Los Islotes and Isla Espiritu Santo, Gulf of California, Mexico
After being thoroughly prepped the night before by our Expedition Leader, we entered the somewhat choppy waters off the islets of Los Islotes. A healthy population of California sea lions, comprised of mostly females and their offspring were busy with the morning rituals of colony life.
Even before entering the water, these curious and playful animals were leaping and frolicking around our Zodiac as if to entice us into the water. Ten to twenty animals immediately encircled us, performing an under water ballet that few witness. We were mesmerized by how swiftly they could move, their agility and gracefulness and their gentleness. A small group had found a piece of rope, and were soon joined by others, as they invented different ways to entertain themselves with it. Given their enthusiasm, I don’t believe they would have lost interest in this new “toy.” But one of our guests had the opportunity to retrieve it and bring it to our Zodiac, thereby ending that “game.” Sea lions, because of their curious nature, can become easily entangled in fishing line, nets and sadly, by plastic packing material that humans carelessly discard into the water. Often, the plastic finds its way onto their necks and looks like a collar but this collar soon can become a “collar of death” as the animal continues to grow and expand, the collar does not. It wasn’t easy leaving our playful new friends but we needed to migrate south as we continued on our voyage.
Back at the ship, Katherine Holmes of the American Museum of Natural History talked of ecosystems, trade winds and geological changes and helped us to understand how they are connected.
By afternoon, we were sinking our toes into the warm sandy beach of Bahia Bonanza. We stretched our legs with hikes up into an arroyo, searched for critters among the rocks at the transitional zone along the water’s edge or simply found joy playing tag with the tumbling waves.The galley then treated us to tasty appetizers at recap but then went all out with a mouth watering presentation of succulent barbeque ribs, seared Mahi-Mahi and tangy coleslaw, a perfect end to this day.
After being thoroughly prepped the night before by our Expedition Leader, we entered the somewhat choppy waters off the islets of Los Islotes. A healthy population of California sea lions, comprised of mostly females and their offspring were busy with the morning rituals of colony life.
Even before entering the water, these curious and playful animals were leaping and frolicking around our Zodiac as if to entice us into the water. Ten to twenty animals immediately encircled us, performing an under water ballet that few witness. We were mesmerized by how swiftly they could move, their agility and gracefulness and their gentleness. A small group had found a piece of rope, and were soon joined by others, as they invented different ways to entertain themselves with it. Given their enthusiasm, I don’t believe they would have lost interest in this new “toy.” But one of our guests had the opportunity to retrieve it and bring it to our Zodiac, thereby ending that “game.” Sea lions, because of their curious nature, can become easily entangled in fishing line, nets and sadly, by plastic packing material that humans carelessly discard into the water. Often, the plastic finds its way onto their necks and looks like a collar but this collar soon can become a “collar of death” as the animal continues to grow and expand, the collar does not. It wasn’t easy leaving our playful new friends but we needed to migrate south as we continued on our voyage.
Back at the ship, Katherine Holmes of the American Museum of Natural History talked of ecosystems, trade winds and geological changes and helped us to understand how they are connected.
By afternoon, we were sinking our toes into the warm sandy beach of Bahia Bonanza. We stretched our legs with hikes up into an arroyo, searched for critters among the rocks at the transitional zone along the water’s edge or simply found joy playing tag with the tumbling waves.The galley then treated us to tasty appetizers at recap but then went all out with a mouth watering presentation of succulent barbeque ribs, seared Mahi-Mahi and tangy coleslaw, a perfect end to this day.
