The Gulf of California
A day that begins with blue whales is a fine day, indeed! We were gathered on the bow of the Sea Lion, watching the eastern sky turning bright orange over the Gulf of California, announcing the arrival of the sun. We saw a tall, columnar spout silhouetted against Isla Carmen. We approached and saw the spout followed by a back, a long, blue-gray back, and then, finally, the definitive identifying characteristic of a blue whale, a tiny little dorsal fin. We were in the presence of the largest animal alive, the largest animal known ever to have existed, larger than the largest known dinosaurs, its weight approaching 200 tons. We stayed with this and two other blue whales for superb views as they repeatedly made shallow dives to harvest the resources, especially krill, of the Gulf of California. What a superb beginning to our trip!
We continue onward. Off in the distance, a disturbance in the water signaled the presence of another marine mammal, this one notable not for its individual size but its collective abundance: we had encountered a pod of several hundred common dolphins. These highly social animals were moving in a coordinated way, rising to leap from the water and grab a quick breath as a group. Tiny young were swimming and leaping close by the sides of their mothers. Of necessity, they must be able to keep up with the group from birth, so they must be among the most precocious of mammals.
And then we reached Isla Santa Catalina for our first opportunity to snorkel in the (hmmm, what adjective do I choose…brisk? refreshing?) water of the Gulf of California, and to walk up a desert arroyo. Huge cardon cactus and giant Catalina barrel cactus lined the arroyo and adjacent slopes. The cardon is the largest of all cacti, and it pretty much reaches its maximum size on this island. This has been a very dry year thus far, and most desert plants are in survival mode. The cardon, however, was entering its flowering season. Buds were arrayed along the pleats of the cactus, and some of them had opened to reveal the large, showy white flowers. They open at night and are pollinated by bats.
A day that begins with blue whales is a fine day, indeed! We were gathered on the bow of the Sea Lion, watching the eastern sky turning bright orange over the Gulf of California, announcing the arrival of the sun. We saw a tall, columnar spout silhouetted against Isla Carmen. We approached and saw the spout followed by a back, a long, blue-gray back, and then, finally, the definitive identifying characteristic of a blue whale, a tiny little dorsal fin. We were in the presence of the largest animal alive, the largest animal known ever to have existed, larger than the largest known dinosaurs, its weight approaching 200 tons. We stayed with this and two other blue whales for superb views as they repeatedly made shallow dives to harvest the resources, especially krill, of the Gulf of California. What a superb beginning to our trip!
We continue onward. Off in the distance, a disturbance in the water signaled the presence of another marine mammal, this one notable not for its individual size but its collective abundance: we had encountered a pod of several hundred common dolphins. These highly social animals were moving in a coordinated way, rising to leap from the water and grab a quick breath as a group. Tiny young were swimming and leaping close by the sides of their mothers. Of necessity, they must be able to keep up with the group from birth, so they must be among the most precocious of mammals.
And then we reached Isla Santa Catalina for our first opportunity to snorkel in the (hmmm, what adjective do I choose…brisk? refreshing?) water of the Gulf of California, and to walk up a desert arroyo. Huge cardon cactus and giant Catalina barrel cactus lined the arroyo and adjacent slopes. The cardon is the largest of all cacti, and it pretty much reaches its maximum size on this island. This has been a very dry year thus far, and most desert plants are in survival mode. The cardon, however, was entering its flowering season. Buds were arrayed along the pleats of the cactus, and some of them had opened to reveal the large, showy white flowers. They open at night and are pollinated by bats.
