YES YES AND YES !
the day after the storm was picture perfect ... beautiful blue skies, and the Sea of Cortez was as calm as bath water and amazingingly clear!
we can verify that after a Tropical Storm, the Whale Sharks seemed to be very plentiful, hungry, and cooperative.
it’s impossible to try to recall each day and each encounter… there were so many ! so many many more than i ever anticipated !
as i mentioned before, our assignment was to take photos of an area between the end of the gills and the beginning of the dorsel fin ... like this :)
this photo is the Whale Shark's fingerprint and is submitted into the same program of algorithms that NASA uses to map the stars. this is where the 'Stars to the Seas' name comes from.
this is the size of boat we worked from
let’s start with the procedure:
-before entering the water, all cameras are to take a photo of the slate identifying which shark we are all gathering data on, i.e., ‘A’
-then we sit, ready to enter, on the side of the boat
-when a Whale Shark is spotted, our Captain Roberto tries to get the boat into position, and tells us when to QUIETLY enter the water, that means without splashing :) ...notice the Whale Shark in the center of the photo and he is positioning the boat:
-the people not in the water record GPS location, day/time, water temp, other conditions, sometimes we can get an out-of-the-water measurement if it comes along side of the 25’ boat .... maybe like this ... WOW
-2 people are in the water with cameras to get photos of each side of the Whale Shark, these photos are the most important info, because they are it's identity
-2 people are in the water to do measurement, after the photos are secured: one goes to the front with the rope, tugs to let the person in the back know they are at the nose, then the person in back drops back and measures where the tail is on the rope … theoretically :)
-one of the camera people can hopefully do a surface dive, down underneath the belly of the shark, turn around and take a photo to determine if it is a male or a female .... this is a male
this is done after ID photos and measurements, because sometimes the Whale Shark isn’t too happy about this, and might decide to leave. i am proud to say that i was pretty good at doing a surface dive and getting the photo :)
-it is also helpful to take photos of any distinguishing marks on the body, fins, or tail
then ....
-before you get into the water with another shark, you take a photo of the slate with ‘B’ on it, etc.; so you know exactly which photo goes with which Whale Shark ... makes sense ?
but here is how it actually went ... :)
the first day was magical … we saw our first Whale Shark almost immediately in about 10 feet of water! we got into the water and tried to swim up to it, but it was too far out in front of us and we couldn’t catch up to it. :(
but we stayed in the water hoping it would come back. it did come back and we took some photos; then another one showed up and started swimming around, ....and we took more photos, ....and then another one, ....or maybe the same one …
and then another one, they just kept coming, we didn't even have to chase after then, they were just there
most were feeding, with their mouth wide open, sucking in water and all the nutrients in it ... they didn't pay any attention to us, we just swam right next to them in AWE !
in this photo you can see TWO Whale Sharks ... the one on the left has it's mouth open ... they were everywhere ... whoop whoop !
after an hour or so, we yelled that we had lots of photos ...... but NO idea what photo went with which Whale Shark :) …failure for sure. but Meghann was prepared for this, she just smiled and said this is all part of the experience…. we needed to get the ‘WOW Factor’ out of the way.
so we got back in the boat, regrouped, reviewed our ‘assignment’ and started again. this time with better results :)
every day was about the same ... we went out in the boat early in the morning
and the Whale Sharks showed up. in this photo you notice how happy Meghann is with 2 Whale Sharks right by the boat ... and notice how close we are to shore !
Meghann took these 4 photos of me on the first day ... i was SO EXCITED !
he was a big boy
and completely unbothered by my presence .. in spite of my laughs of excitement :)
one morning we took a little boat ride out to some of the 16 islands off the coast.
on the way out, i spotted this Byrde's Whale in the distance ... we did not get very close to it, but watched it surface and spout several times
This island was full of Blue Footed Boobies, like the ones i saw in the Galapagos; but we couldn't get as close to them as we did in the Galapagos. all of that 'white stuff' is their guano, aka poop :)
we stopped at one of the islands and did some snorkeling with some Sea Lions ... also curious and playful like the ones in the Galapagos
and a few colorful fishes ... obviously nothing like the ones from last winter however..........
this is a tiny Goby, well camouflaged
and Fine Scaled TriggerFish
then we went back to our 'work' .... oh how we loved it !!!
more up close and personals
there are actually SIX Whale Sharks swimming around in this photo !
sometimes you just literally had to get out of their way .... as was the case in this photo ... he turned right into me ...
it was not unusual to see a fish swimming in and out of the Whale Shark's mouth ... they are Remoras and are scavengers looking for food bits ... but it is impossible for the Whale Shark to swallow even a fish of this size .... this is why there is no danger of them 'eating' people !
here is a short video:
their massive gills
after returning with all our photos, we needed to sort and enter them into the computer ... as you can imagine, this was our least favorite activity ... data entry :(
we left our mark on the walls of the Research Station with those of all that passed before us .... i did the 'waves' at the bottom ... we had to stand on a ladder with our headlamps on because the room we were in had lights that were on a timer and went off after a few minutes ... the things you remember :)
we also had time for a margarita party at Guillermo's
all the food and LOTS of snacks were provided in the Station and on the boats. we pitched in when we could to help prepare and clean up
some of us agreed to be woken up at 4am one morning, so we could watch the SunRise. it was very very dark and we drove a short way, and then started walking up, up, up a rocky path. i should have asked a few questions about the excursion, but i went blindly. i had no idea we would be walking up a very large hill to get the 'first light' ... fortunately, i did have a headlamp, proper shoes, and a water bottle.
it was still dark when we got up there and very gradually we were rewarded ... serene ....
it was spectacular ...... fyi: that is NOT me holding that yoga 'Tree' pose in the bottom right corner
it was a beautiful view and you could see some of the islands from up there
this is the happy group of 4am warriors
one of the advantages of sleeping out under the stars, is that you wake up to a beautiful SunRise and don't have to get up at 4am nor hike :)
in addition to beautiful sunrises we were lucky enough to have a full moon too !
notice, some cots have already been placed to 'save' their favorite spot... it took me a couple days to figure this out :)
the last day we saw a guy tethered to a bouy 'snorkeling' out front for the longest time ... we couldn't figure out what could be so interesting out there to keep him there for so long .... that night we had a surprise ... fresh Giant Clams from right off our beach ! ....the 'brothers' fixed a wonderful Clam Bake .... yummmmm
This is our group photo by the Whale Skeleton right before we left ... by the way, it is not a Whale Shark; but a Fin Whale, the second largest whale, after the Blue Whale ... i slept next to it and it was HUGE, and i wondered what it would be like to be in the water with something THAT massive ... maybe someday :)
i will say that the desert was noticeably 'greener' on the way back home after all the rains they received with Tropical Storm Lidia ... one more day and we probably would have seen it in full bloom :(
And our very last photo. it may look like a strange location, and it was .... we were at a Casino in California just over the border, waiting for some work to be done on the van battery ... so we were a bit delayed getting back that evening
All in All .... my Baja Adventure far far EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS !
