La Entrada & Hull Canal
The early morning light illuminated numerous gray whale blows against the darker coast of Santa Margarita Island as we sailed north towards Magdalena Bay. Pink-footed shearwaters, western gulls and magnificent frigatebirds followed, while several long-beaked common dolphins played while riding the pressure wave in front of the ship. All along the west coast of Santa Margarita Island we observed blows, including some smaller ones made by young baby gray whales swimming alongside their mothers. As we reached the north end of the island we entered La Entrada, as the locals know the entrance of Magdalena Bay. There, many more gray whales were seen, some of them even showed their flukes as they dove down. Not being allowed to stop and whale-watch here, as this area is a navigation route to the Port of San Carlos, we continued our journey north into the Hull Canal. This required the expert guidance of Alejandro Camacho, our local pilot, who expertly maneuvered the National Geographic Sea Bird among the labyrinth of canals. Bordered by dense mangrove forests, low hills painted pink by the blooming of Sand Verbenas and magnificent sand dunes, the Hull Canal showed us a great variety of life; great blue herons, white ibises, brant geese, ospreys and marbled godwits decorated the mangroves, mud flats and the skies, whereas coyotes walked the intertidal areas looking for the occasional dead fish left behind by the receding tide.
As we approached the northern end of Magdalena Island several gray whales greeted us, both solitary individuals and cow-calf pairs. A playful baby whale even showed us his baleen as he rolled on top of mom! Not long after, we dropped the anchor and had the chance to explore a little bit ashore. The opportunity was taken by the youngest members of our expedition (and some not-so-young ones as well!) to go dune-jumping. All in all, a beautiful first day into the realm of the gray whale.
The early morning light illuminated numerous gray whale blows against the darker coast of Santa Margarita Island as we sailed north towards Magdalena Bay. Pink-footed shearwaters, western gulls and magnificent frigatebirds followed, while several long-beaked common dolphins played while riding the pressure wave in front of the ship. All along the west coast of Santa Margarita Island we observed blows, including some smaller ones made by young baby gray whales swimming alongside their mothers. As we reached the north end of the island we entered La Entrada, as the locals know the entrance of Magdalena Bay. There, many more gray whales were seen, some of them even showed their flukes as they dove down. Not being allowed to stop and whale-watch here, as this area is a navigation route to the Port of San Carlos, we continued our journey north into the Hull Canal. This required the expert guidance of Alejandro Camacho, our local pilot, who expertly maneuvered the National Geographic Sea Bird among the labyrinth of canals. Bordered by dense mangrove forests, low hills painted pink by the blooming of Sand Verbenas and magnificent sand dunes, the Hull Canal showed us a great variety of life; great blue herons, white ibises, brant geese, ospreys and marbled godwits decorated the mangroves, mud flats and the skies, whereas coyotes walked the intertidal areas looking for the occasional dead fish left behind by the receding tide.
As we approached the northern end of Magdalena Island several gray whales greeted us, both solitary individuals and cow-calf pairs. A playful baby whale even showed us his baleen as he rolled on top of mom! Not long after, we dropped the anchor and had the chance to explore a little bit ashore. The opportunity was taken by the youngest members of our expedition (and some not-so-young ones as well!) to go dune-jumping. All in all, a beautiful first day into the realm of the gray whale.
