Boca de Soledad
From our anchorage off the north end of Isla Santa Magdalena, we can see and hear the roar of the breakers that mark the entrance into the Pacific Ocean called Boca de Soledad or the "Mouth of Solitude". There is certainly a sense of solitude here in this wild and remote place, as several of us listen to the yipping of coyotes from the bow this morning just before we head into breakfast. We hope they are signaling that they have found some breakfast as well, out amongst the dunes and mangroves.
Our day is calm and blue-sky perfection as we board the Zodiacs and head out toward the breakers to look for California gray whales entering the lagoon after their long southern migration. Normally the first to arrive are pregnant females, swimming an amazing six thousand miles at about five knots into the protection of these relatively warm and shallow estuarine waters to bear and nurse their one ton, fifteen foot calves. The calving and breeding season of the California gray whale has just begun in the lagoons of Baja California and we have the good fortune to spend some time watching a cow and her newborn calf.
Afternoon explorations bring many of us ashore to walk among the large dunes or on the fabulous beach strewn with thousands of colorful seashells. The light is diffused through high cirrus clouds, deepening the shadows and creating a mystical ambiance. Out in the Zodiacs plunge-diving brown pelicans appear and entertain us as their prehistoric shapes elongate before they smack the water’s surface. Further out in the mangroves, a group of about twenty-five American white pelicans are resting on a sand bar surrounded by hundreds of wintering small geese called Brandts. Scenes of nature’s abundance are everywhere.
From our anchorage off the north end of Isla Santa Magdalena, we can see and hear the roar of the breakers that mark the entrance into the Pacific Ocean called Boca de Soledad or the "Mouth of Solitude". There is certainly a sense of solitude here in this wild and remote place, as several of us listen to the yipping of coyotes from the bow this morning just before we head into breakfast. We hope they are signaling that they have found some breakfast as well, out amongst the dunes and mangroves.
Our day is calm and blue-sky perfection as we board the Zodiacs and head out toward the breakers to look for California gray whales entering the lagoon after their long southern migration. Normally the first to arrive are pregnant females, swimming an amazing six thousand miles at about five knots into the protection of these relatively warm and shallow estuarine waters to bear and nurse their one ton, fifteen foot calves. The calving and breeding season of the California gray whale has just begun in the lagoons of Baja California and we have the good fortune to spend some time watching a cow and her newborn calf.
Afternoon explorations bring many of us ashore to walk among the large dunes or on the fabulous beach strewn with thousands of colorful seashells. The light is diffused through high cirrus clouds, deepening the shadows and creating a mystical ambiance. Out in the Zodiacs plunge-diving brown pelicans appear and entertain us as their prehistoric shapes elongate before they smack the water’s surface. Further out in the mangroves, a group of about twenty-five American white pelicans are resting on a sand bar surrounded by hundreds of wintering small geese called Brandts. Scenes of nature’s abundance are everywhere.
