Isla San Francisco & Isla San Jose, Gulf of California
This, the penultimate day of our voyage, was a true expedition day in the Gulf of California. One of the joys of sailing aboard an expedition vessel such as the Sea Lion is that it is never possible to predict the exciting events that each day will bring.
Brisk winds from the west this morning caused us to postpone our planned visit to Los Islotes, a California Sea Lion haul-out and continue north to the shelter of Isla San Francisco. Landing in our protected cove with waves lapping gently on the shore, hikers set out in various directions across the island. Some chose an energetic scramble to the ridge for a breathtaking view, others opting for a more sedate walk across the salt-flats of the islands isthmus. Back at the beach after our walks, the falling tide revealed numerous rock pools, the inhabitants of which were discovered in the company of our undersea specialist. Just off the beach, the rocky reef beyond the sand provided an ideal place to snorkel the calm waters before returning to the ship.
Back on board, we continued north, eating fajitas as we cruised along the coast of Isla San Jose towards our afternoon landing spot of Punta Colorada, but once again plans changed to make the most of the moment. Whale spouts were spotted on the horizon, and on the bridge, the wheel spun to point the nimble Sea Lion in their direction. The PA call “whales ahead” went out across the ship, and we repeated our well-practiced drill of grabbing cameras and binoculars and gathering on the bow. Drawing closer to the huge blows and seemingly endless body, we could see that we were among the greatest of all whales, the mighty Blue. It was incredible to think that we were watching the largest animals ever to live on earth, which can grow to almost the size of a Boeing 737 at over 100 feet long, and weigh well over 100 tons. Hunted nearly to extinction, the world population of Blue Whales is today estimated to be only a few thousand, and we had several going about their business of feeding just ahead of our ship, without being bothered by our presence in the slightest. We spent over an hour watching this group, learning to identify the field characteristics as they repeatedly dived and then surfaced around the ship. The tall blow, rapidly left behind as these whales move quickly, the long roll of the back, the tiny dorsal fin out of proportion to the huge body, and then the shallow fluke of the tail as the whale dives.
We tore ourselves away from this remarkable show in time to make a late afternoon landing at Punta Colorada, hiking inland into the desert and kayaking along the sculpted red sandstone cliffs of the shoreline in the golden evening light. We stayed ashore as the sun set, enjoying a delicious barbeque dinner around a beach bonfire. At dinner, the question was asked “where are we?” This was not as silly a question as it might sound, for this was an island we had not intended to visit today, with only the strong winds of the morning causing us to seek shelter on its eastern coast. And without this change of plan, we would not have encountered the Blue Whales. The answer, “we are in Baja” was almost enough, as there are few places in the world that days such as this can happen.
This, the penultimate day of our voyage, was a true expedition day in the Gulf of California. One of the joys of sailing aboard an expedition vessel such as the Sea Lion is that it is never possible to predict the exciting events that each day will bring.
Brisk winds from the west this morning caused us to postpone our planned visit to Los Islotes, a California Sea Lion haul-out and continue north to the shelter of Isla San Francisco. Landing in our protected cove with waves lapping gently on the shore, hikers set out in various directions across the island. Some chose an energetic scramble to the ridge for a breathtaking view, others opting for a more sedate walk across the salt-flats of the islands isthmus. Back at the beach after our walks, the falling tide revealed numerous rock pools, the inhabitants of which were discovered in the company of our undersea specialist. Just off the beach, the rocky reef beyond the sand provided an ideal place to snorkel the calm waters before returning to the ship.
Back on board, we continued north, eating fajitas as we cruised along the coast of Isla San Jose towards our afternoon landing spot of Punta Colorada, but once again plans changed to make the most of the moment. Whale spouts were spotted on the horizon, and on the bridge, the wheel spun to point the nimble Sea Lion in their direction. The PA call “whales ahead” went out across the ship, and we repeated our well-practiced drill of grabbing cameras and binoculars and gathering on the bow. Drawing closer to the huge blows and seemingly endless body, we could see that we were among the greatest of all whales, the mighty Blue. It was incredible to think that we were watching the largest animals ever to live on earth, which can grow to almost the size of a Boeing 737 at over 100 feet long, and weigh well over 100 tons. Hunted nearly to extinction, the world population of Blue Whales is today estimated to be only a few thousand, and we had several going about their business of feeding just ahead of our ship, without being bothered by our presence in the slightest. We spent over an hour watching this group, learning to identify the field characteristics as they repeatedly dived and then surfaced around the ship. The tall blow, rapidly left behind as these whales move quickly, the long roll of the back, the tiny dorsal fin out of proportion to the huge body, and then the shallow fluke of the tail as the whale dives.
We tore ourselves away from this remarkable show in time to make a late afternoon landing at Punta Colorada, hiking inland into the desert and kayaking along the sculpted red sandstone cliffs of the shoreline in the golden evening light. We stayed ashore as the sun set, enjoying a delicious barbeque dinner around a beach bonfire. At dinner, the question was asked “where are we?” This was not as silly a question as it might sound, for this was an island we had not intended to visit today, with only the strong winds of the morning causing us to seek shelter on its eastern coast. And without this change of plan, we would not have encountered the Blue Whales. The answer, “we are in Baja” was almost enough, as there are few places in the world that days such as this can happen.
