After a long northbound navigation over the Pacific side of the Baja California Peninsula, National Geographic Venture made it this morning to the quiet waters of Magdalena Bay. Before entering the bay, the magnificent cliffs of Margarita Island flanked the starboard side of the vessel while a squadron of masked boobies played around for as much as one hour. These birds showed an endless curiosity for our guests and staff as we all photographed them. A sea turtle, a loggerhead, was seen on the ocean as well. Many blows indicated the presence of gray whales, but there were also some humpbacks and pods of dolphins.

In Magdalena Bay, the vessel anchored at the southern end of Magdalena Island to let us hike over the impressive and moon-like sand dunes to Sand Dollar Beach. While walking on the dunes, our guests were introduced to the interesting dune vegetation. Once at Sand Dollar Beach, everybody walked freely to enjoy some meditative moments on their own.