En route north in the Canal de Ballenas, we encountered a group of common dolphins that joined the ship to ride on our bow wake. The conditions were perfect for watching and photographing the dolphins under the bow. In the photo you'll see the shadow and reflection of the ship.
And then in the afternoon we encountered two gray whales near the north end of Isla Angel de la Guarda.
Jack Swenson, Naturalist; photo by Rikki Swenson
There are those days that if you could bottle them up we'd make a mint. Today would be 'special reserve' issue from the wine cellar. We got underway from Isla Raza at 4 a.m. and it's been glassy calm ever since. During my watch it was hard to pick out the real stars from the reflections. I spent most of my watch timing the patches of bioluminescence and deciding where best to be for sunset and how to position the ship. Maybe just outside of Bah¡a de Los Angeles, surrounded by a dozen fin whales -- let's place a few just in the sunrise, why don't we? Okey dokey, no hay problemo. An hour and a half later we were on our way northbound and looking at our reflection in what is usually one of the windiest areas of the Sea of Cortez.
