Cabo San Lucas
What an incredible day we all had… and what diversity! Our wake-up call came at 7:00am as we approached Friar’s Rocks, the southernmost point on the Baja California peninsula. The early light shone golden on the stark, granite headland which used to hide pirates that preyed upon the Manila galleons that were headed to the old world laden with gold and other treasures. We were, however, not alone in this beautiful place as hordes of sport fishing boats exploded from the harbor at Cabo San Lucas and headed quickly past us out to sea to hunt exotic fish species like marlin, dorado (mahi-mahi) and tunas. Soon we were tied up alongside the dock in the inner harbor and ready to head out to our morning activities…either snorkeling or birding. Both groups had a great time before returning to Cabo for a brief visit to town. The birders tallied 39 species on their walk near San Jose del Cabo and the snorkelers enjoyed warm water, warm air, blue skies and a wide variety of tropical fish. Most of us agreed by noon that the morning had be fun and interesting and that it was time to head out to sea on our wonderful little ship and get out of the intensity of city life.
Only a short time after leaving Cabo we encountered our first humpback whales (actually we had seen two at a distance in the morning before reaching Friar’s Rocks, but they don’t count!). The rest of the afternoon was spent going from one group of whales to the next as we made our way east and north around the southern tip of Baja California. Breachers and tail slappers were the order of the day. As we motored along we would see a huge splash in the distance, go over to it and invariably find a small group of whales in classic ‘competitive groups’. These groups form and dissolve and involve a number of male humpbacks vying for the right to mate with a female. The battles for dominance among the males often involve chases and flipper and tail slaps and can become bloody. It is also during this courting time that the haunting songs of the humpback can be heard; so we put a hydrophone into the water to listen in on their underwater lives, but no one was singing today. The sea was clear and calm as the day neared its end and the sunset blanketed the water with a glorious palate of reds, oranges and purples and we watched the final humpback whale show of the day. It was amazing to see and feel the contrasts of the frenetic life in vacationland Cabo and the peace of the sea and the humpback whales. All of us will sleep well this night and may dream leaping whale dreams and warm, clear water dreams. And so ends the fifth day of our journey.
What an incredible day we all had… and what diversity! Our wake-up call came at 7:00am as we approached Friar’s Rocks, the southernmost point on the Baja California peninsula. The early light shone golden on the stark, granite headland which used to hide pirates that preyed upon the Manila galleons that were headed to the old world laden with gold and other treasures. We were, however, not alone in this beautiful place as hordes of sport fishing boats exploded from the harbor at Cabo San Lucas and headed quickly past us out to sea to hunt exotic fish species like marlin, dorado (mahi-mahi) and tunas. Soon we were tied up alongside the dock in the inner harbor and ready to head out to our morning activities…either snorkeling or birding. Both groups had a great time before returning to Cabo for a brief visit to town. The birders tallied 39 species on their walk near San Jose del Cabo and the snorkelers enjoyed warm water, warm air, blue skies and a wide variety of tropical fish. Most of us agreed by noon that the morning had be fun and interesting and that it was time to head out to sea on our wonderful little ship and get out of the intensity of city life.
Only a short time after leaving Cabo we encountered our first humpback whales (actually we had seen two at a distance in the morning before reaching Friar’s Rocks, but they don’t count!). The rest of the afternoon was spent going from one group of whales to the next as we made our way east and north around the southern tip of Baja California. Breachers and tail slappers were the order of the day. As we motored along we would see a huge splash in the distance, go over to it and invariably find a small group of whales in classic ‘competitive groups’. These groups form and dissolve and involve a number of male humpbacks vying for the right to mate with a female. The battles for dominance among the males often involve chases and flipper and tail slaps and can become bloody. It is also during this courting time that the haunting songs of the humpback can be heard; so we put a hydrophone into the water to listen in on their underwater lives, but no one was singing today. The sea was clear and calm as the day neared its end and the sunset blanketed the water with a glorious palate of reds, oranges and purples and we watched the final humpback whale show of the day. It was amazing to see and feel the contrasts of the frenetic life in vacationland Cabo and the peace of the sea and the humpback whales. All of us will sleep well this night and may dream leaping whale dreams and warm, clear water dreams. And so ends the fifth day of our journey.
