A glorious calm and clear blue sea called us to cruise into some of the wonderfully productive waters north of Isla San Jose this morning. Very soon, near the small island named San Diego, several blows appeared and after a bit of observation, we determined that we were viewing a cow and calf pair of humpback whales. The calf was quite young, perhaps only a month old and we enjoyed these beautiful cetaceans surfacing often and close together. This mother whale likely traveled from the chilly Pacific Northwest to the warm waters of Mexico to birth her offspring and nurse it for the next few months.
During the course of the morning, a half dozen sea turtles surfaced near the National Geographic Sea Bird. Certainly we see turtles here occasionally, but it is unusual to see so many as the Sea of Cortez is not a particularly important nesting area. A green turtle and perhaps a Pacific Ridley were among those seen from the bow this morning.
Interspersed with the whale and sea turtle sightings were pods of bottlenose and common dolphins feeding, bow riding, and leaping out of the sea! The clear turquoise water made viewing and photographing them especially interesting, and our deck lunch surrounded by acrobatic common dolphins was one we will long remember.
Snorkeling in a rock amphitheater, red-rock arroyo hikes, and late afternoon photo walks at the incomparable Punta Colorada made our afternoon ashore a spectacular one. The arroyo has been recently scoured by flash floods and those rains from tropical storms have tumbled granite rocks, swept away trees and shrubs, and left a legacy of wildflowers to decorate the canyon.
