We awoke this morning on National Geographic Sea Bird to yet another colorful sunrise in the northern part of Magdalena Bay here in Baja California, Mexico. Shortly after an excellent breakfast prepared by our talented galley team, we met our local “pangeros.” We boarded Zodiacs and headed out to explore.
Throughout the morning, we observed many California gray whales that seemed to be heading south toward the nearest town, Lopez Mateos. We followed them slowly, about five miles down the bay. We were fortunate to have nearly zero wind and blue skies. The Zodiacs served as a great platform for exploring and observing. We spotted various behaviors, including many great instances of spyhopping. Along the shoreline, we observed brown pelicans, immature gulls, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons and even a royal tern or two.
In the afternoon, we continued our exploration of the northern end of Magdalena Bay. This time, we headed out to the mouth of the bay, a place called Boca de Soledad. The swell and wind were a bit more rugged than the morning, but the whales were out in numbers. We again observed many spyhopping whales.
After returning from the second round of whale-watching, we headed to the shoreline for short walks and explorations of the sand dunes. After this, we enjoyed a fantastic barbecue dinner on the beach prepared by the galley and hotel team. During dinner, two members of a local group called Coyotes de Magdalena treated us to a live acoustic performance. Expedition leader Alberto Montaudon even made an appearance! Overall, it was a fantastic day with various memorable experiences, pleasant weather and delicious food.
