Isla Santa Magdalena, Magdalena Bay
Thick fog greeted us this morning at anchor near Isla Santa Magdalena in Magdalena Bay on the west side of the Baja Peninsula. The usual stretching class and breakfast were delayed by one-half hour, which gave many of us who had long travel days yesterday a chance to sleep in a bit.
After breakfast, there were the requisite safety drills and briefings. Once we completed those, we boarded Zodiacs that whisked us through the fog to begin our morning hike to Sand Dollar Beach. We hiked through rippled barchan and transverse dunes, past flowering plants and piles of shells, which were most likely ancient middens (shell piles) from people who lived here long ago. The Pacific Ocean surf was quite a sight to behold, as were the number of sand dollars on the beach, which give the beach its name. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from the excellent beach combing along the shore.
Once back on board, we had lunch as the National Geographic Sea Bird pulled anchor and headed north through the Canal de Soledad, a shallow inland waterway. As our experienced Mexican navigator, Alejandro, nimbly piloted the ship through the mangrove-lined channel, the bird-watching here was fantastic. Many bird species were seen, including an abundance of pelicans, great blue herons, great egrets, and other shore birds. Remarkably, coyotes and even a bald eagle were sighted. Bottlenose dolphins joined us and a few came over to bow ride the pressure wave in front of the ship. It was an excellent chance to view some of Baja’s abundant wildlife.
As we dropped anchor near the mouth of Boca de Soledad, the cool wind of the Pacific rolled in. Lee Moll gave a talk on (Baja) California gray whales in preparation for tomorrow’s chance to see and experience these great mammals. After dinner, many of us remained on deck to enjoy the clear nighttime sky and crescent moon while we reflected on our first day in Baja together.
Thick fog greeted us this morning at anchor near Isla Santa Magdalena in Magdalena Bay on the west side of the Baja Peninsula. The usual stretching class and breakfast were delayed by one-half hour, which gave many of us who had long travel days yesterday a chance to sleep in a bit.
After breakfast, there were the requisite safety drills and briefings. Once we completed those, we boarded Zodiacs that whisked us through the fog to begin our morning hike to Sand Dollar Beach. We hiked through rippled barchan and transverse dunes, past flowering plants and piles of shells, which were most likely ancient middens (shell piles) from people who lived here long ago. The Pacific Ocean surf was quite a sight to behold, as were the number of sand dollars on the beach, which give the beach its name. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from the excellent beach combing along the shore.
Once back on board, we had lunch as the National Geographic Sea Bird pulled anchor and headed north through the Canal de Soledad, a shallow inland waterway. As our experienced Mexican navigator, Alejandro, nimbly piloted the ship through the mangrove-lined channel, the bird-watching here was fantastic. Many bird species were seen, including an abundance of pelicans, great blue herons, great egrets, and other shore birds. Remarkably, coyotes and even a bald eagle were sighted. Bottlenose dolphins joined us and a few came over to bow ride the pressure wave in front of the ship. It was an excellent chance to view some of Baja’s abundant wildlife.
As we dropped anchor near the mouth of Boca de Soledad, the cool wind of the Pacific rolled in. Lee Moll gave a talk on (Baja) California gray whales in preparation for tomorrow’s chance to see and experience these great mammals. After dinner, many of us remained on deck to enjoy the clear nighttime sky and crescent moon while we reflected on our first day in Baja together.
