Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Whale season in Costa Rica

This is the whale season in Costa Rica. I do not have any photos of whales, so I am illustrating the story with this photo taken from a boat off looking down Langosta Beach while sailing out of Tamarindo Bay.

The guests who rented our Langosta Beach condo for the past two weeks sent me an email that they saw two whales from our patio/balcony. Tourists going out on the boat excursions from Tamarindo have been seeing whales.

The current issue of National Geographic magazine has an article on blue whales off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The article discusses a phenomenon in the ocean called the Costa Rica Dome, where ocean currents mix and contain nutrient rich waters with lots of krill for whales to eat. Some blue whales spend five months of the year in the area, before going north for the summer.

The National Geographic article found whales who had been tagged off the coast of Santa Barbara in the summer wintering off the coast Costa Rica. The article said that no human has ever witnessed the birth of a blue whale, which is the world's largest mammal, averaging 80 feet (24 m.) in length as adults and 25 feet (7.6 m.) at birth.

I am sorry that I do not have a photo of a whale off the coast of Costa Rica. The area of the ocean shown in this photo would be very close to and an equivalent location to where whales have been spotted. The guests renting our condo saw whales from our patio/balcony, and our condo is located just down the beach from the area shown in this photo.
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7 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 3, 2009 at 4:27 AM

    Watching whales from your balcony! Lucky guests indeed! :-)

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  2. brattcatMarch 3, 2009 at 4:53 AM

    I've been whale watching off the coast of Massachusetts many times. It is such a thrill to catch sight of one of those magnificent mammals. What a joy it would be to see them rising and blowing from my balcony!

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  3. AnonymousMarch 3, 2009 at 4:57 AM

    It does look like a good spot to watch for anything. I like the photo.

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  4. SharonMarch 3, 2009 at 6:12 AM

    Seeing whales from the balcony would be a rare and wonderful treat.

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  5. Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.comMarch 3, 2009 at 6:33 AM

    this is excellent to learn about. I will watch for whales from here on out when I am down in Costa Rica. I never knew they were in that area. It would be such a thrill to see them that close from the balcony. I have seen olingos, pelicans, raccoons, and other animals from the balcony but never knew there could be whales.

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  6. JudyMarch 3, 2009 at 7:34 AM

    I can almost smell the salt air!

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  7. glendaMarch 3, 2009 at 7:33 PM

    That would be so cool to see a whale from the balcony.

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