Clear sky, wind N5-10, swell N1-2, air temp 36C, water temp surf 28C, vis 5-10mts. NGL is sailing southwest of ES.
This morning we started the day with coastal exploration for the rhib, hopping from Cardonal Bay to Ensenada Grande to Los Islotes where the guests observed the sealion nursery from the rhib (it is closed for swimming). Then we found a big pod of bottlenose dolphins 3nm northwest of Los Islotes, they were fishing with sea lions. We did a few jumps but they were not very interactive as they were busy hunting.
Yesterday we got on the spot for our second day with the orcas! it was a great encounter at first, they were very curious about the snorkelers, turning around the rhib and the swimmers. Only 3 guests were on the rhib though, as the others preferred to have lunch on the NGL and wait to see if the interaction was “good enough”. they were entirely satisfied with the first day and preferred to rest on the boat.
After lunch and the ecstatic reports of great interactions from the other guest, they decided to come on the rhib. Of course, the orcas changed their behavior and started to avoid the swimmers and the rhib altogether…they were, I think, hunting: changing directions frequently, swimming tightly together, diving long and deep but only a short distance. We decided to just do whale watching from the rhib until their mood changed. They eventually came back to more interaction for the enjoyment of the guests. We got back some of the guests on the rhib and they went back in the water just in time to see the orcas parading with pieces of dolphins in their mouths! Great encounters until the wind picked up and we left the orcas at 1700. Strong hot wind from the northeast, brushing the island, around 20knots.
