Dolphins before breakfast, snorkeling with sea lions before lunch, and hiking on a remote desert island before enjoying cocktail hour with another colorful sunset – should we feel guilty about missing the polar vortex and the deep-freeze our friends and families are experiencing back home?
Out on deck in shorts and flip-flops, sipping coffee as first light paints the rock layers along the mountainous spine of the Baja Peninsula, it’s a unanimous NO. A photo expedition is serious business.
National Geographic Sea Bird is cruising south in San Jose Channel when a large group of common dolphins escort us. Our destination, a small outcropping called Los Islotes, where California sea lions are known to congregate at the north end of Espiritú Santo Archipelago National Park.
After breakfast we circumnavigate Los Islotes by Zodiac, observing the playful sea lions, their barks, belches, and roars echoing off the rocks as brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies circle overhead. It’s a photographers dream with the wildlife set against the red layers of volcanic rock. The adventurous among us snorkel with the sea lions, the pups approaching for a closer look. It’s a humbling experience to be in the water with sea lions as they literally swim circles around us. Have you ever screamed with laughter through your snorkel?
Few things in life feel as good as sand between your toes. Half Moon Bay at Isla San Francisco has the perfect long sandy beach to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf. Today the water is flat calm, so we launch the flotilla of kayaks to explore the rocky coast. Back on land, we explore and photograph the colorful desert landscape. Others partake in the stationary hike, preferring to watch the world go by from the beach chairs – relaxing is a legitimate activity on vacation. Meanwhile, pelicans plunge-dive out in the bay as an osprey patrols the shoreline hoping to snag a fish to take back to its nest on the other side of the island.
A brilliant sunset against the backdrop of the Sierra de la Gigantas lights up the sky, a fitting end to another perfect day. This is why we came.
