The Sea of Cortes and Santa Catalina Island, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Several extraordinary creatures, belonging to two different species, were observed in this very first day of a promising new year, here in the Sea of Cortes. A couple of them were located in the ocean, while navigating, just after the sun rose completely embodied in grey clouds: it was a cow and calf pair of blue whales that slowly and randomly moved across the water. The mother, logically, showed herself less than the calf because she breathes profoundly, taking a great volume of high-pressured air into her giant lungs. Everybody at the bow was even able to hear the short but powerful exhalations, beside the little ones of the probably one-month old calf. Our ship followed them (of course, without any disturbance) for several miles until they disappeared in the vastness of the sea.
The other species was seen while exploring the beautiful isle known as Santa Catalina (Catalina comes from the Greek kataros, meaning "pure," as we want the island to be forever). In fact, almost every body that hiked was able to observe the so called rattle-less rattlesnake, or officially Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake. Four individuals of this bizarre and unforgettable species were surprisingly seen just curled under palo verde trees, jumping cholla cacti or medium-sized rocks, both near the shore or close to the top of the island (photo). They also exhibited a great individual but interesting variation in color on their slender, delicate, but resistant bodies. The real attraction were their tails, which did not exhibit the typical rattle of their cousins, but just a little corny button at the end of them. As the day was a bit cloudy and windy, but bright, they were not active and allowed us to display video and film cameras ad libitum around them. These sights, however, did not at all take away from the great variety of other beings and things that we also discovered during the day, like murrelets, northern cardinals, shrikes, woodpeckers, plants (including the Santa Catalina endemic giant barrel cactus), granite formations, scenery (over the peninsula) and marine life (while snorkeling in the afternoon).
This unforgettable day closed with an enthusiastic acknowledgement with diplomas for those kids who drove the wheel of the ship!
Several extraordinary creatures, belonging to two different species, were observed in this very first day of a promising new year, here in the Sea of Cortes. A couple of them were located in the ocean, while navigating, just after the sun rose completely embodied in grey clouds: it was a cow and calf pair of blue whales that slowly and randomly moved across the water. The mother, logically, showed herself less than the calf because she breathes profoundly, taking a great volume of high-pressured air into her giant lungs. Everybody at the bow was even able to hear the short but powerful exhalations, beside the little ones of the probably one-month old calf. Our ship followed them (of course, without any disturbance) for several miles until they disappeared in the vastness of the sea.
The other species was seen while exploring the beautiful isle known as Santa Catalina (Catalina comes from the Greek kataros, meaning "pure," as we want the island to be forever). In fact, almost every body that hiked was able to observe the so called rattle-less rattlesnake, or officially Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake. Four individuals of this bizarre and unforgettable species were surprisingly seen just curled under palo verde trees, jumping cholla cacti or medium-sized rocks, both near the shore or close to the top of the island (photo). They also exhibited a great individual but interesting variation in color on their slender, delicate, but resistant bodies. The real attraction were their tails, which did not exhibit the typical rattle of their cousins, but just a little corny button at the end of them. As the day was a bit cloudy and windy, but bright, they were not active and allowed us to display video and film cameras ad libitum around them. These sights, however, did not at all take away from the great variety of other beings and things that we also discovered during the day, like murrelets, northern cardinals, shrikes, woodpeckers, plants (including the Santa Catalina endemic giant barrel cactus), granite formations, scenery (over the peninsula) and marine life (while snorkeling in the afternoon).
This unforgettable day closed with an enthusiastic acknowledgement with diplomas for those kids who drove the wheel of the ship!
