Bahia Bonanza and Los Islotes
During the night, we traveled to our destination of Bahia Bonanza located on the southwest end of Espiritu Santo. After a snorkel and dive briefing, we gathered ourselves and gear and headed ashore to the expansive white sandy beach to explore. Walks led by naturalists allowed us to sample the desert wilderness of this island. Even though we had a constant wind blowing across the bay and the sky was slightly overcast, before long it was time to cool off. An easy beach entry allowed us the opportunity to float effortlessly while peering down upon schools of yellow-striped goatfish and spiny balloon fish. Several panamic cushion sea stars littered the bottom. Inquisitive spotted puffer fish fluttered out to greet us with their feeble pectoral fins.
After lunch, the sky cleared and the water reflected its translucent blueness into its depth as we slowly motored to Los Islotes. A shout went out from the bow, and we found a group of bottlenose dolphins that visited briefly and then disappeared as quickly as they had come.
Once the Zodiacs were down and into the water, we boarded them for the snorkel opportunity of a lifetime - a romp with California sea lions. The peak of the birthing season is about mid-June, and most of the mature females had recently given birth. Dark furry babies seemed to mimic the postures of the adults; one with its tiny head flung back and pointed at the sky. Many yearlings and younger pups became quite curious about us bi-finnians and plunged into the water to investigate. It was quite a thrill to the kids in our group, young and old, to participate in an unusual water ballet performed by clumsy human and graceful marine mammal. Once dried off, we climbed into Zodiacs to cruise around the island for one last look at our new friends.
Back in the lounge on the Sea Voyager, our Undersea Specialist shared his underwater footage with us. He revealed some of the secrets of the deep and showed us the flower urchin, which gather debris of almost any form and attach it to their spiny external shell. The rather large finescale triggerfish were in the process of building nests on the bottom by blowing jets of water from their mouths on the sandy floor to create a hollowed depression for their eggs. Several displayed color changes from dark gray to an almost creamy white as they communicated some unknown message to each other. And so we ended our first day in the Gulf of California as we headed down to supper, our minds full of strange colors, sights and sounds
During the night, we traveled to our destination of Bahia Bonanza located on the southwest end of Espiritu Santo. After a snorkel and dive briefing, we gathered ourselves and gear and headed ashore to the expansive white sandy beach to explore. Walks led by naturalists allowed us to sample the desert wilderness of this island. Even though we had a constant wind blowing across the bay and the sky was slightly overcast, before long it was time to cool off. An easy beach entry allowed us the opportunity to float effortlessly while peering down upon schools of yellow-striped goatfish and spiny balloon fish. Several panamic cushion sea stars littered the bottom. Inquisitive spotted puffer fish fluttered out to greet us with their feeble pectoral fins.
After lunch, the sky cleared and the water reflected its translucent blueness into its depth as we slowly motored to Los Islotes. A shout went out from the bow, and we found a group of bottlenose dolphins that visited briefly and then disappeared as quickly as they had come.
Once the Zodiacs were down and into the water, we boarded them for the snorkel opportunity of a lifetime - a romp with California sea lions. The peak of the birthing season is about mid-June, and most of the mature females had recently given birth. Dark furry babies seemed to mimic the postures of the adults; one with its tiny head flung back and pointed at the sky. Many yearlings and younger pups became quite curious about us bi-finnians and plunged into the water to investigate. It was quite a thrill to the kids in our group, young and old, to participate in an unusual water ballet performed by clumsy human and graceful marine mammal. Once dried off, we climbed into Zodiacs to cruise around the island for one last look at our new friends.
Back in the lounge on the Sea Voyager, our Undersea Specialist shared his underwater footage with us. He revealed some of the secrets of the deep and showed us the flower urchin, which gather debris of almost any form and attach it to their spiny external shell. The rather large finescale triggerfish were in the process of building nests on the bottom by blowing jets of water from their mouths on the sandy floor to create a hollowed depression for their eggs. Several displayed color changes from dark gray to an almost creamy white as they communicated some unknown message to each other. And so we ended our first day in the Gulf of California as we headed down to supper, our minds full of strange colors, sights and sounds
