Isla Espiritu Santo and Los Islotes
We began our voyage with a morning landing on Espiritu Santo-the Holy Ghost island. Many of us set off to explore the island, learn about the vegetation and search for various critters. The goal for the morning was the nearly “mythical” black jackrabbit, endemic to only this island. After weaving through agaves, palo adans, and a few giant cardones, the shout of “rabbit” went out. We all gathered to view this beautiful creature, with huge ears and back legs, and marveled at the fact that the only place to see it in the world was this one island. What a start to this trip!
After lunch, while cruising north, we spotted a group of pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. We approached and had both species surfacing within a few feet of the bow. The pilot whales would slowly surface, the large males reaching nearly twenty feet. They feed mostly at night on squid, so were only resting near the surface. Meanwhile, the bottlenose dolphins were more enthusiastic. First, a few came to bow ride, basically surfing the wave in front of the ship. Then, three dolphins decided to show off, with synchronized leaps and flips. No amount of training could have taught them to do it any better, with one leaping at least twenty feet into the air.
The afternoon was spent at Los Islotes, a haul out for California sea lions. Many of us snorkeled with these playful pinnepeds, and were amazed at their grace underwater. They may appear clumsy on land, but in the water, they danced circles around us. We ended the day with a Zodiac cruise around the rocks. The air was filled with blue footed boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, and yellow footed gulls. But of course, the star of the show was again the sea lions. Calm seas allowed for close observation of these social creatures, with males defending territories, females piled on top of each other, and curious juveniles interested in the strange human visitors.
We began our voyage with a morning landing on Espiritu Santo-the Holy Ghost island. Many of us set off to explore the island, learn about the vegetation and search for various critters. The goal for the morning was the nearly “mythical” black jackrabbit, endemic to only this island. After weaving through agaves, palo adans, and a few giant cardones, the shout of “rabbit” went out. We all gathered to view this beautiful creature, with huge ears and back legs, and marveled at the fact that the only place to see it in the world was this one island. What a start to this trip!
After lunch, while cruising north, we spotted a group of pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. We approached and had both species surfacing within a few feet of the bow. The pilot whales would slowly surface, the large males reaching nearly twenty feet. They feed mostly at night on squid, so were only resting near the surface. Meanwhile, the bottlenose dolphins were more enthusiastic. First, a few came to bow ride, basically surfing the wave in front of the ship. Then, three dolphins decided to show off, with synchronized leaps and flips. No amount of training could have taught them to do it any better, with one leaping at least twenty feet into the air.
The afternoon was spent at Los Islotes, a haul out for California sea lions. Many of us snorkeled with these playful pinnepeds, and were amazed at their grace underwater. They may appear clumsy on land, but in the water, they danced circles around us. We ended the day with a Zodiac cruise around the rocks. The air was filled with blue footed boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, and yellow footed gulls. But of course, the star of the show was again the sea lions. Calm seas allowed for close observation of these social creatures, with males defending territories, females piled on top of each other, and curious juveniles interested in the strange human visitors.
