There is only one word that can sum up today: WOW! As the Undersea Specialist, I had thought the most notable sights of the day would come from our wonderful snorkel at Chileanos Beach, but I was wrong. The humpbacks stole the day, providing the most up-close and amazing show anyone could imagine, even in their wildest dreams. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Just before sunrise, gray whales frolicked around the boat and Friar's rocks came into view. Gorgeous shadows played around the crevices. Deftly maneuvering the Sea Lion, the captain brought the ship in between the rocks of Land's End to provide us with close looks at edifice and the birds resting there. Juvenile brown pelicans perched on low ledges, magnificent frigatebirds soared above and a peregrine falcon wheeled around the heights. Rounding the rocks, we marveled at the Arch before we docked in Cabo San Lucas. Some guests left the boat to go shopping directly while others opted to first board a bus for either snorkeling or birding. Both parties had a great time. The birders saw numerous hummingbirds, doves and a hooded oriole (as well as the rarely seen turkey vulture). The snorkelers paddled around watching schools of yellowtail surgeonfish, convict tangs and scissortail damselfish. Some guests chased after bicolor parrotfish and wounded wrasses. Returning to the ship for a quick change of clothes, we were off again, this time to explore the town and its many shops. As we ate lunch, the ship headed out to the Sea of Cortez and we soon saw the blows of humpbacks rising over the calm waters. After brief glimpses of these deep divers, we headed for Gorda Banks in search of more cooperative individuals. A mobula ray broke the surface as we pulled away.
As we headed in the direction of Gorda Banks, we settled in to hear a lecture on marine invertebrate diversity and feeding strategies. However, halfway through the lecture the call came: humpbacks had been spotted just off the bow. The lecture was put on hold as everyone rushed to the bow. We immediately had good views of three spouting humpbacks. The three soon increased to four, and adrenaline levels rose as the four congregated in the same area. It was hard to believe that the spouts were not a choreographed fountain show. So many followed one after the other. However, a single humpback in the far distance breached multiple times, as if vying for our attention. Eagerly we complied and carefully steamed in that direction.
As we approached the breaching individual, another humpback was spotted off the port side. Wait, was that a new one off the starboard side? And others following it? The whale in front of us lifted its beautiful white, scalloped pectoral fins and waved them in the air, as if welcoming us into the humpback party. And what a party it was! Two whales close to the ship appeared to be playing tag, chasing each other round and round, oblivious to our presence. Other whales slapped their flippers or flukes on the water's surface. Folklore says that humpback whales breach more often when it is windy, and what we saw today supports that claim. As the wind picked up a bit, the humpbacks became noticeably more active. Whales were on all sides. There were spouts everywhere we looked. It was as if we were back in the gray whale calving area, except that these were humpbacks rather than gray whales and all of these animals were adults. Suddenly one whale breached, and another, and another! These were not the normal breaches one usually sees, way out on the horizon with the resultant splash the only thing you can see very well. These breaches were so close that we could see the tubercles, or bumps, on the rostrum, or nose, of the breaching whale. Just as Larry was explaining on the loudspeaker that these tubercles are highly sensitive, enervated areas, the shot of the day occurred. Right behind Larry's head a huge humpback breached so close to the ship that many of the guests got wet and all of us took a slight step back as we thought for a minute that the whale might land in the boat. The image of such a large, powerful animal, suspended in air above the water was one of the most emotionally stirring sights I have ever seen. Power, grace, and beauty meshed into one fluid movement.
But the show was hardly over. On the port side, another behemoth lifted its fluke and slapped the water repeatedly. Eight fluke slaps and then a brief rest before she pounded the waves four more times and then submerged. Bottlenose dolphins joined the fray, bowriding on the wake of the humpbacks. In comparison with the size of the humpbacks, even the largest of the dolphin species looked small. The dolphins also put on a show, jumping fully out of the water, twisting on their sides and flopping back onto the waves. We were breathless and hoarse from cheering and excited exclamations when the sun finally set and the whales began to slowly disappear. The magical time we were allowed to spend with these magnificent creatures and the rare intimate look into their behaviors and social interactions we were privileged enough to experience today is something that will remain in our hearts forever.
