As the sun broke the horizon, the National Geographic Sea Bird lay quietly at anchor beneath a bright clear sky. It was a perfect morning to board our inflatable boats and take off in search of gray whales. We started early to take advantage of our remaining time here. Mangroves and sand dunes flanked the protected channel where distant spouts erupted from the surface. Pairs of cows and their newborn calves seemed to be everywhere. Sunlight glinted off their mottled bodies in the distance. We had the chance to watch these massive creatures go about their daily activities at very close range. Babies rolled near their immense mothers, tails lifted from the water, and heads rose directly up in one spy hop after another. If this were not enough to keep us happy, a very patient and friendly cow and calf repeatedly approached our boats for attention. It is truly amazing that these wild marine mammals will regularly seek out human contact without ever receiving food treats. Long strings of cormorants flew past as we watched the whales, and frigatebirds circled overhead, perusing the scene below.
The officers and crew pulled anchor and we motored south with our local pilot at the helm. Five bottlenose dolphins tucked in to bow ride. We passed numerous whales, as well as wading birds and an adult bald eagle as we made our way through the narrow, mangrove-lined waterway. The hotel staff took advantage of the glorious weather by serving our lunch on deck.
By early afternoon the anchor chain clanged as we reached our landing site for a walk to Sand Dollar Beach. We wandered across a narrow sliver of this portion of Magdalena Island to reach a crescent beach that stretched for miles in each direction. The beach is well-named for the exquisite sand dollars that lay scattered across the sand. It was fun to examine them and other beach treasures, build a sand castle, walk the shoreline, or relax with a view of the open Pacific. By late afternoon we had all returned to the ship, our home for this wonderful week of exploration in Baja California.
