San Pedro Martir and the Canal de Salsipuedes
Wow! What a day. This one certainly ranks up there with the best.
We started the day at San Pedro Martir, a major seabird nesting colony. Many of us kayaked around the entire island, a two and a half hour trip, with constant views of boobies, pelicans, and tropicbirds. Others opted for a shorter paddle or for a Zodiac tour, and happily explored the many sea lion colonies. Not a second went by where we did not hear or see a bird or sea lion, a very overwhelming place for sure.
As we left the island, we soon spotted a large group of sperm whales. We approached and were instantly rewarded with amazing views of three curious youngsters that circled the ship lifting their heads out of the water. We stayed with the whales for hours and had repeated fantastic views of many different whales, including a large male reaching nearly sixty feet in length. The whales were spending long periods of time at the surface, so we decided to get some underwater footage. Undersea specialist Carlos Navarro and I entered the water near a group of whales, capturing some video to share at recap. Then we approached another single whale, and it decided to investigate us. We were looking eye to eye with it, when it turned towards us and started pinging us with echolocation. It rolled around a few times, continually investigating us, before deciding to move on. To be so close to the largest carnivore on earth is an experience I shall never forget.
In the late afternoon, we entered the channel of “leave if you can” and found a group of feeding fin whales. These baleen whales were feeding on small schooling fishes, which were also being fed on by Humboldt squid. From the bow we could see the squid picking off individual fish while the whales preferred a different method. The whales would roll on their side and lunge at the surface, mouth agape, and engulf a huge group of fish at once. Repeatedly, the whales circled the boat, surface feeding with throat pleats extended. To top it off, one of the fin whales lifted its tail and showed its flukes, something I have never seen before.
Two incredible whale sightings and a fantastic exploration around San Pedro Martir…It doesn’t get any better than this!
Wow! What a day. This one certainly ranks up there with the best.
We started the day at San Pedro Martir, a major seabird nesting colony. Many of us kayaked around the entire island, a two and a half hour trip, with constant views of boobies, pelicans, and tropicbirds. Others opted for a shorter paddle or for a Zodiac tour, and happily explored the many sea lion colonies. Not a second went by where we did not hear or see a bird or sea lion, a very overwhelming place for sure.
As we left the island, we soon spotted a large group of sperm whales. We approached and were instantly rewarded with amazing views of three curious youngsters that circled the ship lifting their heads out of the water. We stayed with the whales for hours and had repeated fantastic views of many different whales, including a large male reaching nearly sixty feet in length. The whales were spending long periods of time at the surface, so we decided to get some underwater footage. Undersea specialist Carlos Navarro and I entered the water near a group of whales, capturing some video to share at recap. Then we approached another single whale, and it decided to investigate us. We were looking eye to eye with it, when it turned towards us and started pinging us with echolocation. It rolled around a few times, continually investigating us, before deciding to move on. To be so close to the largest carnivore on earth is an experience I shall never forget.
In the late afternoon, we entered the channel of “leave if you can” and found a group of feeding fin whales. These baleen whales were feeding on small schooling fishes, which were also being fed on by Humboldt squid. From the bow we could see the squid picking off individual fish while the whales preferred a different method. The whales would roll on their side and lunge at the surface, mouth agape, and engulf a huge group of fish at once. Repeatedly, the whales circled the boat, surface feeding with throat pleats extended. To top it off, one of the fin whales lifted its tail and showed its flukes, something I have never seen before.
Two incredible whale sightings and a fantastic exploration around San Pedro Martir…It doesn’t get any better than this!
