Our day began early, with humpback whales before breakfast. The southern end of the Gulf of California is a breeding area for humpbacks. While they are normally gamesome, this situation puts the whales into unusually acrobatic condition. Throughout the morning, we found several groups of whales. They sometimes appeared quite near the ship. We saw breaches and flipper-flapping, both making booming sounds that were no doubt even more impressive underwater. Using our hydrophone, we listened in on the whales, for it is on the breeding grounds that they do their famous singing. Sure enough, we heard the silly squeaks and gurgles of these lumbering leviathans.
By afternoon we reached Cabo del Jan Jose. A considerable river flows here from the Laguna Mountains; it is the obvious place for a town. Many of us saw the old town with its restaurants and arts and crafts shops. The river also makes San Jose great for birds. Following the riverside past palms and cattails, we found elegant herons and egrets, noisy woodpeckers, and colorful orioles and grosbeaks.
We made it to Cabo San Lucas in time to see a beautiful orange-dappled sky glowing behind the famous arch of Land’s End.
As we shall see, the Gulf and Pacific sides of Baja California are very different. Today’s experience was distinct enough to be not a transition, but a hiatus between extremes.
