We started our first day of formal whale watching at the northernmost entrance of Bahia Magdalena, the so called Boca de la Soledad or Mouth of Solitude, a place of great beauty. With a quiet sea in the canal, a light breeze, and a cloudy sky, we boarded boats that took part of our group to the magnificent sandy grounds of Magdalena Island. Minutes later we were on the dunes looking for coyotes, jackrabbits, and shore birds. Guests and naturalists, while exploring the mangroves, found adult and immature white ibises that looked for food under the canopy of the trees. These are very shy birds, but today it seemed that they decided to show up to our delight. With this advantage we took a lot of photos. On top of the mangroves there were hundreds of cormorants and frigate birds too, nesting or just perched and sunbathing. Those that went for whale watching at sea found the place literally full of cows and calves duos, as well as pairs trying to mate. There were cows of diverse patterns or combinations of gray, black, and white. Two particular animals, one very dark and another very gray, were “friendly” and approached the boats accompanied by their calves. Many hands had the opportunity to pet them. It was like a dream that became a reality! We switched rounds and the whole morning was spent on these close encounters.

Right after lunch, we did the same activities, but in the afternoon rounds there were more calves and their moms showing the spy-hopping and breeching behaviors more often than in the morning. It was a real delight! We changed our attention eventually to observe dozens of frigatebirds on the wing, sometimes chasing other birds. By the end of the day, back to the National Geographic Sea Bird, we had a celebration for a successful whale watching with local musicians called Los Coyotes de Magdalena and a delicious dinner crowned with a tres leches cake.