We spent the morning sailing through the Loreto marine reserve to Punta Colorada. We saw a new species of whale (Bryde’s), several humpbacks, fur seals, leaping mobilar rays, and dolphins. One pair of humpbacks was particularly interesting— a larger whale with nearly all white coloring on the fluke and a smaller whale with a nearly all black fluke. They swam together and dove together. This sighting prompted a discussion about identifying marks on humpback flukes (as the Happy Whale app and researchers do). Often a whale’s fluke may darken with age, but scars of various kinds remain so the identification is retained. Circular scars (white on black or black in white) come from barnacles, while linear scars are likely from Orca attacks. Irregular patterns are often caused by confrontations between two humpback whales, especially males.
In the afternoon we went snorkeling at Isla San Jose. The shoreline cliffs resembled an amphitheater and sheltered a coral reef, rare in these cold waters. We had a wonderful time with colorful fish and lovely corals. Later in the afternoon we walked in an arroyo on the shore, marveling at the colors and patterns of the eroded sandstone sides.
Pictured: white humpback whale fluke, Guinea fowl puffer fish, arroyo walls
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