San Ignacio Lagoon and Pacific Ocean
Gray on gray. Calm air over calm seas. Those are the combinations that greeted us this morning. The robust winds of the previous evening had subsided. Soft clouds released only a hint of blue. The silty waters of San Ignacio Lagoon echoed the gray clouds as we rode our Zodiacs with ease across the bar and into this calm and expansive body of water. It was “filled” with gray whales.
These beautiful mammals will soon be gone. As seasons change and as young calves grow stronger, a call of the north will draw them. New mothers will lead their youngsters on a long journey. Hugging the coast line, they will move slowly, hoping to avoid killer whales and sharks, eventually reaching the cold waters of the Bering Sea and Russia’s Chukchi Sea. There they will find the rich bottom sediments - mud that is laden with millions of amphipods and other small benthic organisms. The calves will continue to nurse for a 6 to 8 more months, eventually learning from their mother just how to scoop up the rich sediments, and how to filter out the nutritious little animals that are so essential for growth and for creating a fatty layer of insulation.
Fortunately, our whales were still here in Baja California, and they were wanting to be the centre of attention. Our small boats seemed like a magnet to them. They loafed under us, bumping our boats, lifting their rostrums, mouths and flukes, and almost begging to be seen and touched. Amazing! It is hard to comprehend just how these wild creatures can now show no fear of small boats. It was their ancestors who, even as recently as 60 years ago, were hunted almost to the brink of extinction. Now they approach us, seemingly enjoying the thrill of our company just as we enjoy theirs.
We left these strange, almost prehistoric creatures. The prevailing northwest winds of the Pacific had established a gentle southward swell. We rode silently, hardly feeling motion. The bow was the place to be, all eyes alert for movement. Common dolphins rode our bow wave. A whale appeared – a blue whale! Expert maneuvering by the Second Mate took us close to this apex of the cetacean world. Its blue-gray mass glowed aquamarine under the surface just before it exploded up, sending a tall column of atomized water towering into the air. Magnificent!
Birds were here as well. Twenty miles offshore and endlessly searching for food, shearwaters, phalaropes, gulls and murrelets glided by. We realized that the rich waters of the California Current can host almost any marine species.
Gray on gray. Calm air over calm seas. Those are the combinations that greeted us this morning. The robust winds of the previous evening had subsided. Soft clouds released only a hint of blue. The silty waters of San Ignacio Lagoon echoed the gray clouds as we rode our Zodiacs with ease across the bar and into this calm and expansive body of water. It was “filled” with gray whales.
These beautiful mammals will soon be gone. As seasons change and as young calves grow stronger, a call of the north will draw them. New mothers will lead their youngsters on a long journey. Hugging the coast line, they will move slowly, hoping to avoid killer whales and sharks, eventually reaching the cold waters of the Bering Sea and Russia’s Chukchi Sea. There they will find the rich bottom sediments - mud that is laden with millions of amphipods and other small benthic organisms. The calves will continue to nurse for a 6 to 8 more months, eventually learning from their mother just how to scoop up the rich sediments, and how to filter out the nutritious little animals that are so essential for growth and for creating a fatty layer of insulation.
Fortunately, our whales were still here in Baja California, and they were wanting to be the centre of attention. Our small boats seemed like a magnet to them. They loafed under us, bumping our boats, lifting their rostrums, mouths and flukes, and almost begging to be seen and touched. Amazing! It is hard to comprehend just how these wild creatures can now show no fear of small boats. It was their ancestors who, even as recently as 60 years ago, were hunted almost to the brink of extinction. Now they approach us, seemingly enjoying the thrill of our company just as we enjoy theirs.
We left these strange, almost prehistoric creatures. The prevailing northwest winds of the Pacific had established a gentle southward swell. We rode silently, hardly feeling motion. The bow was the place to be, all eyes alert for movement. Common dolphins rode our bow wave. A whale appeared – a blue whale! Expert maneuvering by the Second Mate took us close to this apex of the cetacean world. Its blue-gray mass glowed aquamarine under the surface just before it exploded up, sending a tall column of atomized water towering into the air. Magnificent!
Birds were here as well. Twenty miles offshore and endlessly searching for food, shearwaters, phalaropes, gulls and murrelets glided by. We realized that the rich waters of the California Current can host almost any marine species.
