Cruising & Isla San Francisco
The sun rose up to a beautiful clear sky from behind the mountains near La Paz. With the Baja Peninsula to port and the islands of the Sea of Cortez to starboard, we steam north throughout the morning. It isn’t long before we start spotting whale blows… 8 o’clock, 11 o’clock, 3 o’clock! Using the face of a clock to explain direction on the water, the ship’s bow is at 12. We get a good look at a Bryde’s or tropical whale which is likely feeding on fish along this current line. The whales go about their business as we go about ours, though our imaginations are piqued with dreams of these gentle giants that make their lives under the sea.
After lunch, we drop the hook in the perfect anchorage of Half Moon Bay at Isla San Francisco. For those exploring the scene underwater, a myriad of schooling fish gather along the edge of the cove. Seemingly millions of these fish, mostly flatiron herring, assemble here because there is safety in numbers. They form a thick silver carpet over the rocks that glistens in the sun and sways in the currents.
Later, some of us embark on an adventurous hike over the rugged terrain of this uninhabited island. The sun eventually sinks behind the Sierra de la Giganta mountains of the peninsula. Traces of light paint the sky in bands of orange and pink and yellow, reminiscent of the colors in the layering of volcanic strata in these mountains.
The sun rose up to a beautiful clear sky from behind the mountains near La Paz. With the Baja Peninsula to port and the islands of the Sea of Cortez to starboard, we steam north throughout the morning. It isn’t long before we start spotting whale blows… 8 o’clock, 11 o’clock, 3 o’clock! Using the face of a clock to explain direction on the water, the ship’s bow is at 12. We get a good look at a Bryde’s or tropical whale which is likely feeding on fish along this current line. The whales go about their business as we go about ours, though our imaginations are piqued with dreams of these gentle giants that make their lives under the sea.
After lunch, we drop the hook in the perfect anchorage of Half Moon Bay at Isla San Francisco. For those exploring the scene underwater, a myriad of schooling fish gather along the edge of the cove. Seemingly millions of these fish, mostly flatiron herring, assemble here because there is safety in numbers. They form a thick silver carpet over the rocks that glistens in the sun and sways in the currents.
Later, some of us embark on an adventurous hike over the rugged terrain of this uninhabited island. The sun eventually sinks behind the Sierra de la Giganta mountains of the peninsula. Traces of light paint the sky in bands of orange and pink and yellow, reminiscent of the colors in the layering of volcanic strata in these mountains.
