additionally, our video chronicler, Sara Poisson, situated on the bow sprit, obtained wonderful footage for our voyage’s video chronicle. After such a great beginning to the day, we had lunch on our way to Los Islotes for an afternoon of snorkeling with California Sea Lions and Zodiac tours of the rocky island where we viewed blue-footed boobies doing their courtship dance, a wandering tattler visiting from its Arctic nesting grounds, a stately great blue heron, the moon rise and of course, all size and ages of the inimitable sea lions as seen from above and below the surface.
An early morning gamble paid off big time today, and the rest of the day just fell into place as easily as snorkelers fall into the ocean. We began in the southern reaches of the Bahía de La Paz (Bay of La Paz) with hopes of finding and viewing the largest fish in the ocean – the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Previous efforts were aided by radios and ultra-light flying craft to spot the animals from the air, but this morning we would be on our own to find them. Whale sharks grow to at least forty feet in length and some reports are of up to sixty feet. The individuals we expected to encounter, however, were juvenile animals in the range of a Zodiac length or so – approximately twenty feet. Their habits as we knew them would aid us, for they frequently swim slowly at the surface with their dorsal and/or tail fin protruding above waterline as they strain plankton from the seawater through their enormous mouths. Even when the entire animal is just below the water a slight surface disturbance often gives away their presence. But if the wind were to be blowing as well, such advantages would be lost.
Our pre-breakfast search efforts by Zodiac were rewarded with sightings of several animals, now if we could just keep track of them until the M.V. Sea Lion arrived with our guests. To help get everyone out on the water in as timely manner as possible, we hired launches from a local dive club in addition to our Zodiacs. As you can see from the photo, we were successful in introducing our guests to the whale sharks, and everyone was treated to fantastic views of these beautifully patterned creatures. Additionally, our video chronicler, Sara Poisson, situated on the bow sprit, obtained wonderful footage for our voyage’s video chronicle. After such a great beginning to the day, we had lunch on our way to Los Islotes for an afternoon of snorkeling with California Sea Lions and Zodiac tours of the rocky island where we viewed blue-footed boobies doing their courtship dance, a wandering tattler visiting from its Arctic nesting grounds, a stately great blue heron, the moon rise and of course, all size and ages of the inimitable sea lions as seen from above and below the surface.
