San Marcos Island and offshore waters
It wasn’t long after sunrise when the first sperm whales were spotted, way before breakfast. The Sea Voyager sailed the deep offshore waters south of San Marcos Island, and for moments, the number of sperm whales around her increased by the minute. Their characteristic short, tilted blows were seen both close and far, numbering thirty or more individuals. As usual, many bottlenose dolphins were swimming around the whales in a perplexing inter-species relationship that we could only wonder about. For a long time we stayed close to the whales and were able to observe a number of interesting behaviors, including head-launching, breaching and fluking. Many striped marlin, Pacific sailfish, flying fish and dorado were also observed either above or below the surface.
Early in the afternoon, we dropped the anchor on the north side of San Marcos Island. Its dry, barren appearance has a beauty itself and the numerous gravel beaches and caves deserved a closer inspection. And that is exactly what we did, as we went kayaking the coastline, admiring the gorgeous rock formations and the occasional osprey. Snorkelers were able to see a number of reef fishes, including king angelfishes, leopard groupers and ballonfishes. By late afternoon, a small party of brave explores hiked up one of the canyons and were rewarded by some memorable experiences, including a rare luxury these days, solitude and silence. Tomorrow we will experience many more exciting adventures, but now, as the sun makes its way behind the peninsula to the west, we feel the satisfaction of having had a wonderful day.
It wasn’t long after sunrise when the first sperm whales were spotted, way before breakfast. The Sea Voyager sailed the deep offshore waters south of San Marcos Island, and for moments, the number of sperm whales around her increased by the minute. Their characteristic short, tilted blows were seen both close and far, numbering thirty or more individuals. As usual, many bottlenose dolphins were swimming around the whales in a perplexing inter-species relationship that we could only wonder about. For a long time we stayed close to the whales and were able to observe a number of interesting behaviors, including head-launching, breaching and fluking. Many striped marlin, Pacific sailfish, flying fish and dorado were also observed either above or below the surface.
Early in the afternoon, we dropped the anchor on the north side of San Marcos Island. Its dry, barren appearance has a beauty itself and the numerous gravel beaches and caves deserved a closer inspection. And that is exactly what we did, as we went kayaking the coastline, admiring the gorgeous rock formations and the occasional osprey. Snorkelers were able to see a number of reef fishes, including king angelfishes, leopard groupers and ballonfishes. By late afternoon, a small party of brave explores hiked up one of the canyons and were rewarded by some memorable experiences, including a rare luxury these days, solitude and silence. Tomorrow we will experience many more exciting adventures, but now, as the sun makes its way behind the peninsula to the west, we feel the satisfaction of having had a wonderful day.
