At Sea and Isla Santa Catalina
It was our first morning aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird. The dawn sky of intense pink and pastel peach provided a stunning backdrop to Isla Santa Catalina and the calm sea that barely rippled with ribbons of golden light. Long-beaked common dolphins suddenly appeared, and next a distant whale! We watched the antics of the dolphins beside the ship before turning towards the whale. We waited. Perhaps instead of whale watching, it should be called whale waiting. Finally a spout erupted and a very long back broke the surface. It rose repeatedly and lingered, replenishing its air supply. We studied the tiny dorsal fin. As it arched for a deeper dive, the thick tail stalk and the flukes rose and then slowly slipped beneath the surface. It was a blue whale! These animals are the largest creatures on earth. A blue whale weighs between 120 and 200 tons, approximately the same amount as 30 elephants! We stayed with this individual until after breakfast when we continued on towards the afternoon destination of Isla Santa Catalina.
The ship’s anchor dropped beside Elephant Rock on the southern end of this isolated island within the Loreto Bay Marine Park. Shuttles transported snorkelers to an anchored Zodiac within a quiet cove shortly after lunch. Along the way, we spotted a peregrine falcon eating its lunch. We slithered out of the boats into the crystal clear water into an undersea world that was alive with a tremendous variety of reef fish. King angelfish were a favorite with their yellow-orange tails and velvety black bodies. Electric blue markings characterized the immature damselfish. In the deeper water we swam with schools of Pacific creolefish and yellow-tailed surgeonfish. Sea urchins, sea stars, and other marine invertebrates decorated the rocks. A number of people even saw a turtle!
Later in the afternoon we landed for a closer inspection of the island itself. Although it looked desolate from a distance, the landscape was totally different once ashore. Cardon cacti, similar to saguaros, towered over the bright green shrubs typical of the Sonoran Desert. A few of the endemic giant barrel cacti had mature fruits, a favorite of the hungry ravens. Vines draped over the cardons and everything else as a result of fairly recent rains. The low-angled sunlight cast striking shadows across the rocky hillsides as we strolled up a scenic arroyo, a dry canyon carved by infrequent flash floods. The red blossoms of the mistletoe in the photo were one of the attractions for the jewel-like hummingbirds that zipped from one flower to another. At sunset all were back on the ship. Darkness settled in around us, and just before dinner, there was a chance to see Jupiter and Venus with the crescent moon hanging above the peaceful waters of the Gulf of California.
It was our first morning aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird. The dawn sky of intense pink and pastel peach provided a stunning backdrop to Isla Santa Catalina and the calm sea that barely rippled with ribbons of golden light. Long-beaked common dolphins suddenly appeared, and next a distant whale! We watched the antics of the dolphins beside the ship before turning towards the whale. We waited. Perhaps instead of whale watching, it should be called whale waiting. Finally a spout erupted and a very long back broke the surface. It rose repeatedly and lingered, replenishing its air supply. We studied the tiny dorsal fin. As it arched for a deeper dive, the thick tail stalk and the flukes rose and then slowly slipped beneath the surface. It was a blue whale! These animals are the largest creatures on earth. A blue whale weighs between 120 and 200 tons, approximately the same amount as 30 elephants! We stayed with this individual until after breakfast when we continued on towards the afternoon destination of Isla Santa Catalina.
The ship’s anchor dropped beside Elephant Rock on the southern end of this isolated island within the Loreto Bay Marine Park. Shuttles transported snorkelers to an anchored Zodiac within a quiet cove shortly after lunch. Along the way, we spotted a peregrine falcon eating its lunch. We slithered out of the boats into the crystal clear water into an undersea world that was alive with a tremendous variety of reef fish. King angelfish were a favorite with their yellow-orange tails and velvety black bodies. Electric blue markings characterized the immature damselfish. In the deeper water we swam with schools of Pacific creolefish and yellow-tailed surgeonfish. Sea urchins, sea stars, and other marine invertebrates decorated the rocks. A number of people even saw a turtle!
Later in the afternoon we landed for a closer inspection of the island itself. Although it looked desolate from a distance, the landscape was totally different once ashore. Cardon cacti, similar to saguaros, towered over the bright green shrubs typical of the Sonoran Desert. A few of the endemic giant barrel cacti had mature fruits, a favorite of the hungry ravens. Vines draped over the cardons and everything else as a result of fairly recent rains. The low-angled sunlight cast striking shadows across the rocky hillsides as we strolled up a scenic arroyo, a dry canyon carved by infrequent flash floods. The red blossoms of the mistletoe in the photo were one of the attractions for the jewel-like hummingbirds that zipped from one flower to another. At sunset all were back on the ship. Darkness settled in around us, and just before dinner, there was a chance to see Jupiter and Venus with the crescent moon hanging above the peaceful waters of the Gulf of California.
