The Sea of Cortez rewards visitors with an aquatic wonderland
Dubbed ‘the world’s aquarium’ by Jacques Cousteau, the Gulf of California is teeming with marine life but this fragile ecosystem is on the brink
The call goes out over the ship’s PA system: “Dolphins at 12 o’clock”. It’s dawn on the Sea of Cortez, a narrow strip of water wedged between the Baja California Peninsula and the Mexican mainland, and this is a wake-up call that simply cannot be ignored.
Passengers quickly gather at the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, a ferry turned expedition vessel. Ahead, white caps punctuate a horizon slipping from the inky darkness of night, the first rays catching distant movement: the vanguard of an approaching pod, the dolphins effortlessly leaping through the water as they race towards the ship.
“Bottlenose dolphins,” proclaims expedition leader Larry Prussin from his perch outside the wheelhouse. “There looks to be about 150 of them. What a way to start the day!”
His excitement, even after his many years of exploring the world’s oceans, is infectious and it’s quickly standing room only at the bow.
After an hour of riding the Sea Bird’s wave, the dolphins turn east as one, as if choreographed, only to be replaced by a pair of blue whales, their fine spout spray lingering in the still morning air. The tiny dorsal fins that slice through the water belie the gentle magnitude of the world’s largest animal below.