Isla Santa Catalina, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Not bad for a first day! Yes, we saw a blue whale. A BLUE WHALE! So what else are we going to see this week after a whale this size… the most massive living being ever to grace the surface of this marvelous planet Earth? We calculated a 70-footer! And it really didn’t mind us following it (at a distance, of course).
We had started the day in the vicinity of the big island of El Carmen, near the port city of Loreto, coursing north and then south in search of whales, when we were lucky enough to spot this behemoth. After watching it for a while, we left it to its own business and kept on traveling southeast towards the granitic island of Santa Catalina. En route we met quite a few bottlenose dolphins, who were very interested in bow riding us for a while. But eventually we did make it to our afternoon destination island and anchored off Elephant Rock for an afternoon of snorkeling and hiking into the island. A good series of fish were seen, as well as urchins of different sizes and colors. On our hikes, we saw the formidable cardones or giant cacti of the Baja California Peninsula, as well as the giant barrel cacti, endemic to this island. Many birds were seen, as well as an infamous rattle-less rattlesnake, typical of this island. Emerald-tailed lizards were seen also.
Yes, quite a first day of the week! And we hope more to come!
Not bad for a first day! Yes, we saw a blue whale. A BLUE WHALE! So what else are we going to see this week after a whale this size… the most massive living being ever to grace the surface of this marvelous planet Earth? We calculated a 70-footer! And it really didn’t mind us following it (at a distance, of course).
We had started the day in the vicinity of the big island of El Carmen, near the port city of Loreto, coursing north and then south in search of whales, when we were lucky enough to spot this behemoth. After watching it for a while, we left it to its own business and kept on traveling southeast towards the granitic island of Santa Catalina. En route we met quite a few bottlenose dolphins, who were very interested in bow riding us for a while. But eventually we did make it to our afternoon destination island and anchored off Elephant Rock for an afternoon of snorkeling and hiking into the island. A good series of fish were seen, as well as urchins of different sizes and colors. On our hikes, we saw the formidable cardones or giant cacti of the Baja California Peninsula, as well as the giant barrel cacti, endemic to this island. Many birds were seen, as well as an infamous rattle-less rattlesnake, typical of this island. Emerald-tailed lizards were seen also.
Yes, quite a first day of the week! And we hope more to come!
