Our day started in a stunning way, with a couple of humpback whales throwing their tails up in the air and making big splashes, just in front of the gorgeous cliffs of El Mechudo range painted in pink tones by the first rays of the sun. We awakened to the new day at the south end of the San Jose channel, off the eastern side of the peninsula, and such an auspicious sighting was just the beginning of a great day. Shortly after leaving the humpbacks, we spotted something strange going on along the western side of San Jose Island; big splashes could be seen right on shore, just like when the surf crashes against the coast. However, there was no wind and the sea was completely flat. As we got closer and shapes began to be more clearly seen, we couldn’t be more surprised: a big group of sperm whales were enjoying themselves just a few yards from the beach! At least 27 individuals of all sized, including one big male, were logging at the surface and some of were lifting their flukes and tail stocks real high in the air and making the big splashes that we saw from far away.
Sperm whales are not uncommon in the Sea of Cortez, but they are normally found over deep waters, typically far offshore. Finding this group so close to the beach was a big surprise and a delight that made many of us to skip breakfast! The sperm whale is the king of all divers, capable of reaching depths way in excess of 3,000 feet and possibly down to 10,000 feet, and this group was over 190 feet of water when we reached them, although they were in an even shallower place when we first discovered them. Anyhow, we followed them for a couple of hours as they swam back offshore and got excellent views of their wrinkled skins and single left-sided blowholes; several individuals breached a few times and showed most of their robust bodies out of the water!
The National Geographic Sea Bird eventually made her way towards Kelley’ beach on San Jose Island. There we had the chance to go kayaking and hiking and finish a truly wonderful day with a delicious dinner ashore.
